Business & Money | Wednesday 6 April, 2016 4:43 pm |

Held under the Patronage of HRH Prince Dr. Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saud, The Manufacturing Conference & Exhibition for Oil & Gas (MAF 2016) commenced on an upbeat note at the Crowne Plaza, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Hosted by Neft Management in collaboration with a committee of regional and international oil company representatives including Saudi Aramco, SABIC, Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University, ASM Saudi Chapter, the exclusive conference and exhibition witnessed more than 500 government and industry attendees and representatives of Oil & Gas sector from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, US, UK, France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland. 

The high-profile event was chaired by Dr. Hamad Al Mostaneer, Chairman, ASM Saudi Chapter. The event was also graced by Dr. Mohammed Al Majed (Advisor to HRH KACST President for Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing-King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST), Mr. Mohammad Al Sultan (Manager – Mechanical Services Shops Department, Saudi Aramco) and other key representatives.

The conference was supported by key players of the industry including Saudi Aramco, Al Fanar Technical Services, Sherbiny Holdings, Tamimi and many others. Delivering a highly effective mix of data, insight and forecasts about repair facilities, machining, manufacturing, cutting tools and fabrication, MAF 2016 accelerated the best-practices of the Oil & Gas industry. Presented by esteemed industry leaders, MAF 2016 addressed key topics as ‘Enhancing Communication between Fabricators’, ‘Machine Manufacturers and End Users’ and ‘Challenges that engineers face to enhance the life of machines using the latest applicable technologies’. The specialized topics facilitated learning and knowledge sharing whilst also building a stronger network within the Oil & Gas community.

“Middle East Oil & Gas Sector continues to maintain its growth in spite of the challenging market conditions. Committed to serving the needs of the Oil & Gas sector, we strongly believe that every challenge presents an opportunity. MAF 2016 was an effort to help world leaders share best practice and innovative solutions for building a solid future for our industry. The overwhelming response we received at the conference is a testament to the industry’s thirst for knowledge and information and we look forward to once again hosting a landmark event that helps enable the progress of the Oil & Gas sector,” said Mr. Rafeeq Kunhi, Director, Neft Management.

Attendees at the conference had the opportunity to forge new business relationships, meet with existing partners, source new suppliers, engage with the industry’s leading organisations and be introduced to new innovations and solutions of the Oil & Gas industry.

The exclusive conference witnessed more than 30 exhibitors including Advanced Precision Services, Quartzelec, Dresser Al Rushaid, Maritime Industrial Services Arabia, Trinity Holdings, Alba Power, Ethos Energy and many more.

Low oil prices have failed to dent the global oil industry’s confidence in the region, and the record-breaking 2016 edition of MAF validates the opportunities in the region’s Oil & Gas sector despite the low oil price environment.