OREANDA-NEWS. The proposed oil industry reform law currently before the National Assembly for legislative action would form the focal point of global discourse at the forth coming Offshore Technology Conference, OTC 2013 billed for Houston, Texas, United States from 6-9 May, 2013.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke is billed to deliver the Keynote Address at the global oil meet described as the oil and gas industry equivalent of the Olympics.

Receiving a delegation of Top Management of ExxonMobil Nigeria led by its Managing Director/Chairman Mark Ward, Mrs. Alison-Madueke noted that apart from offering a platform for the propagation  of the central objective of the PIB, the OTC serves as a ready platform for indigenous operators to up the ante on technology trends in the industry.    

The OTC being one of the world’s foremost gatherings in technology as far as the oil and gas industry is concerned, clearly sets the pace in what happens on the technology front and this is a highly technology driven industry. So participation in the OTC gives us a lot of understanding, provide platform for knowledge transfer and above all exposure for our indigenous operators, the Minister said.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke stated that the experience garnered over the years has impacted positively on the productivity and general output of indigenous operators and service providers.

Presenting the Minister with the mantle to deliver the Keynote address, Mr. Ward showered encomiums on Mrs. Alison-Madueke for her sterling leadership of the industry in Nigeria. This Year’s OTC Keynote Address is being sponsored by ExxonMobil.

“We are here to formally present the Honorable Minister with the Keynote Address at the Offshore Technology Conference. The OTC is one of the most renowned conferences in the World. As a Company we are looking for who can describe some of the opportunities that exist in the World especially in the African Continent. We landed on  the Honourable Minister as the most qualified and the most valuable voice in that discussion,’’ Ward said. 

Founded in 1969, the OTC is held annually in Houston's Reliant Center and it is the offshore oil and gas industry's foremost event for the development of hydrocarbon resources in the areas of drilling, environmental protection, exploration, production development, innovation and technology.

The OTC's daily technical programme of presentations and the innovative breakfast and lunch sessions provide a dynamic forum for discussing the technical challenges facing the offshore oil and gas industry.

Areas of Interest for Offshore Technology 2013 include: Exploration and Production, Field Development Concepts, Floater and Mooring Systems, Geotechnical Sampling and Survey, Marine Geoscience and Geohazards, Materials Technology, Ocean Engineering Resources, Offshore Pipelines, Riser Systems and Subsea Production and Processing Systems.