Gold Magazine September - October 2013, Issue 30 | Página 68

EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN
NATURAL GAS

FORUM
IMH holds London conference

64 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

T

he Eastern Mediterranean: A New Energy
Frontier is the title of
a major conference
being organised by
IMH in London on
6 November. Among
the issues to be discussed are LNG, oil and gas developments
in Cyprus, Israel, Greece, Lebanon; External
energy developments and their impact on
Eastern Mediterranean geopolitics; Connecting Eastern Mediterranean LNG with the
rest of the world; and Investment considerations and opportunities in the
Eastern Mediterranean
Lefteris Karydis, Scientific Content Manager
of the Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas
Forum, explained the conference title: “The
quest for fresh natural gas reserves to meet
rising demand is at a high and conventional
‘easy’ reserves elsewhere are declining. Consequently, as competition for its resources
becoming fiercer, the Eastern Mediterranean
is emerging as the ‘new frontier’.”
It is estimated that the EU’s natural gas
requirements for the next 50-60 years could
be satisfied by the gas reserves in the Eastern
Mediterranean. However, it is one of the
most troublesome areas in the world, characterized by political and financial instability
and maritime border issues. Furthermore,
geological and technological challenges,
regulatory complications and uncertain
market pricing pose even more obstacles for
local and international oil and gas companies
to explore and exploit the Eastern Mediterranean resources. The “treasure” buried
beneath the Mediterranean Sea can either
become the reason for all nations in the area
to cooperate and benefit or it can lead to
more turbulence and instability.
Describing the London conference as “an
exclusive senior-level Forum that will stimulate high-level debate around the exploration
and exploitation of hydrocarbons in Cyprus,
Greece, Israel and Lebanon to determine the
development of further collaboration and
progress in the oil and gas industry,” Karydis
added that the Forum will also provide the
most up-to-date information and developments regarding the state of affairs in each
country in the area. “It will bring together
key players, top government officials,
gas experts, company leaders and senior
executives from the gas industry to share
their knowledge and experience and discuss
projects and investments resulting from the
hydrocarbon discoveries in the region,” he
said.
The list of speakers is impressive, with several present and former government min-