Well, in a much under-promoted and quiet way, I have arrived in Houston, TX. Frankly, I was expecting a band or something more grandiose, but, perhaps, that awaits me at the hotel.
So, what the heck am I doing in Texas?
Apparently my postings on offshore drilling and the necessity for it to happen in Virginia attracted the interest of the American Petroleum Institute who has flown me to the Lone Star State and is putting me up for a few nights so that I can attend the “Offshore Technology Conference”.
Over the course of the next several days, I will be attending seminars on energy challenges, climate change, arctic energy challenges, hear the case for drilling in the OCS, have a roundtable with API president Jack Gerard, and visit several facilities, including Haliburton’s (yea, those guys) Real-Time Decision Center and Visualization Center and Cameron’s Subsea Technology Center.
I’ll also tour the conference and check out some of the products and new concepts in development.
Why am I here?
Well, I hope to learn more about the safety of this process, what kinds of jobs could actually be generated in Virginia, what we can expect if we go forward with off-shore drilling, what it’s potential impact might be, and much, much more.
If you have any questions for me while I am here or something you want me to research, leave a question and I’ll do my best.
Oh…I also get to hear from Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) tomorrow…that’ll be cool too.
