MANAMA, 3 March 2004 — At a time of controversy over Middle East supplies of oil and gas, about 1,200 industry experts will meet here from March 7-10 to focus on technical prospects for exploration and production. The Bahrain government has extended a special welcome to this biennial event which first took place in 1994. Over 300 technical papers will be presented by geoscientists and petroleum engineers from the region’s national oil companies and top international exploration companies.