With the recent re-election of President Putin and the ongoing election campaigns taking place throughout the CIS countries, much focus and analysis is being given to the current political situation taking place in Moscow and its effect on the CIS oil and gas sector as a whole.
Just weeks after the final Presidential elections in early March 2004, The Energy Exchange Limited will host their 4th Annual CIS Oil and Gas Summit (30 March — 1 April 2004), enabling those already operating in, or looking to expand into the upstream oil and gas markets of Russia, Caspian, Caucasus and Central Asia a clearer picture of the opportunities that lie ahead for each of the regions.
With the Chinese, Japanese and the US among the foreign investors keen to play a major role in the sector, exploration and production and export projects in 2004 will see rapid development programmes taking place, at this stage it is just a case of waiting to see which projects will come into realization first.
The countries of the Caspian region are still striving to find a solution to resolve the question of the Caspian Sea's legal status. Huge oil and gas development projects in the region are underway but until a solution to this is found, uncertainties still remain.
Given the nature of the region and the potential high rewards of investing in the CIS, only those equipped with up-to-date market intelligence and the very best government and industry contacts will be able to operate successfully in such a challenging sector.
The CIS Oil and Gas Summit will through a combination of formal presentations, panel sessions and keynotes speeches enable its participants to obtain the latest news in export trends, legislation plans and upstream project developments, with key presentations from: GAZPROM, BP, GIOC, YUKOS, STATOIL, CPC and KAZMUNAIGAZ.
Mr Rashid Gaissin, GRATA Law Firm representative in the UK, will make a presentation on Ukrainian, Russian and Kazak oil and gas pipelines legislation.
New for 2004, a roundtable discussion session, devoted to interactive and informal discussion groups, will provide the opportunity for attendees and speakers to join together and share their knowledge and experiences of working within the CIS oil and gas sector.
