By Sarah El Safty and Jana Choukeir
DUBAI, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Several top energy executives were dropped from the schedule of the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh, as Saudi authorities pressed ahead with the event despite deadly attacks on the capital claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
The chief executives of ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell, Chevron and BP had all been expected at the event, which began on Sunday, but were no longer on the agenda that conference organisers released early Monday.
“To everyone who travelled to Riyadh, thank you,” said Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who opened Monday’s session of the gathering for energy policy and industry.
“You know this country is safe and that we hold your protection at whole heart…Our gathering here does not mean the risk is gone.”
Prince Abdulaziz said the events of recent weeks were serious and that the kingdom’s response must be “equally serious”.
The strikes are a blow to Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion-dollar programme to diversify the economy away from oil, modernise society and position the kingdom as an investment and tourism hub.
Hosting international events is a priority of the programme, which was already facing delays and recalibrations. Prince Abdulaziz said the kingdom must remain focused on the decades ahead and Vision 2030 must continue.
The WPC Energy Congress was originally scheduled for April of this year, but was postponed after the US and Israeli war on Iran began in late February. Saudi Arabia was named host in October 2022, the first time the event, first held in Britain in 1933, has been held in the kingdom.
Chief executives of major energy companies are a regular fixture at WPC Energy events and had been scheduled to speak on stage this week about global oil and gas markets, energy security and the energy transition.
A BP spokesperson said the company had “made every effort to participate” in the conference. “Unfortunately, due to travel disruption we are unable to be there in person. We greatly value our long-standing partnerships across the region.”
Shell declined to comment and TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Chevron did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The WPC Energy Congress is taking place this week at a conference centre some 10 kilometres (6 miles) from Riyadh’s international airport, which has been attacked four times in the last week.
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a new attack on the airport on Sunday evening, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Sarah El Safty in Dubai; Additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Shadia NasrallaWriting by Andrew MillsEditing by Andrew Heavens, Peter Graff)
