By Nasser Al-Ajmi SALALAH, Since its inception in March 2013 in Kuwait, the GCC Petroleum Media Forum has continuously achieved success across various Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), this year, the forum will be in Oman.
The 5th GCC Petroleum Media Forum would be starting on Wednesday in Oman, hosted under the auspices of Oman Undersecretary for the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Mohsen bin Hamad Al-Hadrami, under the title “Petroleum Media for the Gulf Countries… Enabling Communication and Enhancing Understanding.” The event would witness the participation of energy ministries, agencies and companies from all the GCC member states, alongside entities and individuals involved in media and communication.
The forum presents a valuable opportunity to discuss topics related to petroleum media, including the role of media outlets in shaping a comprehensive strategy for the sector, highlighting the significance of oil revenues in driving economic and social development within the GCC, and emphasizing enviro
nmental considerations.
It will evaluate the relationship between the media and the petroleum sector in the GCC, underscoring the media’s role in promoting and strengthening petroleum culture across various social segments.
The forum seek to reinforce the role of media in advancing development objectives within the GCC and addressing misconceptions that may hinder progress and serves as a bridge to convey accurate information from officials to media personnel and, subsequently, the public.
Hosted in Salalah, in the Governorate of Dhofar, the forum aims to enhance the role of GCC media in supporting energy sector issues and keeping the media updates on the latest developments in the industry to counter misinformation and misconceptions surrounding oil and gas.
This event would provide a platform for dialogue between media professionals and experts, fostering discussions on relevant topics and sharing experiences to strengthen the community’s connections to “petroleum culture” amidst the spread of inaccurat
e information.
Key discussions would focus on the oil, gas and new energy sectors, aligning with global and local trends, and exploring the media’s role in energy matters, the challenges faced by the petroleum sector in producing countries, energy transitions, emission reduction, and the unified petroleum media for GCC nations.
The first session of the 5th forum would be discussing and highlighting critical topics, such as the role of gas in the global economy, optimizing the use of petroleum resources through downstream industries, optimizing the use of petroleum resources, and sustaining global oil and gas marketing efforts, the session would also feature contributions from Mohammad Al-Shatti, Kuwait’s Governor to OPEC and National Representative to OPEC, among other speakers from the GCC.
The second session would be addressing future trends in the oil and gas sector, training the younger generations to create specialized media content for the industry, the challenges faced by media in energy issues in o
il-producing countries, the importance of enhancing the skills of petroleum media professionals, and cooperation among GCC states in promoting oil as a global energy resource and countering opposing narratives.
A workshop would be held that focuses on media’s role in raising awareness of energy’s importance, influencing consumer behavior to conserve energy, utilizing social media for energy topics, supporting energy transitions, and highlighting key investment opportunities in renewable energy projects for the GCC.
The concept of a petroleum media strategy was first proposed by Kuwait during a Petroleum Cooperation Committee in Doha in 2008, Kuwait presented a paper on the impact of petroleum media in the GCC, emphasizing the media’s role in guiding public opinion given petroleum status as a strategic commodity and a primary energy source essential to the GCC and global economies.
During its 29th meeting in Kuwait in October 10, 2010, the GCC Petroleum Cooperation Committee resolved to prepare a petroleum
media strategy which, later, received approval during the 31st meeting in Riyadh on October 9, 2012, leading to the inaugural Petroleum Media Forum in Kuwait in March 2013.
Organized once every two years, under the auspices of the GCC General Secretariat, the forum is an initiative of the GCC Petroleum and Gas Committee, aimed at strengthening collaboration between petroleum media organizations within GCC ministries, national companies, and local and international media.
The forum was first held in Kuwait, with Riyadh hosting the second, Abu Dhabi the third, and Dubai the fourth during the GCC Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, as part of efforts to implement the GCC Petroleum Media Strategy and enhance the capabilities of specialized media personnel in accurately portraying the petroleum sector.
The 5th forum was anticipated to gain momentum and drive progress within the GCC, held in Oman – a country committed to sustainable energy projects and experiencing significant investment growth in this area under the l
eadership of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, whose efforts in supporting the energy sector were widely recognized.
Source : Kuwait News Agency