OAPEC's Dr Samir Elkareish says oil crisis must be avoided

The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC)'s director of Technical Affairs, Dr Samir Elkareish, says effective steps to avoid a future oil crisis must be taken. Dr Elkareish is one of dozens of high-level experts who will address the Middle East Downstream Week in Abu Dhabi from 8-11 May, where NOCs, IOCs, petrochemical producers, refiners, fuels marketers and distributors in addition to independent oil and gas experts and technology leaders will gather.

Basic problem is not based on supply and demand
The global economic impact of the unrest in the MENA region, in particular Libya, and the resultant rise in the oil price, is expected to be an important point of the discussions at this leading industry event.

Dr Elkareish says the risk to the global economy posed by sustained high oil prices is a factor that should not be overlooked: "If tensions in the MENA region die down quickly and the price of oil returns to pre-crisis levels, the global economic recovery will not be affected dramatically. However, if these movements spread, and a collection of countries see deep cuts in oil production, high oil prices could pose a real danger to the global economy."

He continues: "Effective steps to avoid a future oil crisis must be taken. Since the basic problem is not based on supply and demand or free market fundamentals, but instead is based upon speculatively inspired psychological perception, remedial action based upon economic factors seems appropriate. The main oil producer, Saudi Arabia, must add additional spare production capacity to cover any loss of capacity elsewhere."

Impact of international clean fuel standards on Arab countries
The largest refiners in the region will attend the Middle East Downsteam Week in May where OAPEC's Dr Elkareish will specifically focus on clean fuels regulations and Arab countries' strategies to improve refined product specifications, including current specifications of refined products in Arab countries and the expected time schedule for meeting international clean fuels standards. He will also address the main reasons why refiners in Arab countries are not able to meet international clean fuel standards in addition to plans already implemented for improving refined product specifications in Arab refineries.

More high profile experts at Middle East Downstream Week include:
* Jasem Ali Al Sayegh, General Manager, ABU DHABI OIL REFINING COMPANY (TAKREER)
* Jean Jacques Mosconi, Senior Vice President, Strategy, TOTAL
* Solomon Mirza, Vice President, Strategic Planning and Capital Allocation, SHELL
* Bakhit Shabib Al Rashidi, Deputy Managing Director, Planning and Local Marketing, KUWAIT NATIONAL PETROLEUM COMPANY (KNPC)
* Dr Partha Maitra, President, Petroleum Business, RELIANCE INDUSTRIES
* Norman Gilsdorf, President, HONEYWELL PROCESS SOLUTIONS
* Nabeel Al Ruwaidhi, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Business Development and Strategic Planning, OMAN OIL MARKETING COMPANY SAOG (OOMCO)
* Mohamed Mezal, Refinery Operations Planning Manager, THE BAHRAIN PETROLEUM COMPANY (BAPCO)
* Dr Halim Hamid Redhwi, Assistant Supervisor, DHAHRAN TECHNO-VALLEY (DTV) and Professor, Chemical Engineering Department KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS (KFUPM)
* Hamid Reza Seyed Jafari, Director of Corporate Planning, NATIONAL IRANIAN OIL REFINING AND DISTRIBUTION COMPANY (NIORDC)
* Ali Mohammed Al Jaberi, Ruwais Refinery Division Manager, ABU DHABI OIL REFINING COMPANY (TAKREER)

Major operating companies attending the 2011 Middle East Downstream Week include: Saudi Aramco, SATORP, ADNOC, TAKREER, ENOC, KNPC, Reliance, Sumitomo Chemical Asia, Total, Shell, BP, BAPCO, Oman Oil Marketing Company, Sabic and Aden Refinery Company among others.

Event dates:
* Axens Middle East Refining Seminar: 8 May 2011
* Downstream Integration Workshop: 8 May 2011
* Main Conference: 9-10 May 2011
* Middle East Fuels Symposium: 11 May 2011
* Site Visit: TAKREER Ruwais Refinery: 11 May 2011

Event website: www.wra-medw.com
Event location: Beach Rotana Hotel and Towers, Abu Dhabi

Middle East Downstream Week is part of Clarion Events, the UK's largest independent events company with annual turnover of over £150m, drawing upon over 80 years of experience of hosting strategic conferences conferences and seated events across Britain, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Middle East and Asia. Our events, business-to-business and business-to-consumer, serve 15 different market sectors from leisure and entertainment to finance, from retail to gaming and from fine art to energy.

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This release was published on openPR.