On Sept. 14-16 the fourth APPEX Prospect and Property Expo to be held in Houston will be convened by AAPG, SIPES and HGS. APPEX-Houston follows the highly successful APPEX-London held last March and described by Steve Veal in this column in the May EXPLORER.
Holding APPEX events twice a year, on each side of the Atlantic, is unique and is a key strategic feature aimed at fulfilling the APPEX Mission, which is to:
"Establish U.S. and international market places for the exchange of oil and gas prospects and producing properties, which are driven by geoscience fundamentals as well as business opportunity."
I believe a trend we will see -- and should encourage -- is an increase in the non-U.S. content of APPEX-Houston. Non-U.S. companies, including vendors of E&P services, E&P operators and even an occasional national oil company, are a small but growing component of APPEX-Houston.
A key phenomenon to keep in mind is the dynamic of management decision-making in E&P; management decisions on many "international deals" are made in Houston offices, even if the company has a European office or consultant!
The current blossoming of opportunity in the UK North Sea is a good case in point.
Newly formed, entrepreneurial prospect generators are springing up in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe. Many Houston-based E&P operators already have entered the North Sea arena and would certainly welcome the opportunity to review deals at Brown Convention Center, sparing the need for a trans-Atlantic trip!
Could there be European-based E&P companies interested in reviewing U.S. prospects in London? Mexican food is harder to find, but the pubs are great for deal-making!
I believe the increasing globalization of our industry will naturally lead to a dramatic synergy between the two APPEX events. I salute the companies who already have seen this opportunity -- Challenger Minerals and Carrizo Oil and Gas come to mind -- and have pioneered showing North Sea opportunities in Houston.
Those of us involved in organizing APPEX in either city encourage you to think about the possibilities -- and tell us how we can help!