Biggest ever oil and gas expo will be held in Bali

Biggest ever oil and gas expo will be held in Bali

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, Contributor, Jakarta

The Indonesian International Oil, Energy and Gas Conference
and Exhibition (IIOGE) will be held once again, with at least
1,000 leading local and international business people expected to
take part in the biggest ever conference and exhibition.

The IIOGE 2002, which will be officially opened by President
Megawati Soekarnoputri on July 6 and will run for two days at the
Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua, Bali.

"The participants are of a high level and appropriate to the
themes under discussion. They are not technical experts, but
instead the delegates are predominantly leading businessmen in
the industry - Country Directors, Financial Analysts, Commercial
Directors, Traders, Chairmen, Bankers, Consultants etc.," PT Rai
Expo International's CEO Alan Solow said.

PT Rai Expo International, in collaboration with London-based
International Trade and Exhibition (ITE) Group, Plc, is the
organizing committee of the IIOGE 2002.

Established by the Indonesian Government in partnership with
leading public and private sector organizations, IIOGE 2002 is a
regional forum hosted by state oil and gas company Pertamina,
state gas company Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) and state
electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), and held
annually in Indonesia on the resort island of Bali.

The IIOGE 2002 Exhibition offers manufacturers, suppliers,
contractors and service providers, a golden opportunity to
exhibit their products and services to industry leaders, policy
makers, as well as domestic and international participants in the
IIOGE 2002 conference.

Alan highlighted the importance of the upcoming IIOGE 2002,
saying, "IIOGE will offer participating countries a unique
opportunity to align policy, development and investment both
within ASEAN itself, and furthermore, between ASEAN and other key
energy centers - OPEC, China, Russia and Korea."

He said that as an independent event, all nations
participating have equal rights to have their perspectives heard.
"The participation of the private sector at the most senior level
further ensures that all stakeholders in the industry recognize
the critical importance of further global liberalization of the
industry, and the vital role that the private sector has to play
in investment, technology and in knowledge," he pointed out.

This year's IIOGE will be held immediately following the 20th
ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM). The presence of the
ASEAN Energy Ministers and their Senior Officials, as well as
heads of ASEAN power and utilities companies is expected to offer
international participants the latest status and future
directions on energy cooperation in the region.

With a theme of Sustaining Indonesia's Gas Production: Meeting
Asia's Long Term Energy Demand, the IIOGE 2002 Conference will
provide a world-class forum for discussion of the key issues that
are guiding the next stage of development in the Indonesian
energy industry.

The Conference will feature at least 18 speakers from
Indonesia and foreign countries, including Minister of Energy and
Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Minister of Industry and
Trade Rini Soewandi, OPEC's Secretary General Ali Rodriguez
Araque, Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry
Raymond Lim Siang Keat, the Secretary of the Philippine
Department of Energy Wang Tao, British Petroleum's Group Vice
president, Upstream David Fitzsimmons, President Commissioner of
PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk John S. Karamoy and ASEAN's
Secretary General Rodolfo C. Severino Jr.

They will discuss their experiences in Asian energy markets,
present strategic information and share their perspectives on the
forces driving energy policy development in Indonesia.

Issues to be discussed will include multilateral strategies
for meeting Asia's long term energy demands, development of
Indonesia's energy initiatives for the 2002-2003 period,
expanding and maintaining Indonesia's LNG markets, the effect of
competition in Indonesia's downstream sector, domestic and
regional gas infrastructure development, balancing central and
regional government authority in Indonesia's energy sector and
the impact of the evolving political and social environment on
investment.

Alan said that the Organizing Committee will be hoping that
IIOGE will see a positive statement of support from the Chinese
delegation to make Indonesia a key supplier of LNG there. "They
are also likely to use IIOGE as a platform to accelerate the
development of the Trans Asia Gas Grid project. On a global
agenda, IIOGE will provide OPEC and Russia the opportunity to
further build a relationship of trust and create a strategy for
Asia that equally benefits the two largest production powers in
the world," he noted.

Indonesia's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo
highlights the important role Indonesia plays in the energy
sector linked to IIOGE, saying "The IIOGE annual series and the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Trade (Kadin) initiative, is
an international forum for both domestic and international
organizations."

"Over the last two years, the IIOGE series succeeded in
demonstrating to the international community our continued
development in these sectors that are fundamental to our future
economic success."

He said that Indonesia's energy industry "is one of the most
developed in the Asia-Pacific region, and our nation leads in the
way in many of the technologies that are transforming the global
industry. Indonesia has successfully maintained its position as
the world's leading exporter of LNG gas and is without doubt the
fuel that will drive Asia's next stage of economic development.

Furthermore, as OPEC's only member nation in the Asia-Pacific
region, Indonesia plays a central role in ensuring the regular,
secure and stable supply of oil to diverse nations around the
world."

Alan said that title sponsors include: BP, Accenture with
supporting sponsors consisting of Lukoil, Sun. MEDCO, ABN-AMRO,
Indosat Mega Media, Satelindo and Ford.

"Sponsors benefit from a very high level and highly targeted
audience for their corporate message, and can use IIOGE as a
platform to extend their agenda or to raise their profile in the
community. The can also be key speakers and participants of the
event (given approval of the Official Organizing Community-IIOGE
OOC)," he noted.

Asked what will be the follow-up of the upcoming IIOGE, he
said, "As with all PT. Rantai Expo events, the conference process
is geared towards the attraction of new international investment
to Indonesia. If IIOGE succeeds in strengthening Indonesia's
relationships with its key international partners then we would
consider our job well done and then we can only anticipate next
year's theme from the IIOGE OOC."