OTC Names 2021 Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients

Honorees to Be Recognized 15 August at
OTC Distinguished Achievement Awards Events Reception

Houston, Texas, USA (16 February 2021) – The 2021 Offshore Technology Conference will honor this year’s Distinguished Achievement Award recipients Sunday, 15 August at NRG Center in Houston.

During the OTC Distinguished Achievement Awards Event Reception, the conference will recognize Joe Fowler for individual achievement, ADNOC Panorama for institutional achievement, and Russell Hoshman and Edward Heerema for the Heritage Award.

OTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals
Joe Fowler will be honored with the Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals for his extraordinary technical leadership in risers and pipelines, industrial leadership and entrepreneurship, significant contributions in higher education, and his substantial contributions to the societies that organize OTC. As principal investigator for the American Gas Association and Gas Research Institute, his achievements in offshore and land pipelines specifically focus on the collapse behavior of pipelines, the effects of dents on pipeline life, strength of tee and elbow fittings, repair procedures for damaged pipelines, and the development of a diverless pipeline repair clamp.

As co-founder of Stress Engineering Services, Inc. in 1972, and president from 1984–2015, Stress Engineering was selected twice on the Aggie 100 for the fastest growing companies run by a Texas A&M alumni, best place to work in Texas by the Texas Association for Business in 2011, best place to work in Ohio from 2012–2014, best place to work in Houston in 2011, and best place to work in New Orleans from 2013–2015.

Fowler and his Stress Engineering teammates were instrumental in the development of DERP, a pioneering software program that recognizes critical riser design and operations problems. For more than 40 years, DERP has played a major role in the development of marine risers ultimately inducting this team into the Offshore Energy Hall of Fame in 2014.

Fowler was on the OTC Board of Directors from 2010–2017, serving as the Chairperson in 2016–2017.

OTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Companies, Organizations, and Institutions
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will be presented the OTC Distinguished Achievement Award in recognition of its cutting-edge Panorama digital command center. Established in November 2017, the fully integrated platform provides ADNOC with the unique capability of allocating and centralizing more than 200 dashboards representing the entire value chain of ADNOC Group of 14 companies, while displaying 250,000 real time data points from all operational sites and plants. The platform also provides a complete integration of data between offshore and onshore facilities.

Considered the only global platform of its kind in the oil and gas sector, Panorama provides an AI-based analysis with complete visibility of production facilities. As a result, Panorama provides a unique advantage in terms of data integration, speed, and accessibility across operations. Panorama has generated over USD 1 billion in business value for the company over its three-year life span. A single run of the Integrated Production Planning Model enables bottom-line value of USD millions, by providing integrated optimized production plans covering the ADNOC value chain from upstream operations to fleet management, including midstream and downstream operations. This rigorous platform has the capability to identify bottom-line value across all planning horizons, from daily to a strategic horizon of more than 30 years.

OTC Heritage Award
The Heritage award will be presented to Edward Heerema in recognition of his long-term continuous, distinguished service in management and leadership of offshore installation for the deepwater industry and Russell Hoshman for his long-term continuous, distinguished service in safety and environmental stewardship for the offshore industry. 

Heerema’s lifetime contributions to offshore marine construction have been paramount. He developed the concept of dynamically positioned subsea pipelay with the introduction of Lorelay. In 2007, his vision set the world record for ultra-deepwater advanced pipeline installation in 9,100 feet of sea water with an S-Lay installation method. As President and CEO of Allseas, he is also credited for creating employment for more than 4,000 global workers and building offshore pipelines that provide energy for millions of people. In 2016, Heerema was honored as a Fellow Chartered Engineer by the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers. 

Hoshman is being recognized for his leadership and guidance in ensuring the offshore sector achieves superior standards and processes for safer operations.  His significant contributions and technical knowledge have helped bridge the industry and regulatory bodies. He has more than 43 years of industry experience working as an engineer, researcher, mentor/instructor/communicator, technical advisor, and government representative.

Founded in 1969, OTC 2021 will reunite industry leaders and professionals at the world’s premiere event for global sharing of technology, expertise, products, and best practices that address current and future industry conditions. The event was postponed to 16–19 August in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be an in-person event with virtual components.

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ABOUT OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE (OTC)
Since 1969, OTC is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. OTC’s flagship conference is held annually in Houston. OTC has expanded technically and globally with OTC Brasil and OTC Asia. For more information, visit www.otcnet.org.