New NOC Heads to Gather for North Africa Oil & Gas Summit in Madrid

Madrid, Spain, August 24, 2011 --(PR.com)-- For the first time since the crisis in North Africa, new leaders of regional national oil companies (NOCs) will meet in Madrid for the 6th annual North Africa Oil & Gas Summit, from 26-27 October to talk about investment in the oil and gas industry in the region. Some 350 oil and gas industry experts are expected to gather for the event and the agenda includes discussions of new investment potential, future of LNG export and upcoming licensing rounds in the post-Arab spring period.

Speaker highlights from the programme include:
-- Nemesio Fernandez Cuesta, Executive Vice President Exploration & Production, Repsol
-- Mohamed Ould Bahiya, General Manager, Societe Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMH)
-- Jean Francois Arrighi de Casanova, Senior Vice President North Africa E&P, Total SA
-- Gerald R. Winkler, General Manager – North Africa & Offshore, OMV Exploration & Production GMBH
-- Zalmay Khalilzad, Former US Ambassador to the UN, Iraq and Afghanistan, Counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Senior Executive, Entreprise Tunisienne D’activités Pétroliéres (ETAP)

Key sessions at the Summit include:
· Possible scenarios for re-entering the Libyan market and reviving Libyan infrastructure
· Overview of the upcoming licensing rounds-country focus
· Operational challenges, safety and risk management in North Africa
· The latest updates on the field developments – cutting-edge technology show cases to unlock North African potential
· Future of global LNG export
· Shale gas and hydrocarbon potential-future investments

Spanish interests in Africa
According to Sladjana Franovic North Africa Oil & Gas Summit Director, the event is taking place in Madrid because of Spain’s long-standing role as investor in North African countries. She continues: "Repsol, who are co-host to the summit, are the largest Spanish operator and one of the biggest producers in Libya. Spain traditionally has good relations with North Africa, and its oil and gas business is very dependent on this region. The three largest Spanish oil and gas companies, Repsol, Cepsa and Gas Natural, all have joint ventures with North African national oil companies on different upstream and downstream projects. They are all represented at and taking part in The North Africa Oil & Gas Summit."

Event dates:
25 October: Shale and tight gas workshop
26-27 October: Conference
Event location: Hotel Melia Castilla, located near to the Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid

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