Taking place in Caracas from 22–25 February 2027, VEW comes at a significant point for bp’s activities in the country. In April 2026, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Venezuelan Government covering the development of the Cocuina-Manakin gas field, which straddles the maritime border between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, while also opening discussions around opportunities in the offshore Loran gas field and other exploration areas.

The agreement marked bp’s renewed entry into Venezuela and builds on the company’s long-standing presence in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago. bp operates the Manakin portion of the cross-border field, while the Venezuelan Cocuina section forms part of the country’s undeveloped Deltana Platform. The company has said it is pursuing development of the field with the potential to bring more than 1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas into Trinidad for LNG production.

Momentum around the project continued through 2026. In August, Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company (NGC) agreed to acquire a 20% participating interest in the Manakin portion of the field from bp, strengthening the cross-border commercial structure around the development. bp and NGC have also agreed to market 70% of the project’s gas to Atlantic LNG, where bp holds a 45% stake alongside Shell, with the remaining gas intended for petrochemical use. A final investment decision is expected by the end of 2026.

The developments place bp at the intersection of Venezuela’s emerging offshore gas opportunity and Trinidad and Tobago’s efforts to strengthen gas supply for its LNG and petrochemical industries. They also demonstrate how Venezuela’s offshore resources could increasingly connect into established regional energy infrastructure and markets.

bp’s interest extends beyond Cocuina-Manakin. Its April 2026 agreement also covered exploration opportunities in the Loran gas field, estimated at around 7 tcf, alongside potential collaboration on gas commercialization. In June, Venezuela signed agreements with Shell to advance Phase I of Loran, while bp was identified as a prospective participant in both Loran and the neighboring Cocuina-Manakin project.

For Venezuela, the activity comes amid a broader reopening of the sector to international energy companies and renewed efforts to develop offshore gas resources, attract capital and technical expertise, and establish new routes to market. VEW 2027 will bring together government representatives, PDVSA, international operators, investors, service companies and technology providers to examine these opportunities across the value chain.

As a Gold Sponsor, bp will have a platform at the event to engage with stakeholders shaping Venezuela’s next phase of energy development and share its perspective on offshore gas, cross-border projects, gas commercialization and regional energy security.

With Cocuina-Manakin progressing and Loran emerging as another major offshore opportunity, bp’s participation will bring its experience in developing cross-border gas resources and connecting them to regional markets into discussions at VEW 2027.

VEW is Organized by Energy Capital & Power and taking place under the patronage of Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, PDVSA and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons.

On ships, storage tanks, bridges, and other large steel structures, manual coating often struggles with harmful particles, high paint loss, and reliance on the painter’s skill. The HighMate AP-F-CO Coating Robot+VOC Recovery System handle exactly that. It attaches by permanent magnet, adapts to curvatures as tight as a 3m radius, and carries two spray nozzles with spacing, and travel speed. The flexibility supports even coating that avoids defects like orange peel and sagging, with overspray kept nearly negligible, at a production rate of 300 to 500 square meters per hour. The robot also features a recovery system that collects overspray of the paint during operation, keeping the worksite clean and reducing environmental impact.

The company also demonstrated the HighMate AP Ex Series (https://apo-opa.co/4zn1wR5), an ATEX Zone 1-certified robot with a universal magnetic carrier and interchangeable hydro blasting, cleaning, coating, and abrasive blasting modules delivering 40+ m²/h with over 99% wastewater recovery. Rounding out the display were the C20 Cargo Hold Cleaning Robot (https://apo-opa.co/3VzHBQ0), built for confined cargo-hold spaces, and the HighMate Ultra Series Surface Preparation Robot (https://apo-opa.co/4yZkcWH), whose flexible four-wheel magnetic crawler adapts to complex curved surfaces like ship hulls.

“We’re excited to show how the HighMate Series is taking on more demanding work in industrial settings,” said Dr. Hua-Yang Xu, Founder and CEO of RobotPlusPlus. “With the HighMate AP-F-CO Coating Robot +VOC Recovery System entering international markets for the first time, RobotPlusPlus looks forward to bringing more automation and efficiency to work in high-risk environments.”

FAIRFAX, United States of America, September 28, 2026/APO Group/ –The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, has issued a call for entries for the 2027 (eighth annual) Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards (www.MENA.StevieAwards.com), sponsored by the RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry (www.RAKChamber.ae). Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at https://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards are the region’s only awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace in all its forms. The awards are open to all organizations within 17 nations in the MENA region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

All individuals and organizations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – may submit any number of nominations to any number of award categories.

There are no entry fees in this awards program. Organizations may submit as many nominations as they would like, without cost. Instead, organizations named as temporary Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners can choose to pay a “winners fee” for each successful nomination to maintain their Stevie winner status.

Nominations may be submitted online through two entry deadlines. Winning nominations submitted by the first deadline, 29 October 2026, will qualify for reduced winners’ fees. The second and final entry deadline is 26 November 2026.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be publicly announced on 18 February 2027. Winners will be celebrated during an awards banquet in April 2027, with the date and location to be confirmed.

New for the 2027 Competition

The 2027 competition features many new and expanded categories across artificial intelligence, apps, events, websites, achievement, company and organization, communications, human resources, management, marketing, new products and services, social media, sustainability, and technology.

Nominations citing innovative achievements will be accepted and judged in both Arabic and English, in more than 150 categories across the following category groups:

• AI Innovation
• Apps & Websites
• Achievements
• Annual Reports & Other Publications
• Company/Organization
• Corporate Communications & Public Relations
• Customer Service
• Human Resources
• Individual Professionals
• Live & Virtual Events
• Management
• Marketing
• New Products & Services
• Public Sector Innovators
• Social Media
• Sustainability
• Technology
• Videos
• Thought Leadership

Winners of the 2026 edition with multiple Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards include Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority, Abu Dhabi Housing Authority, ADNEC Services, ADNOC Drilling, Al Dhafra Region Municipality, Batı Anadolu Group of Companies, Byrne Equipment Rental, Capital 360 Event Experiences, CarrefourSA, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, Dubai Customs, Eastern Health Cluster, Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE), Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, FLO Group, GSTC, Hail Region Municipality, National Partnerships and Capacity Development Agency – Ministry of Culture, NMDC Energy, Ooredoo Kuwait, Qatar Foundation, Qatar Vision Production Company, Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON), Saudi German Health UAE, TCS Dubai, Tosyalı Holding, Türkiye Sigorta, Ülker Bisküvi Sanayi A.Ş., and VakıfBank, among others.

The 2027 competition will be judged by more than 150 professionals around the world. Those who wish to apply to participate on one of the juries may do so at https://apo-opa.co/46PF9av