AWARDS: Abdul Rahman Jawahery, president of the Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, was given the Man of the Year award during the ceremony, held at the Al Murjan Room at the Gulf Hotel. Awards were also given to BASF, Petrochemicals Project of the Year; to Bahrain Polytechnic University, Education Institution of the Year; the Bahrain International Investment Park, Industrial Park of the Year; to the Bahrain Petroleum Company, HSBC and BNP Paribas, Financial Advisory of the Year; and to Tatweer Petroleum, Upstream Project of the Year. Key private and public sector players from Bahrain’s oil and gas industry were in attendance.

PARKS, PLANTS AND GAS: The core of this year’s publication saw natural gas usage, industrial activity and upstream development of the Bahrain oilfield feature prominently. Also part of the publication is a roundtable discussion on the implications of energy subsidies for Bahrain’s economic growth, and the policy that could be directed towards conserving precious natural gas resources.

Of the major projects ongoing in Bahrain, the appointment of banking groups HSBC and BNP Paribas as financial advisors to the $4-6-billion Bahrain Petroleum Company refinery upgrade features as the Year’s Focus. The publication also examines a steam injection programme, which was upgraded from the pilot stage by Tatweer, a consortium between US-based Occidental Petroleum, the UAE’s Mubadala Petroleum and the Bahraini government. Additional recognition was given to BASF for beginning production at its antioxidant blend plant, to Bahrain Polytechnic for graduating its first class of students and to Bahrain International Investment Park for seeing four energy-related companies commission plants in the past 12 months.

CEO of The Oil & Gas Year, Guillaume Doane, said: “The scale of upstream activity and industrial development taking place is unprecedented by Bahraini standards. The kingdom is on the doorstep of making critical choices that will address acute resource shortages and sustain long-term energy development.”

The discussion covered Oman’s record in applying new technologies, the importance of efficiency gains to improving performance, the impact of the government’s in-country value strategy on companies’ capabilities to take on new best practice concepts and the need to formulate an integrated approach to make sure that technology and industry best practice are transferred efficiently through Oman’s major oil and gas megaprojects.

Participating in the event were Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Gulf Energy CCO Yasser Al Baraimi, BP Oman general manager Dave Campbell, Modus Oman Drilling Systems CEO Mohammed Ahmed Al Jahwari, Sarooj Construction director Simon Karam, Oman Oil head of international mergers and acquisitions Anwar Al Kharusi, OPAL CEO Irshad Moosa Al Lawati, The Research Council director of innovation Abdullah Mohammed Al Mahruki, Mott MacDonald director Ahmed J. Al Mazrui, Petroleum Development Oman managing director Raoul Restucci and VEC Oil and Gas Consultants managing director Sayyid Mohammed Ali Al Said.

The Oil & Gas Year hosted its first strategic roundtable discussion for Angola’s oil and gas industry in partnership with the country’s national oil company and concessionaire, Sonangol in May 2014.

The event – From the ground up: the building blocks of Angola’s oil and gas boom – was sponsored by Total E&P Angola and Weatherford International.

Panelists had the opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities of human resources capacity development and in-country fabrication for Angola’s oil and industry. With representatives from upstream operators, oilfield services companies, fabrication yards, and the country’s national oil company, the event served as a platform for discussion on two of the most relevant topics to Angola.

Participating in the event were Sonamet general manager José Alexandre Barroso, Paenal QA manager Jorge Filipe, Sonangol E&P administrator Paulino Jeronimo, Total E&P Angola director general Jean-Michel Lavergne, Petromar general manager Antonio Bravo Neto, PricewaterhouseCoopers assurance partner Sarju Raikundalia, Ensco country manager Fabio Teixeira, Cobalt International Energy deputy general manager António Vieira and Schlumberger Angola chairman David Viela.

The book features interviews with Ramnarine, Minister of Finance and the Economy Larry Howai, BP Trinidad and Tobago president Norman Christie, and Energy Chamber CEO Thackwray Driver.

Norman Christie was chosen for The Oil & Gas Year’s Trinidad and Tobago 2014 Man of the Year award for his outspoken emphasis on improved fiscal measures for oil and gas operators in the country.

Discussion centred on the first pre-salt bid round that saw the auction of the Libra field. The event brought together Oswaldo Pedrosa president of Pré-Sal Petróleo, Shell Brazil chairman André Araújo, Schlumberger Brazil country manager José Firmino, Aker Solutions Brazil president and executive vice-president Luís Araújo and Total Brazil geoscience director Gerard Pelé.

The Oil & Gas Year Brazil 2014 country director João Marques and EY Brazil energy leader Carlos Alberto Assis moderated the roundtable.

The discussion, entitled “Brazil: The first pre-salt round – Technology, Local Content, Sustainability and Competition: The Future of Brazil’s Hydrocarbons Industry”, covered several subjects, including the short- and medium-term challenges to respond to the sector’s local content demands, the responsibility of the recently created Pré-Sal Petróleo within the Libra consortium and in future unitizations of pre-salt fields within the new PSC model, the particular technical difficulties and technological demands of the Libra field and the pre-salt opportunities at large, or even, the applicability of the new legal framework to future pre-salt auctions.

At The Oil & Gas Year’s second Strategic Roundtable in Equatorial Guinea 11of the country s top public and private sector officials gathered at the Sofitel Sipopo Le Golf hotel for a closed-door, recorded discussion. Topics included regional integration of Equatorial Guinea’s oil and gas industry, the country’s work as a member of the African Petroleum Producers’ Association, the way forward for new LNG facilities, local content challenges and project financing for domestic companies. The event was sponsored by EGLNG and Marathon Oil, and was held in partnership with the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy and Centurion LLP.

The participants were: Ophir Energy general manager Mike Cockman, Caba Business Services general manager Victor King, Marathon Oil director Pat Sanders, Equatorial Guinea LNG commercial deputy director Justino Evuna, PricewaterhouseCoopers manager Raphael Beilvert and Ecobank director general Alfred Kasongo, Deltatek Energy head of admin and government relations Analia Limabuaki, APPA Fund executive director and CEO Babafemi Oyewole, Sonagas technical director Jesus Nsang Nsue and Vaalco country manager Oliver Moss.

The panel discussion coincided with the release of TOGY’s first continental hydrocarbons investment guide Africa Finance & Trading 2014. Moderated by TOGY’s CEO, the Focus on Africa: Strategic Roundtable discussion gathered industry representatives to shed light on the emerging gas frontiers of East Africa and the resurgence of maturing plays on the western part of the continent.

Representing ENH, Mozambique’s national oil company, was chairman Nelson Ocuane. He presented a roadmap for the country’s first LNG exports in 2018 and his company’s aspirations to become an operator within 15 years. Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation chairman Michael Mwanda stressed the need to encourage the formation of local companies that can cater to the needs of international oil companies in the market. Abdulrazaq Isa, CEO of Nigerian company Waltersmith, highlighted the issue of dealing with subsidies. Another panelist turned the attention towards the difficulties regarding the perception civil society has, especially across the much of the African Continent, of managing natural resources. TOGY’s CEO concluded the session by thanking the various luminaries for the insightful and informative discussion.