The Mena Oil and Gas Technology Summit, a one day virtual event hosted by MEED, will take place on March, 24, 2021, bringing together stakeholders from National Oil Companies, large end users and utilities companies to explore topics including digitalisation, automation, cybersecurity and asset integrity within the region’s oil and gas sector.

The oil and gas industry is currently witnessing global oil price volatility coupled with an increasing emphasis on operating more sustainably. A forecast by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) expects the GCC’s GDP growth to return to pre-COVID-19 levels only in 2023 - citing weak oil demand, aggravated by the sharp downturn in oil prices due to the pandemic as the main culprits.

“The region’s national oil companies (NOCs) are undergoing a major transition as they roll out new strategies aimed at diversifying and decarbonising their activities, while at the same time trying to optimise the performance of their assets and operations,” says MEED editorial director Richard Thompson.

Thompson said, “The key to success for the NOCs is investment and effective deployment of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart sensors, robotics, advanced materials, and so on. Next-generation technologies will help modernise operating models and build a workforce for the future to meet demands of the evolving energy consumer.”

He concluded,”MEED’s virtual summit examines advanced technology investment by the region’s oil & gas industry and what it means for companies and workers in the region’s most important industry.”