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Recently, few of my colleagues and myself attended the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. With continued low oil prices, the attendance this year was much lower than previous years. Attendance was down to around 68,000 people this year compared to around 95,000 in 2015 and around 108,000 in 2014. Well, there was some upside to lower attendance: no bumping into one-another in exhibition halls, shorter lines for food, chairs to sit, and lesser traffic around NRG Park. However, I (and I am sure, most other attendees) truly missed the kind of energy that was apparent during the 2014 OTC, when the oil price was over $100 a barrel. Even in 2015, when the oil price was around $60, the vibe at the show was much more positive. I believe it was because everybody was expecting a quick recovery of oil prices. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The oil price still remain low (lower than $50) and so was the enthusiasm of most participants at the OTC. With low oil prices, the dynamics of the industry are changing, which was clearly visible at the OTC this year. Few years ago, when oil prices were going up, all owner/operators wanted to pump more oil. So, innovations highlighted at the OTC were all about technologies that help owner/operators get more oil out of reservoirs, improve exploration, and operate at high temperature, high pressure (HPHT) conditions. Today, owner/operators have a new focus. They are looking for ways to cut costs, minimize capital expenditures and lower project costs. Accordingly, suppliers have changed their focus as well. They are looking for ways to help owner/operators save more money. They are lowering prices of their products, offering various kinds of services, offering cost-effective solutions, and collaborating with other suppliers. To provide value to owner/operators, who are trying to survive the bust, suppliers are moving away from the product-centric approach to solution-centric approach. Companies are tying in some sort of services to go with the products and also combining different products and technologies to offer complete solutions that solve specific problems for owner/operators. The solution-centric trend was highly visible at the OTC this year. 
At the show, Emerson demonstrated its various solution sets that combine its wide range of measurement and control products. Some of the solutions highlighted at the show included: Dynamic Lift Optimization, Produced Fluids Management, Flow Assurance, Fiscal Assurance Solutions, Produced Fluids Management, Performance & Reliability Monitoring, Machinery Health Monitoring, and Integrated Valve Shutdown Solutions. Cameron usually brings-in huge drilling and exploration equipment to the show. However, this year the company brought in minimal equipment and instead, its highlight at the show was its 60' interactive multimedia wall spotlighting the latest Cameron solutions and capabilities. Show visitors could walk up to the giant iPad-like wall and navigate to different pages to learn in detail about various Cameron offerings. GE is another major company that has changed its approach. While the company highlighted few of its leading solutions, including its OTC Spotlight Award winning SeaPrime, a subsea mux BOP control system, at the show, the focus was more on digital technologies. Numerous screens, displaying information on various GE solutions, filled the walls of different sections of the GE booth. In fact, many companies went digital this year and avoided big bulky equipment. While last year, companies brought in 10.7 million pounds of freight, this year it was 9.6 million pounds. A decrease of over 10 percent, another indicator of this move toward digital media. Big interactive screens, projectors, simulators, wearable virtual reality devices were a common sight at the show. Many companies felt that they are able to highlight their solutions and capabilities better with digital technologies. They mentioned that when they bring-in an equipment, the focus is on the product. However, with digital technologies, they can show how different products fit-in together and offer a complete solution. Most exhibition visitors also seemed to enjoy some of the latest technologies especially simulators and virtual reality gears. However, some felt that companies have gone too far with digital content. Few even mentioned that they come to the show specifically to see real products and solutions, and hence were disappointed to see fewer equipment at the show.
At the show, Emerson demonstrated its various solution sets that combine its wide range of measurement and control products. Some of the solutions highlighted at the show included: Dynamic Lift Optimization, Produced Fluids Management, Flow Assurance, Fiscal Assurance Solutions, Produced Fluids Management, Performance & Reliability Monitoring, Machinery Health Monitoring, and Integrated Valve Shutdown Solutions. Cameron usually brings-in huge drilling and exploration equipment to the show. However, this year the company brought in minimal equipment and instead, its highlight at the show was its 60' interactive multimedia wall spotlighting the latest Cameron solutions and capabilities. Show visitors could walk up to the giant iPad-like wall and navigate to different pages to learn in detail about various Cameron offerings. GE is another major company that has changed its approach. While the company highlighted few of its leading solutions, including its OTC Spotlight Award winning SeaPrime, a subsea mux BOP control system, at the show, the focus was more on digital technologies. Numerous screens, displaying information on various GE solutions, filled the walls of different sections of the GE booth. In fact, many companies went digital this year and avoided big bulky equipment. While last year, companies brought in 10.7 million pounds of freight, this year it was 9.6 million pounds. A decrease of over 10 percent, another indicator of this move toward digital media. Big interactive screens, projectors, simulators, wearable virtual reality devices were a common sight at the show. Many companies felt that they are able to highlight their solutions and capabilities better with digital technologies. They mentioned that when they bring-in an equipment, the focus is on the product. However, with digital technologies, they can show how different products fit-in together and offer a complete solution. Most exhibition visitors also seemed to enjoy some of the latest technologies especially simulators and virtual reality gears. However, some felt that companies have gone too far with digital content. Few even mentioned that they come to the show specifically to see real products and solutions, and hence were disappointed to see fewer equipment at the show.