The sun set yesterday on the oil and gas industry’s annual event of the season.
This year’s 45th Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) attracted more than 100,000. Among those were representatives from 63 companies from the north-east.
The Scottish Government estimated that deals struck at Houston’s sprawling Reliant Stadium will mean £100million for North Sea firms over the next three years.
The potential £3billion sale of Aberdeen-based Expro by industrial conglomerate GE, set to be one of the largest deals in the worldwide oilfield service sector in 2014, was a regular topic of conversation. But it was still business as usual for the firm.
“OTC Houston has been busier than ever before,” said Mike Jardon, chief operating officer at Expro. “We’ve seen a lot of interest in our new technical presentations, which helps to embed our relationships with existing customers and attract potential new business. This reinforces our perception of the buoyant energy sector globally, which is supported by increasing career inquiries – and why we’ve incorporated recruitment presentations this year.”
There was plenty dealmaking, meeting and greeting and learning going on for companies in all sectors. Mike Porter, chief operating officer for logistics company Peterson, said: “This was our first OTC but the experience has been invaluable, both in terms of visibility and real business inquiries.”
Douglas Craig of Craig Group was able to expand his horizons. He said: “This has been a great show for us. Being invited to join the GlobalScot network earlier this week was a real honour and has already resulted in the opening of doors for Craig Group as well as the opportunity to help other companies extend their international footprint.”
Alfie Cheyne, chief executive of Turriff-based Ace Winches noted: “We have received a torrent of inquiries from both existing and prospective clients from around the globe”.
Patrick Phelan, managing director of Aquaterra Energy, which has a growing base in Aberdeen said: “OTC has been highly productive with people from all over the world visiting our stand including major oil and gas companies from Houston, the Middle East and South East Asia. One highlight was booking a meeting room expecting three senior people from a major operator and 14 turned up and that looks likely to evolve into new business. They were very keen to hear about our new technology and recent project wins in Europe.”
But the show is also about sharing the latest, safest and best approaches to offshore development.
The event also hosted the meeting of a new knowledge sharing forum on the topic of subsea integrity management practice, hosted by the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF).
Its chief executive, Dr Patrick O’Brien, said: “OTC has been an excellent platform for promoting the benefits of technology collaboration. We had a lot of visitors to our stand on the Scottish Pavilion, both from member companies and global technology developers keen to partner on new innovations.”