Iraq Future Energy: Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development to Deliver Keynote

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, April 24, 2013 --(PR.com)-- The UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, H.H. Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, will deliver the opening keynote address at the upcoming Iraq Energy 2013/14: Business and Investment Opportunities in Iraq’s Oil and Gas Sectors conference in Abu Dhabi from 22-24 May.

Iraq Energy 2013/14 event Director, Jinanda Sheth says: “We are honoured that H.H. Sheikh Nahayan will grace us with his presence and insight. He will be joined by the Iraqi Minister of Oil, H.E. Abdul Karim Al Luaibi, the Governor of Basra, H.E. Dr. Khalaf Abdul Samad Khalaf and the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, H.E. Mohamed Thani Murshed Ghannam Al Rumaithi, for a truly high-level keynote session, focusing on the increasing business and investment opportunities in Iraq’s burgeoning oil and gas sectors.

She continues: “UAE-based companies have featured heavily in the rebuilding of Iraq’s oil and gas sector in recent years and have established the UAE as an oil and gas hub with exceptional readily available products and services that Iraq can easily access.”

Increasing UAE footprint in Iraq
Iraq Energy 2013/14 is a key industry meeting will bring together organisations looking to increase their footprint in Iraq’s lucrative oil and gas market. Attending will be Iraq Ministry of Oil officials, IOC country heads and project leaders, technology, service and equipment providers, EPC contractors, supply chain logistics experts, financiers, lawyers, consultants and security and risk analysts.

Other confirmed speakers at the event are:

· H.E. Dr. Mehdi Hafedh, Member of Parliament; Former Minister of Planning, Iraq
· H.E. Ibraheem Al Baghdadi, Chairman, Iraqi National Business Council
· Hamdiyah Al Jaff, President and Chairman, Trade Bank of Iraq
· Andrew McAuslan, Vice President – Negotiations, Upstream Business Development, BP
· Gati Al Jebouri, Senior Vice President, LUKOIL Overseas
· Qian Mingyang, President Assistant, PetroChina Iraq
· Omar Moussa, Vice President Iraq, Schlumberger
· Hans Nijkamp, Vice President and Country Chairman Iraq, Shell

This event is co-hosted by The Energy Exchange and The Iraqi Business Council Abu Dhabi (IBCAD) and furthermore has the official support of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the official Platinum Sponsor.

More programme highlights:

· Increasing Iraq’s Oil Production for Export to International Markets
How are the IOCs progressing and are they nearing production targets? Gain insight into the latest on the ground developments, the project phases, contractual commitments and timelines and understand where future opportunities lie for service providers.

· Foreign Investment Requirements and Preferred Financial Models to Fund Growing Production and Infrastructure Demands
- The immediate requirements for building capacity to meet increasing production demands and export requirements
- The financial scenarios for funding multi billion dollar projects and attracting foreign direct investment.

· Project Highlight: Basra – Aqaba Pipeline. Development Plans and Associated Opportunities
Hear a detailed update on the US $18 billion pipeline, to export crude oil from Basra to Jordan’s port city of Aqaba. Understand and plan strategies around next steps, timelines and opportunities that will be discussed.

· Identifying Critical Investments Required in Iraq’s Downstream Sector and Project Opportunities in Refineries
- With US $30 billion of funding allocated by the government, gain insight and understanding of the roadmap and timelines of the Ministry of Oil’s downstream strategy to doubling refining capacity and reducing reliance on imported refined products. How can IOCs help rebuild the downstream sector?
- Bridging the gap between maintenance, modernisation and technology. Will the focus be on modernisation and upgrade plans for Iraq’s 8 existing refineries? Or will the Ministry push for new state of the art facilities in their aims to increase refining capacity from 600,000 barrels per day to 1.5 million barrels per day by 2017?

· Highlighting Key Petrochemical Opportunities Enabling Iraq to Compete on an International Scale
- Is there a need for joint ventures and public/private partnerships to forge ahead with petrochemical projects? What is the scale of investment needed to improve the state of the downstream sector?
- Will there be a feedstock subsidy and incentive scheme for investors? Understand how the Investment Commissions can help foster and facilitate foreign investment, from new company registrations to signing contracts

Location: Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche, Abu Dhabi, UAE