Placing Your Safety at the Heart of Our Event
MEOS 2021 will be organised in accordance with Informa’s AllSecure health and safety standard, providing the highest levels of hygiene and safety.
As the world’s leading events’ organiser, Informa has developed a detailed set of enhanced measures to provide the highest levels of hygiene and safety at its events, providing everyone with reassurance and confidence they are participating in a safe and controlled environment.
When you join our event, you can expect to see that health and safety is a priority, and that a range of measures are in place to ensure everyone involved is able to enjoy a safe, hygienic, productive and high-quality organised event experience.
All Informa events will be run according to official government and local authority guidance in the first instance, as well as any venue or location-specific regulations. In addition, all Informa events will follow the ten Informa AllSecure priority commitments wherever applicable and possible.
We will continue to monitor the situation and will keep you informed of any updates and confirmed plans for MEOS 2021.
FAQs
What is Informa AllSecure?
Informa AllSecure is the approach we are taking to enhancing the health and safety standards in place at Informa events following COVID-19.
From exhibitors to sponsors, speakers, visitors and journalists, those who come to our events come to connect, learn, know more and do more business, effectively and safely.
The standards and practices that make up Informa AllSecure are designed to provide confidence that at every Informa event, we are striving to provide the highest standards of safety, hygiene, cleanliness and quality.
What can I expect at an Informa AllSecure event?
You can expect to see that health and safety is a priority and that a range of measures are in place to ensure everyone involved is able to enjoy a safe, hygienic, productive and high-quality organised event experience.
As a starting point, Informa AllSecure events will be run according to the guidance of government or official authority guidance, and according to any venue-specific regulations. In addition, all Informa AllSecure events follow ten key commitments around hygiene, physical distancing and protection & detection, with additional measures in place where relevant and practical.
How was Informa AllSecure developed?
Informa AllSecure is based on a set of event industry standards, called All Secure.
The All Secure industry standards were developed collaboratively by a group including industry associations UFI, AEO and SISO, event organisers Informa, Reed Exhibitions and Clarion, a range of event venues, suppliers and with input from health, government and local authorities.
Informa AllSecure is the way these industry-wide All Secure standards are being applied to Informa events.
How are you going to ensure people stick to the rules?
We are contacting all participants before the event to let them know what to expect at the event and how to prepare. Upon arrival, signage will be displayed throughout the venue to remind everyone of the enhanced health and safety measures that are in place, and our expectations of all visitors. We are also using technology to reduce the need for physical contact, for example, non-contact registration, and actively managing visitor flow to ensure physical distancing can be maintained.
Will there be enough room to maintain physical distancing?
We are adjusting our floor plan, including, for example, widening aisles to allow everyone to maintain physical distancing. Where queuing/lining up is anticipated, we will display signage to remind everyone to maintain the minimum physical distance.
Are you expecting fewer attendees as a result of the pandemic – and if so, am I still getting the same return on my investment?
Due to changing travel restrictions across the world, we may anticipate fewer attendees at our event this year. However, we are working on connecting these buyers in other ways, such as through virtual participation, online business matchmaking services and online product directories. We are also working hard to enhance our audience targeting by introducing greater scrutiny, pre-registration qualification and matchmaking tools, to improve the relevance of visitors to the event. Combined with other measures, enhanced targeting will lower the density of attendees but retain the overall quality of the event.
Can you guarantee my safety at an Informa AllSecure event?
No environment or space inside or outside of the home can ever be 100% safe.
At controlled event gatherings like Informa events and through Informa AllSecure, we have put in place a comprehensive range of enhanced standards that make the health and safety of everyone who attends a priority.
There could be queues/lines to enter this event – how are you going to manage that?
Where queuing/lining up is anticipated, we will use signage and floor markings to remind everyone to maintain physical distancing.
Will I have to wear a face mask?
Where governments or local authorities are advising the use of face masks, or the use of additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as eye coverings and gloves, we will advise everyone accordingly so they can come prepared.
Will I be screened as I enter the event?
We are closely monitoring the advice from local health authorities on screening participants and we will follow that guidance. This may mean we use contactless temperature screening to identify anyone who has a high temperature. Anyone who presents a high temperature will be denied entry to the event and appropriate medical attention will be offered. If screening measures are put in place, we will let everyone know what to expect in advance.
Attendance Hits 40 year high
The 21st edition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MEOS 2019) held in Bahrain attracted a record total of 9,144 attendees, marking a 9.8% increase over the 2017 edition and reaching a new high in the 40 year history of the event.
Attendance growth was matched by a 5.2% increase in exhibitor participation numbers at the 12,000 sqm exhibition of oil and gas products featuring 203 companies from 27 countries.
Shaping the Future
The parallel conference took place under the theme ‘Resilience through Talent and Technology Transformation.’ Over 400 expert speakers reflected on how the industry can meet world energy demand efficiently, responsibly and with maximum value, with a focus on 4th industrial revolution technologies, collaboration, and nurturing the next generation.
Industry-wide Support
MEOS 2019 was held under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Bahrain H.R.H. Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. The event was supported by the Bahrain National Oil and Gas Authority and a committee of IOC and NOC representatives chaired by Saudi Aramco and Petroleum Development Oman.
Bahrain’s Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa performed the exhibition opening ceremony on 19 March 2019 at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, during which he emphasised the Bahrain government’s commitment to upgrading the oil industry to benefit the national economy.
New Discoveries and Technologies
The conference opened on 18 March 2019 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel and was followed by the inaugural MEOS Energy Awards. Welcome addresses were delivered by Bahrain’s Minister of Oil H.E. Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Al Khalifa; MEOS 2019 Co-chairman and Saudi Aramco’s Chief Petroleum Engineer Waleed Al Mulhim, and the 2019 SPE President Sami Alnuaim.
The Minister of Oil shared progress on Bahrain’s biggest oil and gas find since 1932 – estimated to contain more than 80 billion barrels of tight oil and up to 20 trillion cubic feet of deep natural gas – and highlighted opportunities for future co-operation.
Waleed Al Mulhim declared MEOS was a bright spot for the region and the industry alike, saying: “MEOS provides an opportunity looking beyond the industry; focusing on collaboration with business, educational institutions, governments and society. We need joint development of new technologies that will increase discovery and recovery, reduce cost, enhance safety and protect the environment.”
Smart Collaborations
At the opening executive plenary session ‘Resilience of the Future – How Can We Achieve Resilience in the Coming Years?’ presidents and CEOs from Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, BHGE ad Eni reflected on resilience from both operator and service company perspectives.
Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Paal Kibsgaard stressed that the industry should step up its “willingness to openly collaborate beyond company boundaries, to solve problems and to drive continuous improvement in all our activities. In between the operators and all parts of the supplier industry, we sit on an enormous amount of complementary expertise and experience, that if brought together can make amazing things happen in terms of value creation.”
Saudi Aramco’s Upstream Senior Vice President Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani reflected on how the successful oil and gas company of the future should be “smarter” both in terms of technology and emotional intelligence to meet society’s expectations. “The enablers of our profitability, adaptability and sustainability are being redefined. Much like the energy landscape itself. We can be confident that oil and gas will continue to play a vital role for the foreseeable future. But to sustain this industry we must increase our value proposition for society, particularly as alternatives become more affordable,” he said.
Knowledge Sharing Case Studies
More than 360 technical and e-poster presentations designed to share the knowledge and experience of managing, operating and supplying oil and gas companies followed over the subsequent 3 days of the conference.
High-level Insights
Other conference highlights included a keynote session exploring how the oil and gas sector is adapting to demands for cleaner technologies and energy sources, 6 high level panel sessions, a workshop sharing best practices to support a diverse workplace, and a 3 day programme of events aimed at nurturing the next generation of oil and gas professionals.
The next edition of MEOS will take place from 15 – 18 March 2021 in Bahrain.
ABOUT THE ORGANISERS
Informa Markets creates platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate and grow. We provide marketplace participants around the globe with opportunities to engage, experience and do business through face-to-face exhibitions, targeted digital services and actionable data solutions. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com.
CONFERENCE ORGANISERS
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose more than 140,600 members in 144 countries are engaged in oil and gas exploration and production. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge providing publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.
