The World Petroleum Congress (WPC) start this week has been disrupted by the fear for and the travel restrictions due to the Omicron variant of coronavirus with many participants bowing out.
On Sunday, WPC officials said that eight energy ministers which are from Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Argentina, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Turkey, and Romania had chosen to opt out from attending.
CEOs of oil giants BP, Sonatrach, and Qatar Energy also withdrew.
According to a spokesperson, the conference will proceed and replacements for some speakers are being sought.
Initially, the conference session on Monday was set to start with executives from Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Saudi Aramco, Equinor, and TotalEnergies elaborating on their approaches to the world's shift from fossil fuels.
On Tuesday, OPEC General-Secretary Mohammad Barkindo is due to deliver his remarks remotely due to travel restrictions.
