Koil Energy Solutions Inc. (KLNG)

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http://otc.rigzone.com/

What began in 1969 as a local oil and gas conference has grown into one of the world's largest meetings in terms of attendance, the Offshore Technology Conference is definitely the largest of its kind in the oil and gas industry. OTC 2008 promises to set the bar even higher, with more exhibitors, more space, more attendees and, of course, more opportunities to network, learn and grow.

The Offshore Technology Conference was first held in Houston in 1969. That year, there were 200 exhibitors and a little more than 4,000 attendees. Over the next decade or so, the conference grew to an all-time high in 1982 with more than 100,000 attendees.

As oil and gas professionals know, the industry can be volatile, and with the drop of oil prices in 1983, so too came a drop in attendance at OTC. The conference downsized in 1984, excluding the exhibition, and began to build itself back into the industry's premier event through the '80s and '90s.

Last year, attendance reached a 25-year high of more than 67,000 attendees with more than 2,400 exhibiting companies and 110 countries represented. Expanding beyond the Reliant Center into the Reliant Stadium and spreading to outdoor booth areas, exhibit space for the 2007 OTC spanned the equivalent of more than 13 football fields.

OTC 2008 promises to be even larger than last year with an expected attendance of more than 70,000, according to OTC headquarters. OTC staff expects more than 115 countries to be represented at the conference, as well as all 50 states in the U.S. Statistically, the conference and meetings have seen a steady 5% growth every year, and this year should be no different.

Honored by the Industry
Honoring top companies, endeavors, technologies and professionals in the industry, OTC 2008 will hold the 2008 Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, May 6. Pemex Director General Jesus F. Reyes Heroles is serving as keynote speaker at the luncheon, focusing on "New Perspectives for Mexico's Hydrocarbon Sector."

Profiles on award winners and one-on-one interviews with Ray and Sterling will be included in Rigzone's OTC coverage throughout the week of OTC.The conference will honor 11 companies for innovative technologies produced in the last two years with fourteen 2008 Spotlight on New Technology Awards. Inventions span the entirety of the E&P industry and honor ABB AS Wireless, Baker Hughes, Cubility, Delmar Systems, Expro, FMC Technologies, Schlumberger, Versabar, Weatherford International, Welltec and Yantai Raffles Shipyard.

Additionally, OTC has named Jim Ray the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award for his environmental contribution to the energy industry, as well as Gordon Sterling and Pierre-Armand Thomas as Heritage Award winners. StatoilHydro has been honored with the Distinguished Achievement Award for its development of the Ormen Lange project.

How It Works
OTC is sponsored by 12 oil and gas organizations and societies, including American Association of Petroleum Geologists; American Institute of Chemical Engineers; American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers; American Society of Civil Engineers; ASME International Petroleum Technology Institute; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Oceanic and Engineering Society; Marine Technology Society; Society of Exploration and Geophysicists; Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration Inc.; Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers; Society of Petroleum Engineers; and The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society.

The event is endorsed by the International Association of Drilling Contractors and the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association. Supporting Organizations for OTC are the American Petroleum Institute; Independent Petroleum Association of America; Institute of Marine Engineering, Science, and Technology; International Marine Contractors Association; and National Ocean Industries Association.

The 13-member OTC Board of Directors includes 11 members from the sponsoring organizations and two from the endorsing organizations, voted in by their respective associations. The current chairman of OTC is Don Vardeman with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Ocean Engineering Society and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Other companies represented on the Board of Directors include such names as Noble Energy, Shell, Total, Rowan and FMC.