According to Lebanon's Energy Minister, Gebran Bassil, more than thirty major firms from different countries have shown interest in Lebanon's oil and gas industry and asked for information as experts estimate the value of gas in Lebanon to be between $40- $70bn.
The Minister said, "He is upbeat about the future of oil production in Lebanon and the investment opportunities the sector would bring to the country."
This December global energy players are set to meet to discuss the latest progress in the industry at 2nd Lebanon International Oil and Gas Summit (LIOG) 4-5 December 2013.
The annual event for Lebanon builds on the huge success of the LIOG 2012 Summit held under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy and Water Lebanon and in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.
"2012 saw the inaugural International Oil and Gas Summit to be held in Lebanon and the event exceeded our expectations in welcoming 332 delegates to the summit with delegates coming from all over the world. Having the official patronage of the Ministry of Energy and Water and working in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance Lebanon and our Lebanese organizing partner meant that we had all the right support for LIOG to really make its mark as the most prestigious international Oil and Gas event in Beirut. The 2013 event will build on this success and falls perfectly in December after the government's clear pathway for the first ever licensing round in Lebanon," Said Paul Gilbert, Managing Director from the organizers Global Event Partners Ltd.
From the 332 strong delegation, 153 international and Lebanese companies were represented at LIOG 2012 with delegates coming from 23 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Jordan, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Russian Federation, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.
"The timing of the LIOG 2012 Summit helped make the event such a great success, as the world eyes turned towards Lebanon with the latest announcement on the appointment of the Petroleum Administration (PA), whose members attended throughout the Summit. This announcement also coincided with the intensified efforts to launch the bids for explorations offshore, after the encouraging results of the recent seismic surveys. This all helped to really put Lebanon on the international energy map and so stakeholders chose to meet at LIOG to find out all the latest industry news," said Antoine Dagher, Corporate Communications Manager, Petroleb.
Sponsors and Exhibitors at LIOG included Petroleb, BB Energy, Hypco, CCE, Shell, Bank Audi, JX Nippon, Schlumberger, OMV, Bureau Veritas, Elard Group, Spectrum, Wildcat Oilfield Services and the Ministry of Energy and Water Lebanon. Shell sponsored the coffee breaks, BB Energy and Hypco sponsored the lunch and Petroleb chose to sponsor the lanyards and registration.
"I think the Lebanon International Oil and Gas Summit went very, very well; there are a lot of companies from abroad... we have great hopes for this project which is good for Lebanon and for everyone involved in the event," Said the LIOG Sponsor Bashir Bassatne, Managing Director, BB Energy/Hypco.
LIOG had widespread support from international associations including the UK Department of Trade and Investment, The Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce and the Brazilian and Italian Chambers of Commerce.
LIOG also gained vast media attention with attendance from more the 30 major TV channels, radio stations and newspapers in Lebanon including Bloomberg news, CNBC Arabia, Daily Star, El Hayat, L'Orient-Le Jour, MTV, NBN, Qatar TV, Reuters, Sky News Arabia, Tele Liban and The Guardian.
LIOG featured presentations from a high calibre speaker line-up including H.E. Mr. Mohammed A. Safadi, Minister of Finance, Lebanon, Dr. Naji Abi Aad, C.O.O, Petroleb Lebanon, Mr Mounir Bouaziz, Vice President, MENA, Shell and H.E. Mrs. Angeling Eichorst, Head of EU Delegation to Lebanon, European Union who were among the 35 strong speaker line up of experts from both the public and private sectors.
Delegates also had the opportunity to take part in interactive discussion sessions with the speakers and enjoyed extensive networking opportunities throughout the summit during the lunches and coffee breaks and gala dinner.
With a highly topical agenda and a crowd of high-calibre speakers, delegates, sponsors and supporters, the Lebanon International Oil and Gas Summit (LIOG) successfully established itself as a milestone in the development of the emerging Oil and Gas industry in Lebanon. LIOG 2013 will build on its excellent reputation and will take place 4-5 December 2013 at the Phoenicia Hotel.