The Offshore Technology Conference is all about the hardware, and it’s assumed that if companies deploy the technology, workers will be there to use it. Wings Travel Management doesn’t have a booth at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference, but its representatives are working the halls and display areas, touching base with existing customers and looking [...]  More »

Rep. Bill Flores’ breakfast discussion at the Offshore Technology Conference was supposed to be about U.S. energy policy: “realities, fantasy and rhetoric.” But the only item on the menu seemed to be rhetoric.  More »

A Texas congressman serves up straight political fare at OTC breakfast  More »

OTC is a reminder of the economic diversity of the energy industry, and the opportunity that’s created from specialization in a complex industry.  More »

Alex Chisholm remembers the first time his company got a booth at the Offshore Technology conference. It was the mid-1980s, and L&M Radiator was still primarily supplying cooling systems for mining trucks.  More »

I spent the day surfing the economic ripple effect across 641,000 square feet. I didn’t actually cover every inch of the exhibits at the Offshore Technology Center, but I found myself wandering around the main exhibit hall to the satellite displays at the Reliant Arena.  More »

It’s a bit of a cliche to say that the Offshore Technology Conference is like a small city.  More »

It’s a bit of a cliche to say that the Offshore Technology Conference is like a small city. But with an estimated 641,000 square feet of exhibit space stretching from Reliant Center to Reliant Arena, it probably covers more land area than many towns. OK, maybe not, but it feels like it if you start [...]  More »

Today, I’m trying to spend less time listening to talks and more time wandering the floor of the Offshore Technology Conference. My first stop was to see a demo of IPT Global’s SureTec program for testing blowout preventers. I mentioned IPT in my Sunday column, and I wanted to see the the technology first hand. [...]  More »

Wander the halls of OTC, and you quickly gain a feel for how insular the oil industry can be. It tends to view outside critiques, and especially criticism, with disdain. That may be why a breakfast discussion Tuesday started with introductions that included a note that the speakers had engineering degrees, which should “satisfy the room.”  More »

The energy industry isn’t good at introspection. When it takes a hard look at itself, it tends to find fault with others.  More »

OTC is where the trade mission meets the trade show.  More »