OTC: Offshore Industry Barometer For More Than 30 Years

The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) annually attracts a global audience of leading engineers, managers, and scientists to the heart of the oil and gas industry.

It was 1969 when OTC made its debut in Houston, a big year for the energy industry: oil was discovered in the North Sea; environmentalists were blocking the Trans-Alaskan pipeline that would bring North Slope oil supplies to the lower 48 states; oil rich countries in the Middle East and North Africa were demanding a bigger share of oil profits; and oil prices were positioned for takeoff.

That inaugural event was modest by today’s standards, attracting just 4,200 offshore professionals and 125 exhibitors-less than one-tenth the turnout of recent years. Currently OTC is the offshore industry’s largest annual gathering.

Surging demand from industrialized countries, plus a series of dramatic political events, made crude oil a highly prized commodity during the 1970s, spurring a corresponding period of rapid growth for this new international offshore exposition.

By 1982, OTC had reached extravaganza proportions, attracting more than 100,000 attendees and 2,500 exhibitors who packed 630,000 net sq. ft. of exhibition space. Having outgrown its original downtown Houston convention hall location, OTC now filled the entire Astrodome complex.

The conference grew so big that it spilled out of the Dome and into the parking lot, where towering pieces of equipment added to the existing skyline.

OTC attendance in 1983 fell by nearly half from the year before, as the reality of a new market environment set in. As oil prices sank below $10 a barrel in subsequent years OTC attendance dropped by almost half again.

The early 1990s brought temporary respite from the rough market environment of the ‘80s. This period of higher pricing brought with it a higher level of technical innovation, with major stepouts into the ultra-deepwater and into extraordinarily harsh seas of the Northern Hemisphere. Projects like Heidrun in the North Sea, Mars in the Gulf of Mexico, and Hibernia off Newfoundland each reset the bar for deepwater innovation.

In 2000, OTC attracted 43,785 offshore professionals to Houston, evidence that OTC is truly a barometer for the industry. It is now the new millennium, and a world of opportunities awaits the offshore industry. What better way to kick off the new year than with the premier offshore industry event, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) “One World, One Event.”

This year’s conference promises to deliver some of the industry’s most renowned leaders, discussing global issues. Attendees can expect to hear from industry leaders such as Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, Advisor on Petroleum and Energy to the Nigerian President and former OPEC Secretary General, and Andrew J. Szescila, Chief Operating Officer, Baker Hughes.

Three New Industry Breakfasts To Debut Three specially designed Industry Breakfasts are debuting at OTC 2001, and feature broad topics that appeal to key decision-makers. The three breakfasts will be held Tuesday-Thursday from 7 to 8:30 a.m.

The first breakfast, A Financing Alternative for Offshore Projects, will be held on Tuesday, May 1. The breakfast will use perspectives of the operator and the banking organizations, and will cover the fundamental issues associated with financing a large, offshore development project. Discussions will include the benefits of structure on the financing agreement, and project-reporting requirements.

Presenters include Mit Buchanan, Senior Vice President and Manager, Lease Advisory and Origination, Banc One Capital Corp.; Ronald Dierker, First Vice President, Energy Division, Banc One Capital Markets; and Don Vardeman, Director, Marine Facilities Engineering, Kerr-McGee.

The second breakfast, Monetizing Gas Resources with Electric Power: Current Issues and Trends, includes discussions about relevant issues and will offer commentary on key consideration, major developments, and events impacting how value is extracted from abundant gas resources through power generation strategies. Among the topics planned are procurement of fuel supply, financial structuring, how governments can provide investment frameworks, and whether emerging trends holdup under the scrutiny of project economics. Panelists include Mark Croke, Managing Direction, International Government Relations, El Paso Energy International; Mike Flinn, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Origination, Dynegy; and Michelle Foss, Director, University of Houston Energy Institute. This panel is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2.

On Thursday, May 3, Business Opportunities in Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Projects focuses on the emergence and potential fields in the northern Caspian Sea, as well as related business opportunities for service and equipment companies hoping to establish a position in the promising region. Presentations from Kazakhstan government representatives, major oil companies in the region, and procurement specialists are planned. The session, organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association, and the U.S.- Kazakhstan Business Association, will be followed by individual business meetings with procurement representatives and interested companies.