SINGAPORE, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The 33rd Annual Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC 2017), a leading oil and gas conference in the pan-Asian region, opened here on Monday.
With a theme of "where global markets meet," the three-day event is organized by the S&P Global Platts and jointly supported by International Enterprise Singapore and China Petroleum Procurement Federation of Independent Refineries.
The organizer says the APPEC 2017 will attract some 400 delegates from about 50 countries around the world this year, who will discuss the global oil industry's most critical issues, such as the industry's supply, demand and trading outlook.
Mohammed Barkindo, secretary general of OPEC, made an address through a video played at the APPEC 2017 pre-conference.
He said that OPEC welcomes more opportunities to engage with buyers from the Asia-Pacific region.
According to the secretary general, crude oil exports from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region will increase between 2016 and 2040 from 14.5 million barrels a day to 22 million barrels a day.
"For the foreseeable future, we can count on the Asia-Pacific region to be the primary outlet for OPEC and Middle Eastern export barrels," he said.
