OTC officials: Sales for exhibit space down slightly from 2015

development, and we need to do it more economically.”

The OTC and the industry have been here before, moving ahead through the oil booms and busts for nearly a half-century. During this last oil boom, when crude rose above $100 a barrel, attendance hit a record 108,161 in 2014, slipping to 94,880 last year as oil prices retreated. This year, with prices dropping below $30 but recently hitting $45 a barrel, OTC officials estimate attendance will decline further as companies cut back on the number of people they send, as well as the dinners and parties they host. Sales for exhibit space are down slightly from last year.

“It’s in vogue for companies to show they’re saving on the budget,” said Berend Groeneveld, managing director of the Dutch firm InterDam, which manufactures fire doors used on offshore platforms. Interest builds

Organized in 1969, the OTC was the brain child of a group of engineers and scientists who saw opportunity in providing a technical forum for an industry venturing into deeper and deeper waters in search of oil and gas. As the site of the conference, they chose Houston, near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, now one of the most produc- tive offshore fields in the world.

Over the past decade, as companies began drilling wells in thousands of feet of water, interest intensified. Along with technical papers, executives and other industry leaders will give talks on leadership and how the industry might weather its greatest period of upheaval since the bust of the 1980s.

One of the speakers, Ram Shenoy, a consultant and former executive at ConocoPhillips, said he thinks the price downturn is driving the development of new and better technologies to make offshore drilling more efficient and competitive with onshore production. He pointed to new companies such as Dallas-based Motive Drilling Technologies, which uses computers, not humans, to steer drill bits underground.

“The headlines are about big corporations tightening their belts to survive, but there’s not that much attention on all the start-ups popping up,” he said. “Those that find cheaper costs will succeed, and those that don’t will cease to exist.” Tech on display

Some 2,600 U.S. and international companies will exhibit their technologies across more than 675,000 square feet in NRG Park. There will be remotecontrolled submersibles to perform maintenance deep under the surface of the ocean. Attendees will get the chance to gawk at blowout preventers, connectors and other over-size pieces of equipment that keep the oil and gas flowing from ocean depths.

The demand for new “iron” — as exhibitors call oil and gas equipment — is continuous. As governments update offshore drilling and emissions regulations, equipment manufacturers must constantly update their products to meet ever stricter requirements.

Caterpillar Inc., the heavy-equipment manufacturer, will use the conference to sell clients on a new service that uses computer technology to better monitor equipment in the field and alert operators when maintenance is needed, cutting down on the need for manned inspections. Staying involved

“OTC is one of the few chances where you can get access to the global oil and gas industry. It’s really important to be involved,” said Reese Jones, Latin America region manager at Caterpillar’s oil and gas subsidiary. “We’re in a cyclical industry. It’s a down market, so we’re interested in providing value to customers.”