The search continues for good drilling prospects.
The talk indicates they're out there waiting to be snapped up, albeit not necessarily in the quantity today's highly revved-up industry would like.
The good news: There's a summer showcase being put together filled with any number of oil and gas deals for your viewing -- and purchasing -- pleasure.
It's called Summer NAPE, sort of the younger sibling of the highly-successful and long-standing "winter" NAPE (North American Prospect Expo). The affair is being readied to kick off Aug. 24 for a two-day run at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
For those who hail from more pleasant climes, don't despair -- besides being dubbed the energy capital of the world, Houston often is referred to as the air-conditioning capital as well.
The summer get-together will answer the mid-year need for a prospect expo that previously was filled by the AAPG-sponsored APPEX.
In fact, the August meeting is being created and produced by NAPE Expo LP, which is a partnership comprised of the AAPL, AAPG, IPAA and SEG. The four organizations have combined their resources to present the most cohesive E&P event in the world, according to Robin Forte, executive vice president of AAPL where NAPE originated.
"With the NAPE brand, we're going to get the geologists and landmen working together again and working toward a single common goal," said Rick Fritz, executive director of AAPG. "And by consolidating and removing the competition factor, we can have bigger events."
Forte also sees positive potential in the marriage.
"Once AAPG joined into the NAPE partnership, we decided that due to the demand demonstrated by APPEX's success it would be good to continue with a summer event," Forte said. "Also, it provides some continuity, given the successful history of the annual NAPE gathering early in the winter."
"We've always felt there was a need for two major events," Fritz said. "Summer is a good opportunity because there are a lot of people looking for year-end money -- and timing is everything in the oil and gas business."
Added Attractions
While not expected to match the annual wintertime mega-expo in size, the summer confab is slated to pull in an impressive number of people.
"We're very satisfied with early registration, and everything points to a very successful event," Forte said. "We're expecting 250 to 300 exhibitors and between 2,500 and 3,000 attendees."
Besides the draw of all the drilling deals scheduled for display and the wealth of networking opportunities, there also are a couple of seminars planned that are sure to be crowd pleasers.
A day-long workshop, "Perspectives on North American E&P," will be sponsored by IHS Energy.
The domestic-focused program will include a morning session featuring technologies that spur commercial production from unconventional reservoirs. A prospect promotions session will follow in the afternoon, where exhibitors will feature prospects representing varied drilling objectives, including:
- Tight sands.
- Coalbed methane.
- Fractured reservoirs.
- New frontiers.
Prior to opening day of the expo, Pete Huddleston will present a special 2005 Summer NAPE Institute.
The topic of the seminar will be economic analysis and managing producing properties, according to Forte. The seminar is planned to offer insight into petroleum property management and economics, including oil and gas contracts, oil and gas reserves and property evaluation, property acquisitions and sales, economic criteria and more.
An industry luncheon and a live/Internet auction hosted by The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse also are included in the Summer NAPE schedule.