Algeria and LNG 16

In April I was fortunate enough to be able to attend LNG 16 in Oran. LNG conferences are known to be the who’s who of the gas industry and as part of my market focus I was very excited to be going.
As you can imagine, my first concern was the eruption of a volcano in Iceland the day before my travel. I am lucky enough to live in Madrid, and so took a quick jump to Alicante and a flight from Alicante direct to Oran. I arrived two hours late, giving me time to savour the olives available in the lounge!
From touch-down in Oran airport the whole event was fantastically organised. We were shuttled to a separate terminal to be rushed through immigration, before a group of pleasant hosts and hostesses guided us to our transport. Mine took me to the bank to help me change my Euros into local currency, then escorted me to my hotel bus. I tried to tip but she refused. I sat on the bus until the rest of my hotel contingent joined (we were about 6 people) – then our police escort joined us! We were guided by 4 police motorbikes to our hotel.
My journey was a breeze compared to other people – one senior manager from a well known EPC flew from Houston to Japan to Dubai to Senegal to Algiers to Oran – he was obviously keen to attend!
The conference in general had a 25% turn out which I found helpful – most of my Northern European and US based competition couldn’t attend, leaving senior management (basically those who have no problems changing flights) unharrased and with time to talk. I managed to achieve more business than usual.
Oran itself turned out to be a surprise – I felt welcomed and at home. I was invited out for diner by some locals who just wanted to dispel Oran’s unfair international reputation. I went night clubbing and saw the sights. I managed to attend two tours, one of the city and castle led by a guide called Souad (organised by LNG16). We enjoyed another police escort (so avoided traffic jams) and spent about 2 and a half hours visiting and learning about the historic sights. My second tour was organised by Fatima who was working on the Repsol stand. She guided me around town and the shopping sights in a one-to-one tour, for which I am extremely grateful, enabling me to buy presents for my family. Again, no one would accept tips. The guides just wanted to show people Oran, it’s history and it’s people.
So, would I go there again? I am planning on it. Is there work there? Yes. There are many major companies with operations in Algeria, including GDF, Repsol, BG and many more of TRS’s clients.