OTC 2022 Wrap: Sharing Ideas and Showcasing New Technologies

HOUSTON—The oil and gas industry showed off technologies and solutions developed during two years of a global pandemic at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC).

Levels of enthusiasm and engagement were high, and attendance numbers were up over last year, according to OTC Chairperson Paul Jones. A lot of conversations revolved around the energy transition, and companies showed how their traditional oil & gas technologies could be adapted for use in renewables, he said.

“There was a lot of excitement, a lot of innovation, and an exchange of ideas,” he said. “The exhibitors are telling me they’re beginning to see a repurpose in people, and enthusiasm.”

Part of that is that people are finally able to meet in person after the lengthy pandemic and share their ideas.

“There’s a pent-up enthusiasm to solve problems, and now they can execute the ideas and discuss the challenges,” Jones said. “They’re hearing about the technical challenges people have been working on for the last two years that have not been talked about, or published.”

More than 24,000 people from 93 countries attended this year’s OTC, which is more than twice the turnout last year as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect travel and put a damper on large gatherings. Nearly a third of this year’s attendees traveled from outside the U.S. to attend. There were 44 technical sessions with over 300 technical papers presented.

Additionally, the program included 17 executive dialogues and keynote speakers, 11 panels, five networking events and showcased seven countries throughout the Around the World series. The Energy Transition Pavilion debuted this year to highlight technological advancements for new and existing energy sources, as well as showcase solutions being developed to decarbonize, drive sustainability and improve energy efficiency.

OTC’s exhibition area increased over last year. This year’s 1,064 exhibiting companies covered 258,645 square feet of exhibition space at NRG Park.

And while in the past technologies and solutions had to save time, save money or improve safety and reliability, now they also need to carry the industry toward sustainability and lower carbon emissions.

OTC facilitates “knowledge-sharing, learnings and discussions around the technologies and experts that can deliver these low-carbon solutions now,” Jones said.

He said this year’s OTC shows that the traditional oil & gas space is “coming back strong” in terms of continued investment.

“As an offshore industry, there are challenges ahead, but there are investments to meet those challenges,” he said.

And many companies are adapting their existing offshore oil & gas technologies for use in offshore wind and hydrogen applications, he said.

“We are seeing a lot of the traditional service companies moving into the renewable space because they have a lot of to offer there in terms of capabilities and products,” Jones said.

For example, he said, platform design companies are moving into designing wind turbine platforms while subsea companies are moving toward serving projects like hydrogen production on the seafloor and hydrogen storage.

“For many, this OTC was the first time they had access to individuals in the offshore industry to talk about these things,” Jones said. “People missed contact with decision makers. I’ve missed OTC as much as everybody else.”