Houston Chronicle


Organizers of OTC, the largest oil and gas trade show in the world, say they plan to continue with an annual conference planned in Houston despite the global coronavirus outbreak canceling similar events. The Offshore Technology Conference takes place every May at Houston’s NRG Center drawing nearly 60,000 visitors from around the world. Known in the industry as OTC, this year’s conference is scheduled from May 4 to 7 but is taking place amid the global outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

 

OTC plans to go ahead as coronavirus cancels other conferences-oil and gas 360

 

In a statement released earlier this week, OTC organizers said they do not anticipate making any change in plans to this year’s conference. There are no known cases of the virus in either Houston or Texas, local and state health officials have reported.

“As the situation evolves, the health and safety of event attendees, exhibitors, and OTC staff will be our highest priority and guide any decisions that we make,” organizers said.

Infecting 93,000 people in 77 nations, the flu-like coronavirus has been blamed on 3,200 deaths around the globe, figures from the World Health Organization show.

Organizers of CERAWeek, another oil and gas industry conference that takes place in Houston every March, canceled this year’s event amid the growing number of coronavirus cases around the world and delegates from nations subject to U.S. travel restrictions being unable to attend.

Last month, Facebook canceled its 5,000-person Global Marketing Summit in San Francisco because of concerns about the virus. Organizers of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona did the same days earlier.

 


Legal Notice