The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has postponed its 8th International Seminar until next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The seminar, originally scheduled for 16-17 June 2021, will now be held on 29-30 June 2022 at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, Austria.
The postponement comes as travel restrictions remain in place in many countries and lockdown measures complicate the logistics of planning major international events.
The seminar’s last edition in 2018 attracted a record of more than 950 participants from over 50 nations, around 80 speakers, 60 ministers and CEOs, 19 sponsors, 20 exhibitors, and 170 journalists, analysts and photographers.
OPEC Secretary General, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, said: “The OPEC International Seminar is regarded as one of the premier events on the world energy calendar and the decision to postpone follows very close consultations with many stakeholders, including our Member Countries. Though this was not an easy decision to make, our utmost priority is the safety and health of all participants,” a statement from OPEC said.
The seminar’s participants customarily include Ministers from OPEC Member Countries, countries participating in the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’, and other oil-producing and oil-consuming nations; heads of international organizations; chief executives of national and international oil companies; along with other industry leaders, academics, analysts, energy experts and journalists from specialised media.
OPEC has held seminars since 1969 and the first in the current series of International Seminars took place in 2001. Over subsequent decades, the OPEC Seminar has increased in size and scope, covering topics such as the world economy, global finance, energy cooperation and the transition, sustainable development and the environment.
