AAPG's rapidly approaching APPEX 2002,
already a "must do" event for people looking to make a deal — or
for those looking to make their deals better — just got a little
more attractive.
As of EXPLORER press time, Texas
gubernatorial candidates Rick Perry, the state's republican incumbent
governor, and Democrat Tony Sanchez were both slated to speak at
the APPEX Dealmakers Conference on Tuesday, Aug. 27, a day-long
event that offers a variety of talks and sessions dealing with the
business of geology for both independents and majors.
Perry is scheduled to be the
featured speaker during the morning session, and Sanchez is scheduled
as the luncheon speaker.
APPEX 2002 is AAPG's second annual
Prospect and Property Expo, which will be held Aug. 27-29 at the
George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The theme is "The
Right Time, The Right Place, The Right People."
AAPG, SIPES and the Houston Geological
Society are the sponsors for an event designed to be both geoscientist
and prospector friendly — a place to display ideas, plays and properties
to a large crowd at the time of year when most buyers are developing
their budgets for the coming season.
Chuck Noll, chairman of APPEX
2002, is hoping to have 400 booths operating for APPEX this year
— a size that would double last year's inaugural effort.
And as was the case last year,
APPEX will feature a "Dealmakers Conference," which will begin at
8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27, offering a variety of talks and sessions
to help both independents and majors.
Some of the sessions already
confirmed are:
- Sourcing Capital Sessions, featuring speakers
from EnCap, Duke Capital, Deutsche Bank, Fleet Boston Financial
and Frank Weisser of Weisser, Johnson & Co., speaking on "Private
Financing in Turbulent Times."
- A special presentation by John Hogg, vice
president for EnCana, who will offer an overview of the new "super
independent" company's organization and its high risk deep water
exploration portfolio, including its North Sea operations.
- An E&P session, with talks on:
- "Maverick Misterios — A New Fascinating
Discovery."
- "Strategies for Successfully Managing
an Independent E&P Company in a Volatile Commodity Price
Environment and the Expansion into Deep Water Plays and Gas
Plays Onshore."
- "Building a Producer-Focused Midstream
Competitor."
- Concurrent sessions on "Innovative Exploration"
and "Support Systems for Exploration."
The Expo itself will kickoff
after the Dealmakers Conference with the Tuesday night Icebreaker,
with access to the APPEX booths at that time.
A mini-breaker within the expo
hall also is planned after Wednesday's full day of prospecting,
followed by "International Night," featuring talks on the redevelopment
of several abandoned fields on the UK North Sea Shelf via horizontal
drilling and modern 3-D and 4-D seismic definition.
Speakers will include Iain Murray,
the British Consul in Houston, and Gene Van Dyke, Vanco Energy,
who will recount Vanco's success as an independent in the North
Sea and offshore West Africa.
APPEX continues on Thursday,
Aug. 29.