Agenda item

DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Councillors Dean, Fletcher, Ironside, Malone, Milne, Reynolds, Jennifer Stewart and Kirsty West declared interests in the following item of business as members of the Board of Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre. None of the members felt it necessary to leave the meeting during the Council’s deliberations.

The Council had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which sought approval to co-organise a conference in Aberdeen in December 2010 on opportunities for companies in the unconventional oil and gas sector.

The report highlighted that there was significant and burgeoning global industry interest in the unconventional oil and gas sector, and that, to date, Aberdeen had not sought to exploit this for the benefit of local companies. The report explained that unconventional oil and gas referred to tight gas, shale gas, coal bed methane and heavy oil, produced or extracted using techniques other than the traditional oil well method. The report added that unconventional methods of extracting hydrocarbons were experiencing unprecedented growth worldwide due to increasing scarcity of conventional supplies, increasing global demand over the long-term and security of supply issues often related to geopolitical factors such as gas supply routes.

The report proposed that a two day conference on the unconventional gas market be held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on 1^st and 2^nd December 2010. The event would showcase the latest and forthcoming developments in unconventional oil and gas in the three key geographical areas of Eastern Europe, North America and Australia. The report advised that the event was being held in partnership with the Industry Technology Facilitator, a not for profit organisation owned by 23 major global operators and service companies, however in order to proceed with the conference booking, it was necessary to underwrite the event in case of unforeseen circumstances leading to late cancellation. This cost could range from £15,990, if cancelled prior to 1^st September, to a maximum of £27,480, depending on the date of cancellation.

The report emphasised that cancellation of the event was low risk, whereas based on the initial response obtained from potential sponsors and the level of interest from key industry groups, it was believed that there was a greater than 80% probability of a profit being made from the event. If, as was expected, the event generated a profit, the report proposed that the total net sum be reinvested in trade development activities in the unconventional oil and gas sector for the benefit of the Aberdeen economy.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)              approve the Council’s involvement, as detailed in the report, in organising a conference in December 2010 on opportunities for companies in the unconventional oil and gas sector;

(b)              approve the Council’s underwriting of the conference, as detailed in the report, up to a maximum value of £27,480 in the event of cancellation; and

(c)               approve the reinvestment of any profit from the event in trade development activities related to the unconventional oil and gas sector, for the benefit of the Aberdeen economy.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.