Turkey to Host Iraqi Energy Conference

London's Energy Exchange will host an Iraqi Energy Conference in Istanbul next month.

The Energy Exchange issued a press release noting that the "Iraq 2011: Future Energy" four-day conference will be held in Istanbul beginning on 26 September, noting, "At the event, leading industry experts and decision-makers will unveil the significant investment opportunities in Iraq's oil and gas, power, electricity and related infrastructure sectors. The second day of the conference will feature speakers clarifying the political and energy situation in Iraq, along with investment opportunities and action plans for downstream projects. In addition, the case for regulating the upstream petroleum sector will be presented, as well as the necessity of mandatory benchmarks in order to maximize success in upstream activities in the oil and gas sector."

Energy Exchange senior project manager Sidharth Mehta said, "The oil and gas, power, and electricity infrastructure sectors in Iraq have been struggling for several years now. An average of 6 hours of electricity is available daily, which causes significant problems, especially during summer. The (Iraqi) Ministry of Electricity needs to raise $29 billion between 2015 and 2030 to meet their strategic plans. The four-day "Iraq 2011: Future Energy" summit will provide the ideal platform to network and learn about the profitable opportunities arising in Iraq," Zaman newspaper reported.

By. Charles Kennedy, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com