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By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
With petroleum emerging as the center of global and domestic concerns, an exhibition opened Wednesday to offer perspectives of the global petroleum industry and also a glance at the information of major players and their related equipment.
The Asian Oil & Gas Show 2008 was launched at Seoul's COEX with Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Youn-hoo and Kim Seng-ki, Chairman of the Korea Petroleum Association (KPA) attending.
Over 60 companies from some 15 countries are participating in the exhibition, said INDEX Holding, an Arab-Emirates-based company and host of the show. It also expected to attract an audience of more than 10,000 throughout the three-day event.
On the first day of the exhibition, Minister Lee delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony along with Mohamed Bin Dha'en Al Hamili, UAE Minister of Energy, and Odein Ajumogobia SAN, Nigerian Minister of Energy. Khamis Juma Bu Amim, Chairman of the Regional Clean Sea Organization (RECSO) also gave a welcome speech. RECSO, founded in 1972, is a cooperative organization of Middle Eastern companies with the mission of environmental protection in the Gulf region.
On Wednesday, three sessions ― global oil & gas outlook, Asian oil & gas outlook and Asian refinery industry outlook ― took place as part of an international conference. A total of nine sessions are planned throughout the exhibition with a theme of "Opportunities and Perspectives of the Asian Petroleum and Gas Market."
The KPA, co-host of the event, said the exhibition aims to help the nation build solid networks with oil-producing countries and acquire various information, as well as promote related Korean industries. It is also planning to make the nation's first international fuel show an annual event.
With rapid growth in the Asian petroleum and gas markets, led by far eastern countries and Russia, related businesses including chemical, construction, steel production and logistics are also in development in both producing and consuming countries of petroleum and gas, the association of local oil companies explained.
"Petroleum and gas are indisputably vital for Asian countries, especially because most of them lack their own reserves compared to surging demand every day," said Sa Myung-hwan, a KPA executive director. "I hope this exhibition will produce substantial business opportunities for many Korean and Asian companies."
Arab executives at the event also expressed expectations that this will be a good opportunity for Korean people to inch toward understanding businesses in the Middle East. "This will be a chance to take a closer look at 'the miracle in the desert' in Dubai," Abdul Salam Al Madani, President of INDEX Holding, said.
"A lot of Middle Eastern countries are also very interested in Korea. And Dubai-related exhibitions here will also attract attention from other continents like Europe."
Some petroleum industry operations have been criticized for their contribution to water pollution from the byproducts of refining and oil spills.
The combustion of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases and other air pollutants as byproducts. These pollutants include nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.
As petroleum is a non-renewable natural resource the industry is faced with an inevitable eventual depletion of supply.
The BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2007 predicted the reserve/production ratio for proven resources worldwide. The study placed the prospective life span of reserves in the Middle East at 79.5 years, Latin America at 41.2 years and North America at only 12 years. The global ratio estimates the world’s oil reserves will be exhausted in 40.5 years at current production levels.
hckim@koreatimes.co.kr
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