HOUSTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) concluded in the U.S. city of Houston Thursday, with energy industry experts and leaders world wide exchanging views on future energy development and cutting-edge technologies.
The four-day conference gathered professionals to make critical decisions, share ideas and develop business partnerships to meet global energy demands.
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.
More than 61,300 attendees from over 100 countries and regions came to at the annual conference while the exhibition covered more than 585,000 square feet, including outdoor exhibits.
"We are very pleased with this year's attendance," said Wafik Beydoun, 2018 OTC board of directors chairman. "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."
OTC celebrated its 50th edition with special events on 30 April, including an opening ceremony and ribbon pulling, Legacy Luncheon, and Chairman's Panel on Energy Transformation.
"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," Beydoun said.
"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," he added.
This year, OTC's annual Spotlight on New Technology Awards recognized 17 technologies from exhibiting companies for their new and innovative products and services, including two companies that won the Small Business Award.
Privately-owned Chinese company Luoyang Wire Rope Inspection Technology Co., Ltd. was one of them. Besides recognized by OTC with its "Small Business Award", the company's innovation of "automatic real time online wire rope inspection system" also received the "New Technology Award" at OTC.
During the event, OTC also presented its 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals to Brian Skeels and the Distinguished Achievement Award for Companies, Organizations and Institutions to Shell and SBM Offshore. OTC's Heritage Award was presented to Cesar del Vecchio, and Tom Sifferman received a Special Citation.
The OTC topical breakfasts and luncheons featured top executives from international and national oil companies on a wide range of management, research and technology-related issues.
OTC also hosted the Rice Alliance Startup Roundup for the fourth time, where 50 emerging companies met one-on-one with investors. More than 275 attended to learn more about these startups and enabled potential partnerships as well as investments.
The WISE (Women in the Industry Sharing Experiences) event, a staple at OTC since 2012, offered an opportunity for women and men to share experiences and collaborate on topics such as improved diversity, mentorship, and communications in the workplace.
OTC's The Next Wave program helped young industry professionals with open communication between the generations by providing a forum for attendees to share, learn, and network with their peers.
Additionally, as part of OTC's continuous commitment to education, the Energy Education Institute conducted two events during the week - one for high school students and another for all grade level teachers. Participating teachers and students engaged in grade-appropriate, hands-on energy exploration experiments.
A separate group of 60 local high school students also participated in the OTC Energy Challenge, which asked them to resolve real-world energy challenges.
Founded in 1969, OTC, the largest event in the world for the oil and gas industry, is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters.
This year's event features technical sessions, topical breakfasts and luncheons, along with several in-depth panel discussions. The annual event attracted 2,300 companies from 35 countries and regions.
