The seventh international annual Offshore West Africa (OWA) Conference will be held in Windhoek next week from 11 to 13 March 2003. Over 1000 delegates from all over the world are expected to attend. Operators and service companies alike will be presenting their perspectives on projects and the challenges they face in the offshore oil and gas sector along the West African coast, as well as the expanding opportunities across the region like the Kudu gas project. Some of the companies represented include ChevronTexaco, Amerada Hess, BP, Vanco Energy, ExxonMobil, Shell, PetroSA, NNPC, Forest Oil, CNR, Petrobras, TotalFinaElf, Sonangol, Technip-Coflexip, Schlumberger, Stolt Offshore, DNV, J Ray McDermott, Saipem, Baker Hughes, ABS, IHS Energy and Halliburton. Sponsors include Vanco Energy, DNV, ExxonMobil and Seabulk. Various companies attending the conference will partake in an exhibition parallel to the conference.

President Sam Nujoma will open the international event, which is hosted by the Namibian ministry of mines and energy, next Tuesday. Major oil producing countries are Nigeria and Angola, the latter producing about 7% of the crude oil needs of the US.

Delegates from other countries are offered packages before and after the conference to travel Namibia and its best sightseeing spots. Namibia is gaining a good reputation internationally for hosting international conference due to peace and stability in the country and its excellent infrastructure and modern conference facilities. A British company, Pennwell Corporation, organizes the conference.