By: Thandisizwe Mgudlwa – AfricanBrains

It’s the premier Oil and Gas forum where the leaders in these industries deliberate on the going-ons while building on for Africa’s promising future.

Now in it’s 5^th year the Oil and Gas Africa 2012 Conference shows signs of growing into a world renowned event with exhibitions, seminars, workshops, courses of internationally accepted standards.

So these industrialist and business professionals came down to the most Southern tip of Africa in South Africa’s Cape Town, to once again bounce some thoughts around of how to spread the wealth, from oil and gas for the benefit of all.

The event started on Tuesday and is to end Thursaday March 15.

As the organizer’s have put it: “Attending the Oil and Gas Africa 2012 Conference offers you the opportunity to participate in the resurgence of the Western Cape (South African province) as well as new emerging markets.

“Use the event as a networking platform to strengthen participants current investments and contacts, to view many companies advanced technologies and expertise in the company of a highly selected audience gathered to attend the event from around the globe.

“The conference is designed to assist international partners and suppliers to develop & expand the supply of existing services and infrastructure that include rig maintenance and repair, engineering, marine, logistics and industrial services.

“This event also provides the opportunity over a two or three day period for participants to interact with their peers, to network on a formal or informal basis with them or suppliers, as well as to listen to experts in their fields updating them on further opportunities in this market.

With John Thomson, Managing Director of co-organisers Exhibition Management Services adds that: “While the continent’s growing importance as a new source of Crude Oil is attracting an increasing number of Afro-centric oil industry meetings and conferences, our event, OIL & GAS AFRICA , now in its fourth year, is still the largest and only Engineering Supply Chain exhibition. Previous events have delivered over 12000 visitors attending from 34 countries. With the ongoing discoveries being made on Africa’s West Coast Oilfields and increasing numbers of operators working there, we expect the attendance to increase significantly at our 2012 event.

Anton Botes, Leader, Oil & Gas Industry, Deloitte & Touche, Southern Africa commented during the Developing Africa session that: The demand for energy is growing world-wide. That includes Africa as well.

“The race for equity oil is on – driven by the developing East notably China and India. Then the goal is to make oil and gas work for all.

While Paul Runge, Conference Director and Managing Director of Africa Project Access remarks: “This, the 5th OIL & GAS AFRICA Exhibition and Conference, is of particular significance in that it will provide an opportunity to interact with African national independent oil companies from Ghana, Nigeria and elsewhere. The rise of these private African oil companies in the upstream and midstream sectors is a new and interesting phenomenon providing an important new client base for suppliers.”