WELCOMING SPEECH:

It is my great pleasure to invite you again to the »LPG Cefta Congress«, as the LPG Conference for CEFTA countries is being affectionally called among it's participants. Again the conference will be taking it's place in Belgrade, which has now become a traditional place for business gathering and following latest trends in various business areas, not only LPG but also beyond.

Growing interest for our business gathering is being noted every year, as proven by a continually rising number of participants and business visitors as well as exhibitors. Our Conference is known across the Europe by it's uniqueness as well as being a place of learning for young and upcoming generations of students, which can this way experience a fi rst contact with regional and international business society. For this cause every year fi rst Conference day is designed for these young people.

Conference topics are increasingly going in direction of envifonmental protection and the role of LPG in today's world. In fact, climate changes occur relatively slow in comparison with certain time and geographical deviations that are leading from cause to effect. For this reason as estimated by scientists, most of the effects will last long after causes have dissapeared. Unlike some other environmental problems, these will affect the most sensitive parts of the world, and it will not necessarily be places with highest emission of harmful substances. It is estimated that by the end of this century effects of climate changes will cost the world up to 20% of world GDP on annual bases.

A damage that is already done to the environment can not just be mended and repaired, but on the other side we are looking at the source of a developing opportunity in terms of of new technologies that can contribute to opening new job positions and consequently improve quality of life.

Liquefi ed Petroleum Gas (Propane, Butane, LPG, TNG, GPL) is known as the cleanest fossil fuel due to lower CO2 emissions, but also because of its major benefi t for not releasing any kind of solid substances into the environment. LPG is a very fl exible energy source and can be used and combined with all renewable energy sorces, either as a main enegy source, either as a complement to the main source of energy.

That is why the topics of this year's Congress will be concerning exactly the above-mentioned advantages of propane-butane gas, including the corresponding legislation, which is in CEFTA countries unfortunately still very much behind the modern European practice, and is more than anything else, preventing further expansion of the use of LPG in various aspects of everyday life and work.

The Conference will talk about various marketing deviations, the so-called good practice in the countries which have become full members of the EU or they will soon become, how it can help countries that have yet begin the negotiation process to accelerate, at least in certain segments of the energy industry, the acceptance of Modern European regulations, etc.

With representatives of major oil companies in the region, we shall have an open debate on how they see the future operations under the European Directive 20-20 - 20, which will certainly be one of the most attractive topics of this year’s, 8th in the row, business meeting on LPG in the southeastern region of the European continent.

In Serbia, we will present for the fi rst time the performance of gas installation in tractors and other agricultural machinery, and heavy duty working machines, which were proven as the biggest polluters of the environment.

Last year brought us a large increase of LPG prices, which signifi cantly affected the consumption. In addition, most of the CEFTA countries has not yet emerged from economic crisis, or is still suffering it’s consequences.



The most important thing at this point is that all major companies engaged in LPG business have survived the crisis and they see the positive role of LPG in now more and more strict and demanding environmental regulations.

All these are reasons why again this year, we intend to set up new frontiers in number of participants and others who will be present at the Conference and exhibition of equipment and devices in the fi eld of LPG.

Also again this year, we are proud to offer a possibility to many students to see how are the themes of which they learn at universities applied in practice and everyday life, and be prepared to what awaits them after their student years.

At the end I can only say that Belgrade is still one of the best cities for a good party, which is very well known to anyone who participated any of our Conferences ...


Welcome to the 8th International Conference and Exhibition on LPG of the CEFTA member countries, which will be held from 16th to 18th of November 2011 at the »Tulip INN« hotel in Belgrade!

For the Organizing Committee:
Matjaž Burger, President