OTC Houston 2004 was held in the Reliant centre from May 3rd to May 6th 2004 and 50,921 industry members attended OTC Houston 2004 from all over the world to to see the next generation of technology and innovation in the Oil & Gas industry and to hear and learn from the experiences of other companies within the industry. The previous two OTC shows have attracted more than 49,000 visitors. 2,124 companies exhibited at OTC2004.

"Innovation Without Limits"

Infield Systems Ltd was at OTC Houston 2004 on booth 2740 as one of the UK companies exhibiting at the purpose built Reliant Centre in Reliant Park. Infield had a very busy booth with queues forming at certain busy times.The Infield Database and it's Online Systems generated much interest at OTC Houston. Infield Systems had it's brand new but already popular "Global Perspectives" range of reports.

OTC Houston 2004 promised to be even better than the very successful show in 2003 with a similar daily technical program of presentations and was considerably busier even with the technical hitch and fire alarm on the tuesday afternoon. The innovative breakfast sessions were held andThese sessions proved very popular and attracted more guests than in 2003.

Independent Operators - The Future of the North Sea Panel Discussion

On Thursday 6th May, Day 4 of OTC, Infield's Director of Analytical Services and Publications was the moderator in a panel discussion on "Independent Operators, The Future of the North Sea."

North Sea discoveries have historically been large finds requiring large capital expenditures and associated with large infrastructures. This created a culture well suited to major and integrated oil and gas companies. The situation has now changed and this oil and gas province is now mature, the discoveries are smaller and the majors are moving their investments to areas offering greater reserves leaving behind profitable fields to be discovered, developed and operated by independents. The Gulf of Mexico's Continental Shelf stumbled then thrived through a similar transition in the 80's and 90's.

Are there sufficient similarities between the North Sea and the GoM so that the lessons learned during the Gulf's metamorphosis can be applied to the North Sea?
Will the lessons being learned today in the North Sea enhance operations in the GoM?

Are current UK tax and regulatory practices friendly towards this transformation?

Are changes required before independents can profitably exploit?

Are changes required before independents can profitably exploit fields in the North Sea thereby maintaining a healthy UK service industry?

The panel discussion explored these issues and was very well attended. The objective of introducing the issues and stimulating future discussions was met and feedback on the session was very positive. Numerous submissions were made before the session by email and used as part of the session.

For the latest on OTC 2005 follow this link OTC 2005