Over 61,000 energy stakeholders attend OTC 2018

Offshore energy industry experts and leaders from across the world came together at NRG Park in Houston April 30 to May 3 to celebrate the 50th edition of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC).

The conference convened professionals to make critical decisions, share ideas, and develop business partnerships to meet global energy demands. In addition, OTC directly benefitted the advancement of the energy sector by supporting the conference’s 13 non-profit sponsoring organizations, and the Houston community.

The 50th edition of OTC focused on subjects such as the current state of the industry, reducing costs and improving overall value, breakthrough technologies in a low oil price environment, and industry-leading safety practices in addition to recurring topics.

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More than 61,300 attendees from more than 100 countries gathered at the annual conference while the exhibition covered more than 585,000 net square feet, including outdoor exhibits. This year’s conference also had more than 2,300 exhibiting companies representing 44 countries. Nearly 300 were new exhibitors, and international companies made up 55 per cent of exhibitors.

“We are very pleased with this year’s attendance, as it is above our 52,570 attendance average across OTC’s 50 editions. We are also seeing high interest in next year’s event. 2019 exhibition space in NRG Center was sold out before our 2018 event, and rebooking for the other exhibition areas is underway,” said Wafik Beydoun, 2018 OTC Board of Directors Chairman.

“OTC 2018 began the celebration of 50 years of OTC, culminating in 2019, and reminded all of us of this conference’s deep commitment to the people and companies who have helped it reach this milestone,” added Beydoun. “We are grateful to the offshore energy industry, our exhibitors, and our attendees who have and continue to collectively work to uncover new techniques, technologies, and connections at OTC year after year. More importantly, we look forward to the innovations and discoveries we will make together at OTC over the next 50 years of the conference.”

According to the leader of Nigeria’s delegation to the conference, though, not in an official capacity, Dr. Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation  (NNPC), said this year’s event came when oil prices are rising. “Recall that this time last year, we are in the region of $50 per barrel. It is a sign that the good times are here again. And we hope it stays.”