Offshore Technology Conference

Here’s What OTC Events Can Offer You

• International Trade: Opportunities for countries to connect and meet with international buyers.
• Quality: Technical program selected by knowledgeable and experienced professionals.
• Value: Ground-breaking innovations and the leading providers of products and services in one place, at one time.
• Convenience: From Houston to Rio de Janeiro to Kuala Lumpur, OTC events are in energy hubs with world-class hotels, international airports, and many entertainment options.
• Networking: Meet people from around the world who have ideas to share and technical knowledge to exchange.
• Investment Back in the Industry: OTC’s sponsoring organizations use revenue generated from the events to provide many other important programs for its members, such as training and technical journals.
• Always Something New: Encounter different languages being spoken, never-seen-before technologies, and top executives that you might not hear speak anywhere else.

The Offshore Technology Conference was founded in 1969 by 12 engineering and scientific organizations as a response to the growing technological needs of the global ocean extraction and environmental protection industries. Interdisciplinary and cross-sector cooperation was becoming acute as both industries moved into more hostile environments and unknown operating conditions.

The first conference was held in Houston's Albert Thomas Convention Center, and as the significance of the conference grew overnight, larger facilities at Houston's NRG Park (formerly named Reliant Park and Astrodomain Complex) were booked annually. 

As the offshore industry continued to grow, so too did the stature and size of OTC, reaching a peak attendance in 2014 of 108,300.

OTC ranks among the largest 100 tradeshows held annually in the United States and is among the 10 largest meetings in terms of attendance. 

OTC is also significant for the Houston economy. Since 1969, OTC has generated more than $3.2 billion in income for the city and is the city’s largest convention.

To extend OTC's reach around the world and to focus on specific technical and regional issues, OTC Brasil and the Arctic Technology Conference were created in 2011. OTC Asia was created in 2012.

Also in 2012, the Brazilian Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels Institute (IBP) was confirmed as a regional sponsoring organization and co-organizer of OTC Brasil.

In 2013, OTC reached a new record of more than 2,700 exhibiting companies, totaling an exhibit area equivalent to 10 U.S. football fields. In 2014, OTC reached a new record for the size of the exhibit space, totaling 680,025 sq ft.

Through the decades, OTC has maintained its relevance to the offshore energy industry and has initiated several programs to expand its service to the energy community. 

The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC’s successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations working together to deliver the world’s most comprehensive Arctic event.

ATC presents a highly specialized technical program presented by high-quality speakers. ATC promotes the understanding of the cold regions of the earth through environmentally compatible design and construction, safe operation, maintenance and integrity of both offshore and onshore structures in these fragile regions.