By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 14 -- The surge in attendance at this year Offshore Technology Conference indicates that industry expects a rebound in drilling activity in the second half of 2002, said Marshall Adkins, analyst with Raymond James & Associates Inc.
The final tally on attendance at the annual conference and exhibition May 6-9 in Houston—the oil and gas industry's largest—was 49,620.
"While well shy of the peak levels we saw during the early 1980s, it was well above the approximately 35,000 annual attendees we have averaged over the prior 15 years," Adkins said. "[In addition], attendance was, surprisingly, up over 4% from the prior-year level. We believe this is evidence of the view from most in the oil patch that [drilling] activity levels are likely to recover significantly over the next several quarters," Adkins said.
Just as for the past several years, OTC technology presenters focused on deepwater technology, well-completion technology, and drilling rig equipment.
"Although there have been clear advancements in many of these technological areas, we saw very few, if any, real breakthrough oil field technologies," Adkins said. "More importantly, new technologies in the oil patch tend to be revolutionary and can take years to fully adopt. In other words, many of the innovations showcased this year will not likely have a meaningful impact on the bottom line for years to come."
