Last month at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, NAPE 2023 celebrated 30 years of bringing together projects and opportunities from around the world. The show preserved its core format — aisle after aisle of booths with maps, seismic surveys and droves of homogenous businessmen seeking the next deal.

Over the last several years, NAPE has endured considerable headwinds, with the combination of depressed attendance due to the pandemic, a harsh spotlight focused by the ESG community on the perception of the oil and gas sector, and a strict directive from the capital markets to deliver fiscal returns to investors after years of failing to reward stakeholders. 

“Capital discipline! Produce green energy! Lower my consumer cost for energy!” And please, respect my personal space.

Each year, the NAPE Expo in Houston is a microcosm of the state of the oil and gas industry. This year, despite some pre-convention jitters about the Omicron variant of COVID, the show went on without a hitch. And what a show it was.

To My eyes and ears, the theme around NAPE this year was GREEN.

Each year, the NAPE Expo in Houston is a microcosm of the state of the oil and gas industry. This year, despite some pre-convention jitters about the Omicron variant of COVID, the show went on without a hitch. And what a show it was. To my eyes and ears, the theme...

I was in Houston last week for the NAPE Summit (this was the winter version rescheduled for August and replacing the summer NAPE).  The industry had big plans and high hopes for a back-to-normal mega-convention after a year pivoting and adjusting with countless...