Sector Focus
were geo-cloned with the expansion
of these businesses, most notably IIR
(UBM/Informa). Very few independent
operators are now left in the UK, with
the biggest being acquired in a broad
industry trend of consolidation between
2013-2015. This saw already established
British players become dominant
market leaders in certain geographies,
such as the Hyve’s (Formerly ITE)
purchase of Africa Oil Week. The
exception to the rule in Europe is the
sizeable Offshore Mediterranean
Conference & Exhibition in Italy.
UBM’s All World acquisition ($485m)
saw them secure a significant foothold
in the O&G space (Middle East Oil
Show (MEOS), Middle East Petrotech
and GEO exhibitions in Bahrain) but it
is unclear what their future plans are
for Petrotech, once one of the biggest
events in the region. Hyve’s Africa
Oil Week is having somewhat of a
renaissance since its heyday in 2014.
DMG dominates the O&G global market
with ADIPEC and Gastec, the two
biggest privately-owned events in the
industry rumoured to generate around
£30m per event.
Clarion Events first moved into the oil
and gas space with the acquisition of the
Energy Exchange and World Refining
Association brands at the end of the
last decade. It supplemented this with
the launch of the Oil Council series
of shows in 2010 that have now been
geo-cloned internationally. In 2015 The
Global Technology Forum was acquired
from Incisive Media which gave an
additional downstream brand. Clarion’s
focus seems different to its UK peer
group with a clear bias towards higher
yielding large-scale confex, though
some of these events such as the World
Energy Capital Assembly and ERTC
event are notably larger than many
industry exhibitions.
The O&G market is divided into four
main areas. Upstream – Oil out of the
ground, Midstream – Transportation,
pipeline, Downstream – Refining,
petrochemical and products and
Fullstream (all sectors above).
The big five trends and how they influence oil and gas markets and
events.
1. European O&G majors are in restructuring mode driven by
shareholders being more active with ESG sustainable goals
than American peer groups. Companies like Shell have now
committed 15% of capex to renewable energy, while Total owns
the biggest energy storage business in Europe (Safte). The
knock-on impact is they are now looking at sponsoring events
that can be demonstrate a desire for a lower carbon future.
2. All regions are not created equal. The US has seen production
increase by 100% in little over seven years, turning the country
from the world’s biggest buyer of crude to a net exporter of
natural resources. This has been driven by the shale revolution,
which allows the industry to extract O&G from the source
rock and not the traditional reservoir. This affects African
shows in particular. The region has a higher cost to break even
on extraction which has been traditionally stable as the US
would buy whatever they produced. This is not the case now,
and some shows in those countries have suffered as a result.
Canada for the same reason and industry events like Calgary
Stampede and Global Petroleum Show have disappeared or
continue to suffer.
3. Renewables will continue to grow but gas flexibility and cost
dynamics are compelling. For instance, there is not a road in
London without gas mains. Electrification can solve many
issues such as harmful gases from cars, but no solution for
scaled central heating has yet been discovered. Gas basic
chemistry is 30% cleaner than oil and it has a key role to play
for the next 25 years. This has seen gas events such as LNG
hold strong numbers despite the price of oil.
4. While the profitability of upstream activities (especially
offshore) has taken a hit with lower prices and the growth of
renewables, this has only been good for the downstream sector
where oil is turned into usable products such as fuel. Events
such as those like ERTC and Petrochem (now Reuters Events)
have seen strong double-digit growth as a result.
5. Availability of potential buyers for non-core businesses of
majors is driving a wave of M&A mainly driven by private
equity and ultra high-net-worth individuals. This has
seen those events that look at the finance of the industry
outperform the fundamental market for the past four years.
Like oil companies themselves, event businesses are trying to
move their hydrocarbon rich portfolios to reflect lower carbon
events. Informa/UBM legacy Flame gas event includes an energy
transition element for the first time as did and Gastec with the
much publicised GPEX launch in Barcelona last year. Both events
brought in industry veterans to support the launch with varying
degrees of success.
Event organisers are trying to find the right way to blend low-
carbon products into their traditional hydrocarbon events. Some
have tried through gas which is accepted as an industry ‘bridge’
fuel with significantly lower carbon than oil, whereas others have
branched into full renewables via organic launch or acquisition.
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