GASEX 2008 Conference and Exhibition, 12-15 Nov 2008, Hanoi, Vietnam

12 Nov 2008

The 10th Gas Information Exchange for the Western Pacific (GASEX 2008) Conference and Exhibition 2008 has been successfully hosted by PETROVIETNAM, the national oil and gas Company of Vietnam on 12 to 15 November 2008 at the National Conventional Center in Hanoi. The 10th Gas Information Exchange for the Western Pacific (GASEX 2008) Conference and Exhibition 2008 has been successfully hosted by PETROVIETNAM, the national oil and gas Company of Vietnam on 12 to 15 November 2008 at the National Conventional Center in Hanoi.

Themed “Sustaining Integration and Development”, this biennial conference and exhibition brought together 500 delegates, 29 speakers, 42 exhibitors and hundreds of visitors. The Conference stressed on the need for regional integration towards sustainability and the exhibition showcased the products, services and technologies of major industry leaders and players in Asia and the Western Pacific. Malaysia through the Malaysian Gas Association (MGA) has one of the biggest delegation of 92 participants comprising of MGA members and affiliates.

The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr Nguyen Sinh Hung, the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam. He emphasized that sustainable development of the oil and gas industry was central to the strategy for the development of Vietnam’s energy sector through 2025. Keynote addresses were delivered by highly distinguished and prominent industry speakers :- Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, the President and Chief Executive Officer of PETRONAS; Mr Akio Nomura, Chairman, the Japan Gas Association and President of Osaka Gas Company Limited; Mr Joseph Geagea, Managing Director, Asia South Business Unit, Chevron; Mr Ernesto Lopez Anadon, President of the International Gas Union; Mr Moon Kyu Suh, Senior Executive Vice President, Korea National Oil Corporation and Mr Ari H Soemarno, President Director and CEO, PT Pertamina. The plenary and breakout sessions of the conference focused on the regional and global problems, the development of the energy and gas sectors, gas trading, natural gas exploitation technologies and gas management skills. Country reports on the general economic situation and outlook of each GASEX member were presented providing insights to national supply and demand, movements in regulations affecting the gas industry, and sustainable development initiatives in meeting the demand for better and cleaner energy sources.

The technical exhibition organized alongside the conference showcased new trends, technology, and innovations from over 40 leading companies. Exhibiting companies include among others Bredero Shaw, Brunei LNG, Canadoil, Conoco Philips, Cuel, DNV, Elster-Instromet Sdn Bhd, Hertel Defence & Offshore, Hytorc, Kaeser, Korea National Oil Corporation, Modec, Petronas, Petrovietnam, PTT Group, Romet, Talisman Energy, Technip, VinaControl, and Wood Mackenzie. National pavilions from China, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Vietnam were also set up.

Technical Visit to the Hoa Binh Hydroelectric Plant, the biggest power center in Vietnam was organized for the delegates. The plant served most part of Northern Vietnam in terms of electricity generation, flood prevention, agricultural irrigation and drought prevention. It has eight generators with a designed capacity of 240,000 kW each powering neighboring provinces.
The next GASEX will be held in Taipei on 23-24 October, 2010. The GASEX Steering Committee meets twice in a year. For 2009, the first meeting will be held in Osaka in third week of April while the second one will be held in Malaysia in Oct/Nov since Thailand declined to host the meeting for that period in view of them hosting the ASCOPE in November next year.

For the Malaysia meeting, it is proposed for the venue to be outside Kuala Lumpur. It is a one-day event which begins with golf in the morning then followed by the meeting in the afternoon. Likely proposed venues include Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi or Penang.

Footnote :

GASEX (a.k.a. Gas Information Exchange for the Western Pacific) is the Western Pacific’s official platform for the gas industry and comprises 15-member economies including Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Vietnam.

GASEX objectives are to contribute to the sound progress and development of the gas industry in each country within the West Pacific area, by advancing fraternal relationship and mutual understanding among the members through exchange of information relating to technical, economic and operational aspects of the gas industry. GASEX is meant to be a platform where the latest information relating to technical, economical and operational aspects of the gas industry can be exchanged and where problems and challenges, which are unique to the countries of the Western Pacific Area, in relation to the gas industry can be introduced.

GASEX is an initiative of the member economies of the steering committee by initiating a forum that provides market information of all member economies. Although these economies reports are still a vital information exchange segment of the current GASEX, the event has grown into a regional platform for information exchange in gas trading for Asia Pacific, as well as a major exhibition.
GASEX is held biennially with one of the members hosting the Conference and Exhibition in rotation. Previous GASEX events have been held in the following countries:
GASEX ’90 Tokyo, Japan
GASEX ’92 Sydney, Australia
GASEX ’94 Bali, Indonesia
GASEX ’96 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GASEX ’98 Seoul, Korea
GASEX ’00 Pattaya, Thailand
GASEX ’02 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
GASEX ’04 Singapore
GASEX ’06 Beijing, China
THE GASEX STEERING COMMITTEE
GASEX is represented by the following national and state gas companies and agencies of the Asia Pacific region:
1. The Australian Gas Association, Australia
2. Brunei Energy Association, Brunei Darusssalam
3. China Gas Association, China
4. The Gas Association of Chinese Taipei, Chinese Taipei
5. The Hong Kong and China Gas Co., Ltd., Hong Kong SAR
6. Indonesian Gas Association, Indonesia
7. The Japan Gas Association, Japan
8. The Korea Gas Union, Korea
9. Malaysian Gas Association, Malaysia
10. The Gas Association of New Zealand, New Zealand
11. Department of Petroleum and Energy, Papua New Guinea
12. PNOC Exploration Corporation, Philippines
13. Gas Association of Singapore, Singapore
14. PTT Public Company Limited, Thailand
15. Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, Vietnam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Top