10,000 energy execs assemble for ‘Downstream 2019: free exhibition passes available

Nearly 10,000 petrochemical, chemical, refining and LNG professionals will assemble at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas this Tuesday and Wednesday for the world’s largest ever downstream event, the Downstream 2019 Exhibition and Conference.

The Downstream 2019 Exhibition and Conference begins at 9 a.m. on Tuesday June 11th, with an executive level outlook for the U.S. and global downstream Industry. This first session will feature insight from Stuart Bradie, CEO of KBR; Alasdair Cathcart, President - Oil, Gas & Chemicals at Bechtel Corporation’ Samik Mukherjee, Group Senior Vice President, Projects at McDermott; Andrew Stewart, CEO of Americas, Wood; and will be moderated By Walter Pinto, President, PennPetChem.

Downstream 2019’s program includes five tracks serving the entire value chain: Engineering & Construction; Reliability & Maintenance; Shutdowns & Turnaround; an all-new Process Engineering & Technology track; and Supply Chain & Logistics, with relevant content for every attendee’s entire organization. After the headlining session, keynotes will be offered in these tracks.

Speaking to more than 3000+ of North America’s most influential operators, refiners and EPCs, new and returning expert speakers will deliver the very latest case studies allowing delegates to develop world-class projects immediately.

Some of the speakers include; Decie Autin, ExxonMobil VP Project Management, Ed Lehotsky, Cheniere Energy Executive Advisor, Jim Ellis, SABIC General Manager Global Engineering & Project Management, Lance Medlin, Meridian Energy Chief Projects Officer, Tony Barre, Dow Global Maintenance & Reliability Director, Victor Ortega, Covestro VP Technical Site Manager, Jeff Brock, LyondellBasell Global Manager Performance Improvement, Joe Kelly, Shell Logistics Manager and more.

On both days there will be an expanded workshop program with discipline-specific technical sessions, roundtables, industry leading panels and case studies designed to cover every key job role and competency from journeymen to the most senior executives.

In addition, more than 300 exhibitors are set up on the Exhibition Floor for professionals to go one-on-one with the companies building the technology and services that are transforming the way the downstream industry works. Leading capital project providers - such as Audobon Engineering, Jacobs, Zachry and Deep South Crane & Rigging - or leading supply chain & logistics providers such as XPO Logistics, Railserve, Greenbrier & Elemica or leading maintenance & reliability providers such as Innvoatia, ARMS Reliability, AP Networks and Brock Group are some of those exhibiting at Downstream 2019.

A free exhibition visitor pass is available offering: 2 Day access to walk the Exhibition floor with Exhibition Hours from 10AM – 5PM per day, access to the Exhibition Floor Content Theatres, access to Exhibition Floor Live Technology Demonstrations, and access to Exhibition Floor Networking Zones.
 

Exhibition attendees can upgrade to a premium pass to attend the conference as well. A premium pass allows access to the main conference sessions (plenary, keynotes, workshops or break outs), access to the 1-2-1 Meeting Service, access to the attendee list, access to networking functions, breakfast, lunch or refreshments, and access to post event materials.

“Downstream 2019 truly is the place where downstream professionals meet to learn, network and do business. There is no excuse not to attend – and the good news is that owner-operators and technical EPCs get complimentary tickets,” Kerr Jeferies, conference organizer said.

Day 2 begins with headlining sessions by Marcus Luttrell, Author Lone Survivor and a Former Navy Seal, as well as a headline session by Mike Coyle, President of Manufacturing at Chevron. Coyle will explore Chevron’s lessons learned the last five years in downstream safety, workforce development, productivity, project sustainability, logistics and digitalization and how these experiences will have a bearing on the next big projects from Chevron now and in the years to come.

Keynotes in Engineering and Construction, Supply Chain and Logistics and Refinery and maintenance will fill day two’s agenda with presentations by industry experts at SABIC, Wood, BP, Pathfinder LLC, Shell, Flint Hills Resources, Covestro and more.

Additionally, the downstream trade show will pioneer free content theatres that will showcase the industry’s latest and greatest, and deliver cutting-edge technical content from industry partners, associations and major working groups. In this, major players such as BearingPoint and ROCKWOOL will showcase the latest technology with hands-on demonstrations – with Bentley Systems confirmed to deliver an all-new free to attend “Advanced Work Packaging Training for Contractors” at 10 a.m. on June 12.

Downstream 2019 is the largest gathering of Downstream professionals ever assembled, according to conference organizers.
“Over 10,000+ professionals boasting a 30%+ owner / operator ratio, the exhibition attracts whole teams from all of the majors including Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, Total, CP Chem, Dow Chemical and many more,” said Jonny Witherspoon, conference organizer.

The location provides a benefit of having more owner / operators than any other event.

“This is the only Downstream event that secures whole teams from almost every major downstream operator in North America. Expect to see big teams from the likes of ExxonMobil, Shell, Dow Chemical, Lyondellbasell, Phillips 66, CP Chem, BASF and many more,” Jeferies said.

The Houston area is home to the world’s second largest petrochemical complex and is the largest U.S. exporting port. It annually impacts over one million jobs and contributes $178.5 billion to the Texas economy.

“With more than $35 billion in planned chemical plant expansions in our area over the next five years, these are the “good old days.” Never before in our history have we seen the kind of capital investment and job creation we will experience over the next decade,” said Chad Burke, President Economic Alliance Port Houston.

The American Chemistry Council has kept a running tab of shale-related investment in all of the U.S. regions. More than 334 projects valued at more than $204 billion have been announced since 2010. Of these, more than $100 billion have been completed or are under construction.

By Heather McGuire Doyle