UP to 500 delegates will be attending a major energy conference in East Anglia next month to discuss how the region is establishing itself as a global centre for the industry.

The East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) SNS2013 Sea of Opportunity Conference will look not only at local supply chain opportunities but how the wind power and gas resources are persuading worldwide companies to consider opening bases in the region.

Among those already doing that is Fred. Olsen United, whose managing director, Torgeir Ramstad, will be among the keynote speakers at the conference, alongside representatives from international names such as Alstom, GDF Suez, Shell ONEgas, Perenco, and ScottishPower.

Simon Gray, chief executive of EEEGR, said: “We know many major energy players are impressed at the skills, expert knowledge and resources here and inward investment is a key part of EEEGR’s portfolio

“Speakers will focus not just on the potential growth of windpower but underline that we are nowhere near the end of the road for the SNS (Southern North Sea) gas sector, as many had predicted.”

Although decommissioning will be a topic for the conference, even more attention will be on asset management to extend the lives of gas fields and infrastructure to extract many remaining pockets far into the foreseeable future.

It is an area where developing technology plays a significant role and another session of the conference will focus on how the region’s innovation and inspiration are driving not only the energy sector into a new era but the wider industry world.

Much is based on the region’s research and development expertise of universities like UEA and Cranfield and centres of engineering excellence.

Holly Harvey-Perdicou, EEEGR events manager, said: “It is an exciting and rapidly developing time for the region, even though inevitably there will be many reminders at conference that cost-efficiency is the underlying essential for the industry to progress and succeed.

“All the ingredients are there and there is no doubt that the East of England is becoming a global leader in a wide range of energies. The conference will reveal just how many people and businesses want to be part of it.”

The two-day conference, supported by the European Regional Development Fund Programme, is at the Royal Norfolk Showground, just outside Norwich, on March 5 and 6 and will include an exhibition of 80-plus stands. For more information visit www.eeegr.com .