Leading companies from the largest oil producing region outside OPEC, the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS, will be increasing their presence at this year’s Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, ADIPEC, targeting the event as a hub for global deal-makers.

Two of Russia’s biggest oil and gas companies, Lukoil and Gazprom, have each confirmed substantial exhibition areas, with CEOs and other top-level decision makers leading their company delegations and taking part in strategic conference panels. They will be the biggest names among more than 30 Russian companies attending, many of them hosted at a Russian pavilion covering almost 600 square metres of exhibition floor space, almost six times the size of last year’s 105 square metre pavilion.

They will be joined by resource owners from other CIS members, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, as well as by oilfield services companies from the region. Based in countries that were once part of the Soviet Union, they will be using ADIPEC as a gateway to international expansion.

"Russia is among the top 10 countries of the world in terms of oil reserves, and this has supported the growth of a highly sophisticated petroleum industry, from exploration and production, through to oilfield technology and services, transit, refining, distribution, and sales," said Lukoil President, Vagit Alekperov. "Russian companies are now actively expanding their international operations, and ADIPEC offers them access to global partnerships, including for new resources, new markets, and new investment."

Alongside the big oil and gas producers, other well-known industry names attending ADIPEC include SCADTech, Revalve, Intra, Transneft Diascan, OZNA, GazNefteMash, and PTPA. The Skolkovo innovation, science and technology cluster, based just outside Moscow, will also be an exhibitor.

Stretching from the edge of Europe into Central Asia and across Siberia into the Russian Far East, oil and gas projects in the CIS area have already attracted substantial investment from multinationals. Alongside the Western oil majors and supermajors, the region features a strong presence from other parts of Asia. Companies working in the region include Petronas from Malaysia, China National Petroleum Corporation, Korea National Oil Corporation, and ITOCHU and INPEX from Japan.

As the industry moves beyond resource extraction, local NOCs and private oil companies are using their assets to move deeper into midstream and downstream sectors, as well as expanding beyond their borders.

Russia’s three largest operators lead this transformation. Rosneft, Lukoil and Gazprom now hold exploration, production and processing operations across the CIS and beyond, from Latin America to the North Sea, and from Africa to India and Southeast Asia. They have made significant investments in the MENA region, including in Iraq, Egypt and Libya, and are negotiating for projects in other countries. Lukoil has expressed interest in Abu Dhabi’s offshore leases when these are extended from 2018.

"ADIPEC is an essential destination for global oil and gas companies, so it makes sense that the big companies from the CIS come here," said Ali Khalifa Al Shamsi, Al Yasat CEO and ADIPEC 2017 Chairman.

"We are located at the heart of the world’s most important oil and gas suppliers, so the biggest international customers, service companies, and investors, all come to ADIPEC, and they all bring their most senior people. We have a very strong presence from Asian markets, from India to China. ADIPEC is an opportunity to reach all of these of these markets and find new partners around the globe. Most importantly, the people who network at ADIPEC are the decision makers and they are here to do business."

For companies from the CIS, partnerships to be found in Abu Dhabi can help drive the next evolution of their global business. While mainly driven by economic factors, diplomatic and political concerns are also motivating Russian businesses to look away from the United States or European Union. Cooperation with Asian partners, and with China in particular, is the most immediate priority.

China’s ambitious ‘New Silk Road’ project will improve trade links through Central Asia, with massive investment in new East-West land transport corridors passing through China, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan, as well as Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. The plan aims to revive the importance of historic overland links between East Asia and Europe, while also improving cross-border trade and investment between countries along the route.

For petroleum industries, new pipelines currently under construction between Russia and China are projected to add an extra 15 million tonnes of oil and 38 billion cubic metres of natural gas into the Chinese market per year. They are being built by ADIPEC-sponsor, the China National Petroleum Corporation. CNPC has oil and gas operations in all the main CIS producer nations, across the Middle East, and both North and Sub-Saharan Africa among its global operations, involved in production, oilfield services, and construction.

"Business and trade links across the region are extremely dynamic, and oil and gas businesses are highly interconnected," said Christopher Hudson, President – Global Energy at dmg events. "When you look at recent deals, CNPC has signed a group of agreements with both Rosneft and Gazprom this year, covering upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. That’s why ADIPEC is so important. It provides a time and place each year where the giants of oil and gas come together, whether they are the established supermajors of the West or the emerging powers of the East."

To be held under the theme, ‘Forging Ties, Driving Growth’, ADIPEC 2017 is expected to host more than 10,000 delegates, 2,200 exhibiting companies, 900 speakers, and in excess 100,000 visitors from 135 countries.

ADIPEC will be held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from 13th to 16th November, 2017.