OMC 2009: 2009 Postshow Report

OMC 2009 – the 9th Offshore Mediterranean Conference & Exhibition closed on Friday 27th March confirming once more...

...its international standing in the Mediterranean region and proving a solid success for all participants.

Delegates, exhibitors and visitors declared that this year’s exhibition has been a great opportunity to develop business and establishing new contacts. Moreover the overall exhibition attendance and quality of visitors have increased considerably, as emerging from the feedback forms collected at the close of the 2009 event.

Concerning the general attendance to OMC 2009, organizers and exhibitors were very satisfied with the important growth in number of attendees which reached a total of 8964 professionals, this figure representing a net increase by 17% on 2007. The overall success witnesses once again the importance and growth of OMC for the offshore petroleum industry in the Mediterranean basin. The presence and participation of the majors of the oil & gas industry and of the main international companies providing services to this industry have contributed to the overall success of the 2009 edition.

An extensive information support for OMC 2009 was provided by national and international industry associations, news agencies and professional editors: Offshore Engineer – official magazine, Staffetta Quotidiana – Show Daily editor, Oil Review Africa and Oil Review Middle East as regional official magazines, and in addition to them ROCA – Ravenna Oil & Gas Contractors Association, OGP Oil & Gas Producers Association, SPE Italy Section – Society of Petroleum Engineers, OME Observatoire Méditérranéen de l’Enérgie, and ISA International Society of Automation. Furthermore other 19 publications have cooperated to the promotion of OMC 2009, as media partners.

OMC 2009 - THE EXHIBITION

The participation of 368 exhibitors from 23 countries worldwide, and the 8964 attendees from all over the world are proving this success, and according to the feedbacks, remarks, and impressions collected from the participants most of them expressed their satisfaction for the overall organisation and exhibition area.

2009 Exhibitors list
2009 Floorplan

OMC 2009 exhibition covered an area of over 15.000 square meters (+ 26% on 2007) in order to welcome the requests of exhibiting companies and conference and workshops requirements. In fact in 2009 among the 368 exhibitors, over 270 companies requested an exclusive exhibit stand which compared to the 230 of 2007 means a growth in the net exhibit area demand of 15,13%.

The strong request of companies wishing to participate in OMC 2009, was the main reason why there was an increase of the total exhibit area, which accounted for 15.171 square meters. This is a 26% increase in relation to the exhibition area used in 2007. Exhibitors and visitors had at their disposal 5750 net sqm for their business and commercial activities, compared to the 4420 net sqm in 2007.

Last but not least, the outdoor exhibit area also recorded an outstanding performance in the 2009 OMC edition: occupying a total area of 1046 square meters.

During the closing ceremony of OMC 2009, held on 27th March, special awards for the best stands were given to:

DESIGN:

    TECHNICAL CONTENT:


OVERALL QUALITY:

OMC 2009 - THE CONFERENCE

The OMC 2009 Conference held alongside the exhibition during three day event and the high quality seminar agenda attracted 1.122 delegates and featured the presentations of 110 papers in 23 technical sessions.

The Opening Plenary session on 25th March saw the presence and participation of representatives from the Italian Government and from the Governments of Mediterranean Countries:

The Mediterranean as Centre of Energy Interdependence:
Reference Scenarios of the Partners

Guido Bortoni, Head of the Energy Department of the Ministry for Economic Development greeted the audience on behalf of the Italian Minister for Economic Development Claudio Scajola. His speech highlighted the importance of Italy in the Mediterranean area. Because of its existing and planned infrastructures, Italy is the natural hub for energy flow from producers in North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia towards European consumers.

The Egyptian energy situation and the growing role of the country as supplier of Natural Gas and LNG to Europe were the core of Mr. Mustafa El Bahr’s presentation. The Vice Chairman for Agreements & Exploration at EGPC concluded emphasizing the importance of the twinship between Egypt and Italy, Southern and Northern shores of the Mediterranean; producing country and consuming country. Alexandria and Ravenna alternate in the organization of the annual event which gathers the oil industries players from Europe, North Africa, Middle East and the central Asia countries. He closed his speech by inviting everybody to the 6th edition of MOC which will be held in Alexandria at the end of May 2010.

Leonardo Maugeri, ENI Senior Executive V.P. for Strategies and Development, coordinator of the keynote speakers during his speech launched a proposal for the founding of a Global Energy Agency.
The Oil and Gas sector has been continuously suffering because of the conflicting forecasts made by AIE, IEA, OPEC which very often supply quite different information on reserves, productions, consumptions and stock, sometimes these data vary in a few months.
Therefore, stated Maugeri, it would be worth establishing a worldwide Energy Agency within the United Nations.

Keynote speakers included:

M. Ali Hached, Advisor to the Minister of Energy, Algeria
Roger Tucker, Senior Vice President Europa BG Group, Uk
Pietro Cavanna, Hydrocarbon Asset Business Unit Director Edison, Italy
Elisabeth Walaas, State Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Mohamed Oun, Chairman Mellitah Oil & Gas, Libya
Sohbet Karbuz, Head of Hydrocarbons Division, OME, France

Alongside the 23 technical sessions, an extensive program of Workshops was held, this included 8 meetings focusing on:

HC- Rich Fluid Seepages in the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Energy from Methane Hydrates: Resource Potential and Technology Challenges
Ionian Sea and Margins: Recent Prospections and Interpretations
Regasification in EU: Over Oder Under Capacity?
Excellence in Maximising Value from Mature Assets
Competitiveness: What Future in the E&P?
Carbon Capture & Storage, Hurdles and Prospects
Non conventional Surface Surveys: the Facts & the Myths

Particular attention was dedicated to students through the commitment of some of the major Italian Universities and Technical Institutes. Inside the exhibit area a Youth Corner was dedicated to the specific purpose of hosting meetings between students and oil & gas companies exhibiting at OMC 2009 who presented their training programs and exchanged ideas with the University students.

The conference closing ceremony was held on 27th March in the venue site by OMC 2009 Chairman Antonio Angelucci, and during this special occasion awards for the best papers and presentations were assigned, as Mario Chiaramonte, Chairman of OMC 2009 Programme Committee said, on the basis of Committee members and session chairmen’s nominations as well as delegates’ suggestions:

Best Paper
Petrophysical Characterisation of thin Layered Reservoirs: A Case History from the Adriatic Basin
Maria Teresa Galli, Valter Chelini, Amelia Mazzacca, ENI
Drazen Parlov, INA Nafte

Best Presentation
Tempa Rossa (Italy) – A Challenging Case History
Jean Perrot, Federico Selva, Michel Moge, Michael Vanhalst – Total Italia

Best paper by a Young Talent
A Novel Procedure to Locally Assess Wettability Reversal in Carbonate Rocks by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Falan Srisuriyachai, Villiam Bortolotti, Paola Fantazzini, Mirko Gombia, Paolo Macini, Ezio Mesini,University of Bologna

Best Poster
Testing Protocols for Optimized High Performance Water-based Drilling Fluid Design
Steve Young, James Friedheim, M-I Swaco

OMC 2009 GROWTH STATISTICS

OVERALL ATTENDANCE

EVENT AREA

CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

Returning delegates and increasing attendance confirm the quality of the Conference set up by OMC Programme Committee.
Many professionals who participated in the past editions kept in touch with OMC and invited colleagues to come along.

32.5% were faithful customer
15% attended for the second time
40% Delegates found out about the event from Colleagues
98% Delegates are sure or likely to participate in OMC 2011

The results of OMC Organisers’ efforts were valued by Delegates through feedback forms.

Technical Sessions and Workshops received very good rating - about 80%.
Staff assistance and registration procedures were also considered excellent – on average 85 % as well as the choice of Ravenna as a location and social events offered.