The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. OTC’s flagship conference is held annually at NRG Park in Houston, Texas. Though originally slated for earlier in the year, the OTC Board of Directors has chosen to postpone the 2021 event to August 16 through 19 due to the ongoing challenges presented by COVID-19 and out of the greatest care for the health and safety of their partners, attendees, exhibitors, staff, and community.
OTC is sponsored by thirteen industry organizations and societies, who work cooperatively to develop the technical program. OTC also has endorsing and supporting organizations. Also, OTC has expanded technically and globally with the Arctic Technology Conference, OTC Brazil, and OTC Asia. Still, the Houston-based event remains a must-see learning and networking experience for professionals throughout the energy sector.
TECHNICAL PROGRAM
OTC brings together the technical and scientific knowledge from offshore energy game-changers as they share best practices, technical innovations, and emerging trends. The conference has a strong reputation for a world-class technical program. Attendees can take advantage of the opportunity to hear from scientists, engineers, researchers, and executive-level speakers on their progress in revolutionizing the ever-changing environment of offshore projects. No one will want to miss this opportunity to participate in four days of learning, sharing, and networking.
OTC WELCOMES TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
The OTC Energy4me Teachers STEM Workshop welcomes science teachers to this free, one-day workshop. Teachers receive hands-on training by qualified facilitators, listen to a presentation from a prominent energy professional, and tour the OTC exhibit floor. Additionally, teachers receive a variety of free instructional materials to take back to their classrooms. Teacher workshops include the following:
- Oil and gas educational instruction
- Free classroom materials provided
- Qualifies for continuing education credits
- Classroom activities designed by the NEED project
- Substitute teacher reimbursement
- Breakfast and lunch
- Guided tour of OTC exhibit floor
Additionally, the OTC Energy Challenge is a high school competition where teams work to solve a real-world energy challenge. All competing teams submitted a video and e-poster presentation to compete for a scholarship prize. Each team was supported by their teacher, or “coach,” and assigned an industry mentor. Through this event, OTC and its sponsorship partners intend to challenge and inspire students by asking them to solve real-world energy challenges, discover new technologies and innovations from the next generation of engineers and scientists, inform students of the wide range of STEM opportunities in the energy industry, and learn more about what drives and motivates young STEM students.
OTC RECOGNIZES EXCELLENCE
OTC is also the traditional time to recognize several award winners for both individuals and institutions. Joe Fowler will be honored with the Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals for his extraordinary technical leadership in risers and pipelines, industrial leadership and entrepreneurship, significant contributions in higher education, and his substantial contributions to the societies that organize OTC.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will be presented the OTC Distinguished Achievement Award in recognition of its cutting-edge Panorama digital command center. Considered the only global platform of its kind in the oil and gas sector, Panorama provides an AI-based analysis with complete visibility of production facilities. As a result, Panorama provides a unique advantage in terms of data integration, speed, and accessibility across operations. Panorama has generated over a billion dollars in business value for the company over its three-year life span.
Finally, the Heritage Award will be presented to Edward Heerema in recognition of his long-term continuous, distinguished service in management and leadership of offshore installation for the deepwater industry and Russell Hoshman for his long-term continuous, distinguished service in safety and environmental stewardship for the offshore industry.