SHARJAH, 23 August 2005 — More than $90 billion will be invested in the oil and gas infrastructure sector in the Gulf region over the next five years, according to a top official of the Regional Clean Sea Organization (Resco), an oil and shipping industry cooperative. Resco aims to protect the region’s marine resources from oil pollution and its chairman is calling for more vigilant maritime eco-control.
Resco Chairman Khamis J. Bu Amim was speaking in advance of his scheduled address at Middle East Money & Ships, the region’s conference for maritime financiers, insurers, lawyers, banks and investors, being held in Dubai from Dec.12, 2005.
“With an increase in urban sea development, land reclamation and oil and gas exploration, protecting the maritime environment should be a major priority and not taken lightly,” he said. “The water we consume, the electricity we use and the fish we eat, all come from the sea. Not maintaining it could lead to serious consequences,” he warned.
Bu Amim said that one of the major challenges is getting organizations to understand the long-term benefits of protecting Gulf waters. “Taking the environment into consideration could reduce the short-term profit margin, but we must develop our capacity to create long-term solutions for the sustainable use of the sea. “As global demand for oil grows, the world will turn increasingly to the Gulf as its major supplier and it’s vital we meet this requirement while maintaining seas that are safe, clean, healthy and productive,” he said.
Resco has been involved in raising environmental awareness throughout the Gulf for more than three decades.
