Italy and Malta Oil and Gas Summit in Rome: they can’t sell the seats despite the mega-attraction of Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona
Mr Sai Mizzi, Il-Guy, and Ramona Attard’s pocket-dog
Over the last few days, I have been receiving emails and messages from all sorts of business operators in Malta, in the entire spectrum of fields – nothing to do with oil and gas – who tell me that they have been contacted by telephone by the organisers of the Italy and Malta Oil and Gas Summit which will be held in Rome tomorrow under the distinguished patronage of Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona
It’s not a summit, but a conference – summits are for state leaders on matters of world or regional importance, not gatherings where people pay to sit and listen to speakers.
The organisers are obviously under huge pressure to sell places at the conference, which is sponsored by the ministries of Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona, and haven’t been able to do so – so they are literally scouring every trade directory and Malta Enterprise/Chamber of Commerce listing.
Here are just three of the emails I have received, of course with the senders’ details deleted.
———
Subject Line: The Italy and Malta Oil & Gas 2013 Summit
So desperate!
They are in such a panic to fill up the so called “ Italy and Malta Oil & Gas Oil Summit”
that they are now blanketing companies on Malta Enterprise’s books with personal phone requests to participate
in this meeting.
I just got a call from a Mr. Rizzo(?), an Italian, who claims he has been trying to reach me since Friday.
He had my exact name and details of my position as MD of the company.
Our company has absolutely nothing to do with the Oil and Gas Industry.
Regards
————
This one came in today – just a couple of days before the ‘summit’ is due to start.
Subject Line: Oil & gas summit in italy – weird phone call received today
I felt that I should email you today to inform you about an interesting call we received today at work. I am employed as a research analyst with a private market research company.
Basically, this morning a certain Francesco Rizzo from International Research Network, a company based in London, phoned asking to speak urgently with our managing director.
He sounded quite desperate and when I asked him whether he wished that I passed on a message to her, he said that he wanted to invite her to participate in the Malta-Italy gas & oil summit under the patronage of Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona. During this summit she would be able many potential clients.
When I asked him when and where it is going to be held, he said that it will be held this Wednesday in Rome. I informed him that less than than 2 days notice is very short notice and that she is usually booked at least two weeks.
His response was: “I know, I know. But please, please ask her to call me today either on my mobile or at office”. I found this to be very strange because this is not how usually such events are organised especially if guests have to fly to another country.
Kind regards,
———-
This is an email which another company received on 18 October, 12 days before the conference begins, and forwarded to this website.
Good Morning (first name included),
As discussed earlier, the Italy and Malta Oil and Gas Summit 2013 is an International Oil and Gas Conference, Exhibition and Networking event. The Summit will take place in Rome on the 30th – 31st October.
We are currently working with the Maltese government (Hon. Dr. Konrad Mizzi, Minister of energy – Hon. Dr. Christian Cardona, Minister of economy investment and small business – Dr. Albert Caruana from the Ministry for transport and infrastructures) and the most important Maltese companies in the Oil & Gas industry. The event focuses extensively on the oil and gas industry of the Italian and Maltese market on both Upstream and Downstream, as you can see from the brochure attached.
Some of the companies attending are: TGS, Osra, Spectrum, Schlumberger, Renco, Orlen Upstream, Ablecare, Aleanna Resources, Sullivan Shipping, Medserv, SGS Italy, Galea, Enemalta, Geosat Technology, ENI, Weatherford, Gasco, Liquigas Malta, Peterson, Ecopetrol, Garramone, Officine Dandrea, Galea Curmi Engineering, Shield Consultants, National Oil Corporation Libya, Ableman Oilfield Malta, Malta shipping and many more.
The website of the summit is http://www.italymaltasummit.com/.
Please let me know on Monday or Tuesday, since we close our bookings early next week.
My Best Regards,
Francesco Rizzo
Project Manager SEE
Mobile: +44 (0) 7741 741865
Tel: +44 (0) 207 490 4332
Fax: +44 (0) 207 183 7945
IRN /www.irn-international.com
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Haqq id-dinja! kieku kont naf kont immur.
Tinsiex li hemm coffee morning ta’ Silvio Parnis! Trid titilfu?
Xi dwejjaq, kollox ma’ kollox jigi.
Jiena l-coffee mornings ta’ Silvio qatt ma nitlifhom, nghid ghalija. Dak anke l-vjaggi fuq il-privates tieghu jorganizza, kollox b’xejn, ta.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1398409_10202227087139681_2100780001_o.jpg
Mur spjegalhom “due diligence” lil dawn.
Mhux ta’ b’xejn jirbah il-Lejber.
Bizzejjed, qed ngharaf lil ziti f’dak ir-ritratt!
Oil and Gas Summit: slippery characters full of hot air……..
“Ministry for transport and infrastructureS”. Gdida din.
I have heard that it is unlikely that Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona will be attending this conference. On the other hand, Joe Mizzi declared on radio last week that he will be attending the Rome conference, although he will not address the conference.
I wonder, will Joe Mizzi be incognito at this conference, just like when he boards Arriva buses here?
Another participant is Dr Albert Caruana, Head of the oil exploration division, who not only actively supported this conference but will also give a presentation.
Dr Caruana was placed Head of the oil division by George Pullicino last year. He even appeared on Net TV for all to see on the run up to the elections.
Notwithstanding, in March he was seen hugging Joe Mizzi in jubilation days after the Labour victory. Another turncoat.
A turncoat? Or a reminder of when Malta really was Taghna Lkoll?
The typical Maltese is a ‘facciol’. Just a few days ago we had the opening of the new premises of a company whose boss was in the front line in the Nationalist Party’s election campaign. He invited a Joseph and Co. for the occasion but not one from the opposition.
As far as i am aware, protocol dictates that you do not invite the Opposition to an office opening event. If anything they get a separate invitation to visit the office on a separate occasion… but again I stand to be corrected.
[Daphne – Private companies are not subject to protocol but to basic good manners, and so can ask whoever they like to their parties, the only requirement being that there is no person whose presence compromises anyone else or embarrasses them – e.g. a convicted criminal.]
Why would anyone in Malta pay to go to Rome to meet Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona when they can be openly accosted at weekly Labour junkets, for the price of a Malta Taghna Lkoll t-shirt, or “partnership, l-ahjar ghazla” flag?
Malta’s sale of passports will supposedly earn Malta 30 million euro.
But this is the same amount of Treasury money that Joe Mizzi spent (or wasted) on his pipedream Madonna taz-Zejt dry oil well in Kercem, Gozo, when he was minister in the Alfred Sant government (1996-1998).
Malta is like a restaurant with a new chef.
You try it out, find the food is crap, then you never go back.
But the restaurant keeps trying to get you to go back.
We received the phone call and email from Rizzo as well :)
We got a couple of phone calls from the same Francesco Rizzo at the audit firm where I work. We were not interested either.
The websites of at least one of those companies cited is not available. I wonder why.
Is Malta aspiring to become a “world leader” in the supply of gas to Europe in line or alliance with SOCAR’s South of Italy plans and priorities of the next five years?
http://ccee.ada.edu.az/selected_news/october_22_2013_-_socar_head_azerbaijani_president_sets_priorities_in_energy_sector_for_next_five_years.htm
The old Libya Malta pipeline proposal by certain private investors must have been revived, judging by the Libyan presence on the scene.
The phone numbers are in the UK. How much is this company costing to the Maltese taxpayer and do they get a commission for each participant they roll in?
Additionally, couldn’t they have organised it in-house? Are they so lacking in skills, networks and the basic know-how that this entails or so untrusting of those who do have the skills and experience?
All this is so messy and unprofessional, compounded on the basic tenet that it is simply not the way to hold such a gathering. Who on earth is advising them?
Taf x’naf nghid? Li ghandna kabinett li mohhom biex isiefru ghadna…minn fuq dahar il-poplu!
Flok Londra imissu hadhom Ruma. La ma ntebhux lil ma’ kienux il-BBC anqas kienu jintebhu li m’humix Londra.
Xi haga li m’ghandiex x’taqsam ma dan is-suggett. Il-kumitat li qed jiehu hsieb jorganizza l-carnival f’Ghawdex qed isib diffikulta ghax l-EBDA kumpanija taz-zfin ma hi ha tiehu sehem bil-kunkdizjonijiet li ghamel Felix Busuttill.
Membri mill-ministeru ghall-Ghawdex qed icemplu lill-iskejjel kollha primarja, 14 biex jiehdu sehem u ta’ dan jiehdu 1000 ewro.
Bil-patt li joqoghdu ghal dak li jghidilihom il-kumitat fosthom li fil-karnival tas-Sibt it-tfal iridu jiehdu sehem filghodu u filghaxija fir-Rabat. Qeghdin joffru li jhallsu lil min ser jghallem id-danza u lill min ser ihit il-kostumi.
Il-kostumi jridu jkunu maghmulin minn materjal riciklat u t-tehma trid tkun Ghawdex.
Very few of the Maltese companies involved in the trade could be available for the summit (conference) since almost all of them are being prosecuted in court in connection with the Enemalta oil procurement scandal.
I presume that it is for this simple reason that Signor Rizzo is turning on other companies inviting them to attend.
I think these sort of calls say it all in terms of the thought process that went into the preparation of this event.
An event like this would normally be subcontracted to a company who will already have a list of contacts in the particular field. they will therefore be able to guarantee a number of attendees.
They will clearly not cold-call people on the off-chance that they will fill seats with bums.
This ‘summit’, like all that Labour has been proposing over the last few months, will be a flop.