IPA to hold annual convention to discuss challenges amid crisis

The Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) will hold its 33th Annual Convention & Exhibition, the country?s biggest event for oil and gas industry, on May 5-7, 2009.

This year?s event themed ?Managing Resources in Delivering Energy in a Challenging Environment? will feature top governmental officials and industry leaders as speakers to discuss various issues related to Indonesian oil, gas industry, IPA Chairman Roberto Lorato said.

More than 100 technical papers will be presented during the convention and more than 100 companies will participate in the exhibition.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to open the convention.

Lorato said the convention?s highlights include plenary sessions, where the industry?s stake holders and decision makers are expected to discuss various issues related to the industry, share opinions about the issues and propose solutions. The first plenary session will be titled: ?The Global Crisis, its Impact on the Nation?s Economy and Future Energy Demand?, while the second ?Delivering Energy in Challenging Environment.?

Lorato said the topics are relevant in view of the global economic crisis that has limited companies? access to financial resources and the dramatic fall of oil prices.

?We need to assess the impact of the global crisis on Indonesian oil and gas industry and the responses of the industry and government to the crisis,? he said, adding the second plenary session will look into more specific issues such as regulatory environment.

Roberto stressed that Indonesia?s oil and gas industry by far is a significant earner of government revenue, contributing more than 30 percent to the state budget. ?Oil and gas investment is the single biggest investment in Indonesia,? he said.

IPA Convention and Exhibition Chairman Ananda Idris said that the event is expected to draw some 4,000 participants. (alex)