The 23rd annual Oklahoma Oil and Gas Expo sponsored by SOER, Sustaining Oklahoma’s Energy Resources, is only a few weeks away in Oklahoma City. More than 250 exhibitors have signed up to take part.
“We still have three weeks and normally, we get a pretty good push in the final weeks,” according to Melanie Voice, Director of SOER. She’s hoping to get at least 300 exhibitors, the number that took part in last year’s event on the state fairgrounds.
This year’s Expo will be held Oct. 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bennett Event Center on the fairgrounds.
“We still have all the indoor and outdoor vendors this year,” said Voice. “But we have some new kind of display pieces that will be a little more eye pleasing.”
One major change for the 2019 Expo will be on-site registration.
“We plan to offer self-check-in that will take only about 22 seconds on average. It’ll get people in quicker,” added Voice. “But we’ll still have staff there to help if needed.”
SOER is facing some marketing deadlines this week so those vendors who have yet to agree to be a part of the show could face some challenges in getting into the marketing materials. Firms can still be exhibitors but whether they will be part of published programs remains to be answered.
The oil and gas expo is considered to be the longest running and largest of its kind in Oklahoma. One question that remains—how will a recent slowdown in oilfield activity in the state affect the turnout of vendors and the visiting crowd?
“It may be affected a little bit,” answered Voice. “We’ve had a few people who were exhibitors last week and said this year they couldn’t afford it financially.”
SOER is a division of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board.
