While still small compared with other parts of the world, the oil and gas applications implemented worldwide by the Eastern Europe specialists are expected to grow.

The companies in the region providing solutions, services and equipment for oil and gas processes gained in the last years a vast worked experience, Central and Eastern Europe being a strategic region for energy transit, linking Eurasian supplies with large consumers in Western Europe. The region is also a significant energy consumer, accounting for 35% of total European energy demand. The region has experienced much change in the past 15 years, as most of the countries in the region have moved from planned to market economies.

Therefore Eastern European companies have expanded their area of competences and well-trained engineers implement large projects worldwide, meeting the international standards of quality and competing with multinationals and major national companies on certain segments. In this context, the regions in which there are the most oil and gas works at present, such as Middle East where the industrial activity has reached its maturity stage, represent a significant work potential also for the East-European engineering teams.

Even if the oil and gas operators in Middle East are working traditionally with specialists from India or Pakistan, the engineers from Eastern Europe come with a very large practical experience, having a professional approach from the technical point of view and also meeting the quality and safety standards.

From the point of view of a Romanian company leader on the process control and automation market (Syscom 18), there are no essential differences between applications in Eastern Europe and Middle East or even Central Asia.

"Basically there is only one difference: the size of the projects. There are huge investments in Middle East and Central Asia in oil and gas industry.", says Ion Andronache, the president of Syscom 18.

"The priority of process control Eastern Europe companies has been to invest in the development of their existing automation and control solutions.", says the Syscom 18 representative. "This is to fulfill the new European standards imposed on the region since accession to the EU and increase the productivity". European Union and other individual bodies are initiating regional projects in various sectors to help participants specify and design the right structure of production under the laws and limitations imposed.

The small-to-medium size system integrators can fill specific gaps in industry expertise or regional expertise. On Middle East process control & automation markets, the oil and gas operators are more and more looking for turn key suppliers offering complete solutions that increase operability, profitability and financial accountability.

"We are a system integrator, basically we can offer the same things like any other multinational company. In Romania we are very competitive because of the very good prices, services and after sales technical support we offer compared with other foreign companies. The equipments are similar but the services are better from our side.", says Ion Andronache.