Offshore Middle East 2015 event cancelled

Offshore Middle East, one of the region’s premier Oil and Gas Industry exhibitions and conferences has been cancelled, it was confirmed today.

Due to be held in Doha from January 26 to 28, two weeks before the event, organisers PennWell Corporation issued a statement on the official event website confirming that host sponsor Qatar Petroleum (QP) was withdrawing its support and participation.

“Without Qatar Petroleum’s endorsement and full participation in the Offshore Middle East Conference,” said the statement. “It is impossible for PennWell to hold the Offshore Middle East Conference in accordance with the laws of Qatar.

“Given this situation, PennWell has no choice but to make the decision to cancel the Offshore Middle East Conference. We sincerely regret the short notice however this was due to circumstances beyond our control. We hope to welcome you at another Offshore Middle East in the future.”

The cancellation comes on the back of the cancellation of another high profile event and conference in Qatar, Interiors Qatar, which was schedule for early February but cancelled in early January. A related event, the Qatar Design Awards, was also cancelled yesterday, it has been reported.

It is not known at the time of writing the causes of these cancellations nor whether they will in fact occur at some later date.