A visit to the Dallas Convention Center during the AAPG Annual Meeting last April was all that would have been needed for you to travel to the four corners of the world.
A few steps in one direction would have taken you from Brazil to Indonesia, passing by Greenland and Mongolia. Next you could have taken a stroll through East Africa from Eritrea to South Africa via Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique.
For the tenth year running -- since its inception in Denver in 1994 -- the International Pavilion has taken pride of place in the exhibits hall as one of the key attractions of the AAPG Annual Meeting.
A highlight to this year's event was the presence of delegations from Afghanistan and Vietnam, both exhibiting for the first time ever in the United States.
The mission of the IP is to provide a venue where some 40 nations can exhibit their investment opportunities to investors from the world's international oil companies.
One of the underlying secrets for its success has been not only the exhibit's commercial aspects, but also its educational value.
For geologists, it provides an opportunity to discover far-flung petroleum systems, perhaps identifying plays analogous to those in their own back yard, and to discuss exploration strategy.
For exhibitors, it provides an opportunity to share and learn from their peers.
The competition for investment in international E&P has made countries acutely aware of their own relative competitive advantage. The IP offers an unparalleled opportunity for these countries to compare with their competitors the terms of their legislation and regulations, the operating difficulties specific to each country, their respective strategies for attracting investment and their relative success.
The mutual exchange of ideas is further enhanced by dedicated "Global Forums." Open to IP exhibitors and IP sponsoring companies, the pre-meeting forum is designed to enable the representatives of the countries that exhibit at the IP to debate with their counterparts in the international oil companies the principle issues of concern and to benefit from their mutual experience and understanding.
In recent years, the opportunity to promote investment in each country has been significantly enhanced by the introduction of the IP Theatre -- a dedicated area within the IP area where each country is given a 30-minute slot to present its opportunities and the conditions of investment.
This and previous years' presentations from both the IP Global Forum and the IP Theatre are available for viewing at the IP's dedicated Web site, "International Pavilion Online." Access is provided via the AAPG home page (www.aapg.org) under "Where do you want to go in AAPG's site?"
In recognition of the success of the IP, AAPG will be holding an IP event at the AAPG International Conference in Cancun, Mexico, Oct. 24-27, and at the APPEX London, March 1-3. The next full exhibition of the IP will be held at next year's AAPG Annual Meeting in Calgary, June 19-22.
For more information about the IP and its activities contact:
- Gina Godfrey, IP chair; telephone -- 1 (303) 308-9100; e-mail -- Gina Godfrey.
- Jonathan Green, IP country coordinator; telephone -- 41 22 721 1717; e-mail -- Jonathan Green.
- Evelyn Medvin, IP sponsorship coordinator; telephone -- 1 (713) 328-2212; e-mail -- Evelyn Medvin.