More than 8,000 dealmakers and decision-makers and over 450 exhibitors representing oil & gas, renewables, bitcoin, capital providers and service companies enthusiastically packed the NAPE Expo floor to celebrate — and continue — 30 years of connecting, learning and making deals happen.
“I just want to say thanks to our exhibitors, sponsors, speakers and all attendees for making our 30th anniversary NAPE Summit a huge success,” said NAPE Operators Committee Chair David Cape, CPL. “Starting with an incredible line-up of industry experts, CEOs and governors from two key energy states in our Energy Business Conference, the momentum continued onto the show floor with a buzz of enthusiastic networking.”
“I loved the enthusiastic vibe on the show floor and the multitude of oil & gas prospect generators and decision-makers making connections,” added Le’Ann Callihan, vice president of NAPE and AAPL. “In addition, our Renewable Energy Pavilion and new Bitcoin Mining Pavilion piqued the industry’s interest and were highly attended.”
At the 2023 NAPE Summit, exhibitors and attendees alike enjoyed landing leads, building relationships and making deals. The expo floor kicked off with a bang on Thursday, and the dealmaking continued through Friday.
“One of our biggest leads walked in at 9:01 on Thursday morning,” said Kyle Golden of IFS.
“My first day I had a guy come by at 10 o’clock and bring a deal that we’ve been trying to get together. My guy’s in Tyler, I’m from Dallas and he’s from Shreveport, Louisiana. We just never could all seem to get together, but we knew everybody’s going to be at NAPE, and we came in and made a deal yesterday,” said Jay Young, president and CEO of King Operating Corp.
“There’s a deal in Louisiana we’re working on with a group we just met. We’ve also made some good relationships in Borden and Scurry counties where we’ve been for 20 years. We’re just thrilled,” Young added. “Zoom’s OK but Zoom doesn’t do it. But if you get a booth, you’re here and you walk around and get to know people, this is where it happens. Deals happen right here.”
While wintry weather impacted travel for some, it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm on the show floor.
“We’re a little bit understaffed so we didn’t get to tend the booth as much because of the freeze in Austin but all the time I spent here yesterday was really fruitful,” said David Honeycutt, CEO and president of Texas American Resources Co. “One guy brought a really good prospect idea that I think we ought to look at. We also had a lot of friends come by yesterday and that’s good. And that’s what’s great about NAPE: We have a lot of fragmented industry functions throughout the year, but everybody comes to this. This is special. Even though there was all this weather, we still had over 8,000 people come.”
Bobby Adkins of RHB Exploration & Production LLC and iTankData has only missed one NAPE in the last 28 years.
“The people here at the show were focused and they were intentional with their capital — and it was very good for us,” he said. “We finalized one drilling project in Howard County and we were also able to share more information with friends and partners on our tank monitoring system, which led to some expanding their usage and others starting to test it. We also had people interested in our royalty fund.”
“This is the first time we’ve had a booth in years and it’s been a great experience. We saw a lot of old friends,” said Emily Goodnight of SilverBow Resources Operating.
Newcomers also quickly caught the NAPE spirit.
“It’s been a great show for us,” said Ottis Sparks of Sparks Energy Inc., a first-time exhibitor. “It’s been a good opportunity for Sparks to showcase here and get to be the only powerline contractor. Every oil company needs powerlines and every renewable company needs powerlines, so NAPE has been a good fit for us and we’ll be back every year.”
NAPE Week concluded with ice cream and the Summit Sweepstakes.
Exhibitor Baker Botts LLP won the custom NAPE poker table, and Jimmy Hollowell won the drawing for the 2023 Ford Bronco — his second win of the day. Hollowell also won the drawing at Cowboy Exploration LLP.
“It’s always a good day to be lucky,” said Hollowell, who has been to several NAPEs. “It was a very good NAPE — even before this.”
“As usual NAPE proved to be the event that everyone in the energy industry needs to be at this week. The attendance was fantastic, traffic on the exhibit floor was fantastic and I’m really proud to be a part of it,” said Cranford Newell, CPL, assistant chair of the NAPE Operators Committee. “Planning has already begun for the 2024 NAPE Summit. I look forward to the challenges of meeting the high bar that David Cape and the staff have set for NAPE, keep pushing things forward and trying new ideas, and continuing to focus on the things that have made NAPE as successful as it has been for the last 30 years.”
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