Asean petroleum body opens meet

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE) will kick off today its 7th annual conference and exhibition.

With a theme "Forging Towards a New Order in the Oil and Gas Industry," the conference will focus on the future of the oil natural gas industry in the region particularly, the prospects of forging partnership with Asean member countries.

The four-day conference and exhibition (Nov. 5 to 8) will also highlight a speech from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) secretary general Dr. Ali Rodriguez Arague who is expected to share valuable insights on energy security from a global perspective.

Morgan Stanley managing director Thomas Langford will present various banking industry’s perspective, financial strategies on how to make ASCOPE a major global player.

ASCOPE organizing committee chairman Tuan Haji Zohari Shaharun of Malaysia was in Manila last August for the launching of the said event.

The ASCOPE official said this event is crucial since there are many challenges that the ASEAN countries will be facing in the new millennium.

"For his reason we have aptly chosen an appropriate theme for the upcoming conference and exhibition," the official said.

He said there would be more than 40 presentations and conference papers which will be discussed by distinguished oil and gas authorities during the four-day affair.

The ASCOPE, he said, would not only serve as a venue to promote cooperation among its members but it will also offer opportunities to meet face-to-face decision-makers and industry leaders, display corporate profiles, products and services.

The Philippines, through the state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), is one of the founding members of ASCOPE when it was established in Oct. 15, 1975 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Other founding members were: Indonesia (Pertamina), Thailand (PTT), Singapore (SPC), and Malaysia (Petronas). New members were: ‘Brunei (Petroleum Unit, PM Dept.) Vietnam (Petro Vietnam), Myanmar (MOGE) and Cambodia (CNPA).