2nd Global Oil & Gas SE Europe and Mediterranean Conference to Open With Interventions by the Ministers of Energy of Greece and Israel

Greece’s Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Panagiotis Skourletis, and his Israeli counterpart, Mr. Yuval Steinitz, will be speaking at the opening session, today, in the 2nd Global Oil & Gas South East Europe and Mediterranean Conference & Exhibition, a landmark event on the latest oil and gas projects and policy priorities for the broader region.

The event is jointly organized by ITE Group, a UK-based international exhibition organizer and ROTA SA, a major exhibition organizer and promoter in Greece, in partnership with the Institute of Energy for SE Europe (IENE) and with Energia.gr, Greece’s leading energy portal, among its media sponsors.

The Global Oil & Gas South East Europe and Mediterranean Conference & Exhibition will take place on Wednesday the 28^th, and Thursday, the 29^th, 2016 at the Metropolitan Expo exhibition and conference centre ( Athens International Airport "El. Venizelos”) in Athens, Greece, aspiring to become the region’s most significant annual oil and gas event for keeping abreast of developments in this critical economic area.

IENE’s Executive Director, Costis Stambolis, who chairs the Conference, will deliver the opening remarks, while a special address will follow by Mr. Grigoris Stergioulis, CEO of Hellenic Petroleum, the leading energy Group in Southeastern Europe, focusing on the regional environment of intense competition and significant opportunities.

The 1^st session will focus onEastern Mediterranean & Adriatic Upstream Focus and will examine the prospects for development in the Eastern Mediterranean, providing information on the blocks and regions that offer the best prospects for getting hydrocarbons to the market and the various ways of co-operation between the region’s operators, in order to maximize asset production and recovery. The session includes a speech by Ms. Ana Misevic, Director of Exploration Projects Dept. of Croatia’s INA, on the company’s development strategy for offshore Adriatic E&P, a presentation of the development strategy for E&P of Romania’s Romgaz by the company’s Director of Exploration and Production, Mr. Dan Paul Stefanescu, as well as a presentation on Hellenic Petroleum’s upstream activities and the resurgence of the Greek E&P, by the company’s General Manager for Exploration & Production, Mr. Yannis Grigoriou.

Opening the 2^nd session, which will focus on "New Frontiers - Emerging Market and Trends”, a keynote address will be delivered by Mr. Patrick Larkin, Senior Advisor to Secretary General of the Energy Charter Secretariat, on "Creating and Energy Master Plan for South East Europe”. "Rapid field development planning and lifecycle costing using QUE$TOR”, will be the subject of the presentation by Mr. Anastasis Kokkinos, Director of Esanda Engineering, followed by a speech by Mr. Julius Walker, Senior Consultant ofJBC Energy, on the challenges and opportunities of SE Europe's downstream sector in a lower oil price environment.

The 3^rd and last session of the Conference’s opening day will concentrate on the issue of regulation, which is a key for the development of the region’s energy resources. A discussion between regulators, including Dr. Nektaria Karakatsani , Member of the Board of Greece’s Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE), and Mr. Niculae Havrilet, the President of ANRE,Romania’s Regulator, chaired by Mr. Andrew Costin, President of Petroleum Club of Romania, will attempt to outline a strategy for co-operation between regulators in different countries and the way that regulation forms the fuel types and generation choices being pursued.

Parallel to the Conference, the Global Oil & Gas Exhibition provides an important platform for stakeholders in the region to showcase their products and services. Meeting existing and future customers face-to-face is now more important than ever. The exhibition will give the participants the opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and create new ones, see new technological developments and innovations, discuss future business andlearn more about the market. ( Opening hours: 28- 29 September, 10.00 ‐ 17.30).