The organizers of SPE Offshore Europe offshore energy-focused event in Aberdeen have decided to postpone the event on 1-4 February 2022 at P&J Live, Aberdeen, in alignment with Scottish Government guidance on the coronavirus situation.
Jonathan Heastie, Portfolio Director – Energy & Marine at RX (Reed Exhibitions), co-organizer with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) of SPE Offshore Europe said: “The health and safety of our exhibitors, attendees and staff is our priority. We were excited for the return of SPE Offshore Europe to Aberdeen in February 2022, but it is clear that given the current situation it would not be in the best interests of our community to go ahead.
"The decision is made with a heavy heart and I am thankful for the wonderful support from exhibitors and all those who had been working so hard to make the show a success. The full conference and exhibition will be rescheduled to 5-8 September 2023."
"It is a complex process to postpone such a large event and we will be in touch directly with our exhibitors and stakeholders in the coming days. Bookings for exhibition space for February 2022 will be guaranteed for September 2023.”
Heastie signaled that a smaller, themed event may be staged later in 2022 if industry demand is sufficient: “We will have discussions with industry and our stakeholders about the possibility of holding an event focused on the energy transition in Aberdeen later in 2022. This would build on the extensive, high-quality content that we had lined up for February to support a fair energy transition.”
COVID cases on the rise
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, in a statement given to the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh on January 5, 2022, warned of the rising number of COVID cases, driven by the extremely infectious Omicron variant.
"Here in Scotland over the past week, the total number of new reported cases has increased by 87%. Tomorrow’s figures will almost certainly see us pass 1 million reported cases since the outset of the pandemic," Sturgeon said Wednesday.
"However, the rapid and very widespread transmission of Omicron is such that the daily recorded tally of cases - which has always been an underestimate of the true level of infection - now gives us an even less comprehensive indicator of how prevalent the virus is," she said.
"The weekly survey published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) gives a better indication. In the week to 23 December, it suggested that one in 40 people in Scotland had COVID.
The results of the most recent ONS survey – published just a few minutes ago – suggest that in the week to 31 December that had risen to one in 20," Sturgeon added.
"In short, COVID is significantly more widespread now than at any stage in the pandemic so far, and will almost certainly become even more so in the days to come," she said.
Sturgeon confirmed that the restrictions on large gatherings, the requirement for distancing between groups of people in public indoor places, and for table service in hospitality venues serving alcohol on the premises would remain in force "for now and indeed, I expect, until 17 January."
"In addition, while this is not a legal requirement, we are continuing to strongly advise the general public to limit contact with people in other households as far as possible, and to limit the number of households in any indoor gathering that does take place to a maximum of three," she said.
"When at least one in 20 of us have the virus - as is the case now - the risk of getting it when we mix with others is significant. So if we limit the occasions on which we do mix, we also reduce our own risk of catching a virus that we know could have a nasty impact on our health," Sturgeon added.
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