These proceedings reflect the important role of catalysis in petroleum refining and the effects of factors such as environmental legislation on the industry. They also show the emergence of significant scientific expertise in the Middle East - the cradle of the oil industry. Participants from all over the world took part in the meeting and the book contains a well-balanced selection of articles from both academia and industry. Current trends in the oil industry focused attention mainly on heavy end hydrotreating, but other processes also gained their share of attention. An invaluable feature of the meeting was the two panel discussions where participants took the opportunity to obtain advance on many real and immediate problems.