WASHINGTON, DC. August 30. KAZINFORM. 15th Kazakhstan International Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference to be held October 2- 5, 2007 Kazakhstan’s leading oil and gas industry exhibition and conference, KIOGE, celebrates its 15th Anniversary in October 2007. The event continues to reflect the industry’s growing interest in the Kazakh market with a record 600 companies exhibiting at Almaty’s Atakent Exhibition Centre. The Conference, held at the Intercontinental Almaty Hotel is likely to again attract over 1,000 delegates. The 600 exhibiting companies come from 32 countries and will include 10 ‘National Stands’. 120 companies are exhibiting for the first time and 40% of all exhibitors come from outside the CIS. KIOGE is attended by the biggest names in the global oil and gas industry and the Platinum Sponsor of KIOGE 2007 is Chevron. Throughout its history, the event has been supported by Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan and JSC National Company ‘КаzМunaiGas’. The Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources, Mr Baktikozha Izmukhambetov and KazMunaiGas President, Mr Uzakbai Karabalin, will open KIOGE this year. The exhibition will benefit from additional space in 2007 with the new Pavilion (10-B) being erected in time for the start of the event. This takes the size of the KIOGE exhibition to a total of 22,000sq m, a massive 15,000 sq m more than at the same event in 2000. The KIOGE Exhibition and Conference is the focal point of a week long programme of events that attract the biggest gathering of oil and gas industry professionals in the country. This includes pre-conference work-shop, technical seminars, corporate presentations, hosted lunch meetings, drinks receptions, Gala Dinner Evenings, even a Golf Day. A popular addition to KIOGE has been the Job Fair that was first featured in 2006. There is a huge amount of pressure on the job market for skilled and experienced workers in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas industry and the Job Fair brings together prospective candidates with participating companies who are looking to recruit additional staff. This year’s Conference will include three days of presentations and debate that will explore Kazakhstan’s growing importance in the global petroleum industry; key projects, players and prospects; investment opportunities in the petroleum sector; global markets and oil and gas transportation issues. KIOGE’s International Conference Director, Matthew Moss commented. “A combination of favourable market conditions and the careful management of a successful exhibition and conference are helping to generate considerable momentum for KIOGE. The first week in October is now firmly established as an important date not just for the Kazakh oil and gas sector but the global industry as a whole,” Kazinform quotes News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada.