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RICHARDSON, Texas, U.S.A. (January 2003)—In
it’s 35th year, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) continues
to be a staple in Houston, showcasing the latest technology and
trends in the offshore industry. This year’s event takes place
5-8 May 2003 and again attracts a global audience of leading engineers,
managers, and scientists to Houston, the oil and gas capital of
the world.
Companies choose to attend OTC because of the
extensive exhibition, the exposure to a global audience, and the
opportunity to make significant business and professional contacts.
Every year at OTC companies make important business deals, announce
company acquisitions/mergers, and introduce new products and services.
The trend of oil and gas service companies cooperating and integrating
new technologies is always evident at OTC.
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.
Today, OTC is the offshore industry’s largest annual and most
prestigious 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 square feet of exhibition space. Having outgrown
its original downtown Houston convention hall location, OTC filled
the entire Astrodome complex. The conference grew so large that
it spilled out of the Astrodome and into surrounding parking lots.
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 1980s. This period of higher
pricing inspired 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 raised the bar for
deepwater innovation.
In 2002, OTC attracted 49,620 offshore professionals—its
second largest attendance since 1985. This same year, OTC relocated
to its new home the Reliant Center at Reliant Park, adding more
exhibit space and new technologies to the event venue. Another milestone
for OTC occurred last year when iOTC was unveiled. iOTC, the “interactive
OTC”, reinforces the conference experience with a real-time
interactive event, available to the offshore community 365 days
a year.
OTC .03 again provides the industry an opportunity
to share ideas, innovations, technologies, and concepts for the
future. The theme for the 2003 event, “Envision. Enable. Enact,”
expresses the capabilities of the longtime conference.
This year’s conference promises to deliver
some of the industry’s most renowned leaders, discussing global
issues. Walter van de Vijver, Group Manager Director of the Royal
Dutch/Shell Group of Companies and CEO of Shell Exploration and
Production, is presenting the keynote address at the Awards Luncheon.
Hot issues and hot regions will be discussed to make OTC .03 a memorable
event and rewarding experience for all participants.
Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference
is the world's foremost event for the development of offshore resources
in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental
protection. OTC is held annually in May at Reliant Center at Reliant
Park in Houston. For more information, visit the Web site at www.OTCnet.org.
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