The inaugural Adipec Offshore and Marine Conference, produced and managed by dmg events, kicked off on November 9 in a purpose-built dedicated waterside theatre, the first-of-its-kind in the region.
The decline in oil prices has increased the importance of reforms to switch the focus of growth from the public sector to the private sector in Saudi Arabia, said Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF.
The United Arab Emirate is pushing ahead with large new energy projects, betting that an oil price recovery will start as early as next year as demand begins to absorb the global glut.
Saudi Aramco's Chairman Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday that the company has no plans to cut oil production and he foresees the oil market rebalancing in 2016.
Saudi Arabia is moving ahead with the expansion of its giant Khurais oilfield but the project would move slower than originally planned because of budgetary reasons.
Two Kuwaiti oil experts – Mohammad Al-Shatti and Amer Al-Tamimi – urged the GCC countries to put plans and take reform measures to face falling oil prices.