LAGCOE opens sold-out show Tuesday

Oct 25, 2015

The Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition should open to good weather and a full schedule Tuesday, the first day of three for the 60-year-old show.

"There are still people calling to ask if they can get in,” said Steve Maley, LAGCOE 2015 chairman.

Too late: 448 vendors have claimed every open spot inside the Cajundome and on the grounds.

LAGCOE will open formally with an 8:45 a.m. ceremony by the INNOV8 tent on the Congress Street side of the exposition. Presentations open at 10 a.m. and continue until 5 p.m.Tuesday, with a 10-5 schedule Wednesday and 10-2 schedule Thursday.

Six international delegations are participating in presentations, including Ukraine, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

LAGCOE will present its third Career Fair on Thursday, and the show will retain its student-focused sessions with STEM student tours and student papers.

Maley said he was unsure how attendance will fare, but he said the full house for exhibitors speaks to the continuing value of the exposition for vendors.

"If they can move their product or make connections, it’s good for them,” he said.

Felicia Dailey of TeamOne Logistics in Lafayette, a transportation provider for the oil industry, said the company’s connection to LAGCOE, which extends back more than a decade, has been prosperous.

"This helps us put our name out there; that’s what we want to do,” she said as she set up the company’s tent on the grounds. "LAGCOE has been good to us.”

Bruce Rountree of Advanced Engineering Plastics said Monday that the Shiner, Texas-based company, which produces precision machine parts, was looking for its "next million-dollar account.”

Rountree and Andy Fore, who were outfitting their booth on the Convention Center floor, said 2015 has not been a bad year because the company is diversified, with about 25 percent of its work coming in energy.

Advanced Engineering Plastics is one of about 100 first-time LAGCOE exhibitors.

Peggy Fahrenthold and Karen Olson of DNV-GL, industry consultants based in Houston, said they’ve occupied the same booth at LAGCOE in the past.

They were hoping for a good show but did not know what to expect for attendance in a year when much of the industry is suffering.

Doug Lawler, president and CEO of Chesapeake Energy, will be the keynote speaker Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Room B.

Jason French, director of government and public affairs for Cheniere Energy, will speak about LNG and the American Energy Landscape at 2:15 Tuesday in Room A.

LAGCOE is open to energy professionals and admission is free.

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