Middle East Energy Sector celebrates at Oil Barons' Ball in Dubai

Oil Barons’ Ball, one of the Middle East’s most prestigious oil and gas industry social gatherings, celebrated its third anniversary recently on the lawns of Dubai’s Nad Al Sheba Golf and Racing Club.

More than 1,500 senior oil and gas decision makers from around the Middle East and many of the service industries supplying the sectors attended.

The event was given the thumbs up by its Platinum sponsor, City of Arabia developers Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari of IMGG.

“The Ball was great fun and was evidently appreciated by the oil industry. It was a grand occasion too that will continue to grow in the oil field services industry and become a real institution,” said Anthony Harris, IMGG spokesperson.

“There is clearly a community there doing mainly unsung work. The Ball fulfills a need in recognizing what they do. It is easy to forget in Dubai and the UAE that without the oil and gas industry, nothing much would happen here.”

City of Arabia, a mega residential and commercial project in the heart of Dubailand, used its sponsorship opportunity to put its brand in front of one of its key target markets.

The Ball witnessed the crowning of Halliburton’s Frank Rooney as the Middle East’s 2005 Oil Baron after a peer voting programme via Pipeline magazine, the monthly publication for the Middle East’s oil and gas sectors. Rooney was driven in a Cadillac to the stage where he received his award.

Topping the bill for the evening was a performance from Motown’s ‘Viscount Oliver’s Legendary Four Tops’ who were supported by the amazing charisma and personality of local band ‘Blue Light’.

BBC World presenter Nima Abu Wardeh was the Ball’s M.C.

The Oil Barons’ Ball is backed by the International Association of Drilling Contractors, the Project Management Institute and the Regional Clean Seas Organisation (RECSO).

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