Busan City to Host Big 3 Shipyards, Equipment, and Facility Companies at BEXCO for 3 Days from December 1
140 Companies, 150 Booths ... Directions for Competitiveness and Revitalization of Shipbuilding and Offshore Plant Industry
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The "2020 International Offshore Plant Exhibition (Offshore Korea 2020)," showcasing various aspects of the marine plant industry, will be held for three days from December 1 to 3 at BEXCO in Busan.
Co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and Busan City, this exhibition is organized to revitalize the stagnant offshore plant industry market and strengthen industrial competitiveness.
The event is jointly organized by six institutions: Busan Shipbuilding & Marine Equipment Cooperative, BEXCO, Kyungyeon Exhibition, KOTRA, Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association, and KIMEX.
The event will feature participation from major equipment and facility companies, including the Big 3 shipyards. Unlike previous exhibitions, this one emphasizes the conference, focusing on changes in the industry after COVID-19 and reviewing the competitiveness of the marine industry as a future growth engine.
In preparation for the nationwide resurgence of COVID-19 and concerns about regional transmission, attendance will be controlled at one person per 4 square meters inside the facility, following exhibition operation guidelines equivalent to Level 2.
Now in its fifth year, the exhibition will be held on a scale of 140 companies and 150 booths. Domestic large shipbuilders such as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Busan-based companies like Sunbo Industries will also participate.
Amid the long-term slump in the offshore plant industry, which has led many domestic equipment companies to focus solely on the eco-friendly ship sector, the exhibition aims to raise interest in the high value-added offshore plant industry and prepare for the post-COVID-19 era. It is a venue where the Big 3 shipbuilders and offshore plant equipment companies seek to enhance the competitiveness of Korea's marine industry.
Simultaneously held, the "2020 International Offshore Plant Technical Conference (Offshore Korea Technical Conference 2020)" will address the theme "Strategies to Secure Competitiveness in the Marine Industry in the Era of Low Oil Prices."
Despite low oil prices and the COVID-19 situation this year, the conference will be held at the same scale as in 2018 at the BEXCO Convention Hall, featuring special sessions, two keynote speeches, panel discussions, and a total of 34 presentations across eight topics.
Louis Bertrand Lapecas, Secretary-General of the International Gas Union (IGU), which hosts the "World Gas Conference," one of the world's top three gas industry events, will deliver a keynote speech on "Global Energy Outlook of the Gas Industry."
ABS, one of the world's top five classification societies, will lead discussions on "Digital Transformation of the Offshore Plant Industry, Leap to the Future," focusing on the application and advantages of digital technologies in offshore plant operation and maintenance.
In the panel discussion titled "Future of the Marine Industry and Strategies to Secure Competitiveness of Korea's EPC Industry," Vice President Kim Joon-chul of Samsung Heavy Industries will serve as the chair.
Panelists from Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and the Shipbuilding & Offshore Equipment Research Institute will participate to discuss the competitiveness of the marine industry. Each session will cover diverse topics related to the offshore plant industry's future direction, including digitalization, smart construction, competitiveness enhancement strategies, and dismantling industry.
A highlight of this year's conference is a session on Brazil's Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) projects, which have become a major global focus, in addition to the domestic Big 3 shipbuilders.
Considering the new FPSO orders from Petrobras in Brazil, the technical conference will provide an opportunity to review Petrobras' past, present, and future FPSO projects, focusing on the Petrobras Buzios FPSO project.
The Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), under the Ministry of Mines and Energy, will explain regulations related to projects in Brazil under the theme "Operational Safety Inspection Before and After the Pandemic."
In a special session, Ahmad Said Al Amoodi, Head of Surface Development at Qatar Petroleum (QP), which signed a business agreement in June with the Big 3 shipyards for the order of 100 LNG carriers, will be invited as a special speaker to present Qatar's marine plant project plans for the next decade.
The third-day conference will include a sponsored session hosting a virtual discussion on the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 75th meeting's decision on greenhouse gas reduction measures for existing ships. This will be broadcast via the official YouTube accounts of Korean Register and Hyundai Global Service.
Byun Sung-wan, Acting Mayor of Busan, said, "This exhibition focuses on the development of the domestic offshore plant industry despite the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, sustained low oil prices, and the slump in the shipbuilding and marine industries."
KOTRA, a co-host of the event, will also hold a non-face-to-face export consultation meeting for shipbuilding and offshore plant equipment called "2020 Global Offshore & Marine Plaza (GOMP 2020)" by attracting 50 major overseas buyers during the exhibition period.
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