AFPM cancels petrochemical, oil conferences on coronavirus concerns

The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers on Wednesday cancelled two annual energy conferences this month amid the increasingly global coronavirus outbreak, the organization said.

AFPM cancelled its International Petrochemical Conference, or IPC, scheduled for March 29-31 in New Orleans as well as its March 22-24 annual meeting in Austin, Texas.

The announcement came more than a week after IHS Markit cancelled its annual five-day CERAWeek energy conference in Houston that had been scheduled for this week, as well as its World Petrochemical Conference March 24-27 in New Orleans, just before IPC.

"Nothing is more important to our industries than safety, and in evaluating the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation, it is clear to us that cancelling these meetings is the right course of action to protect the health and safety of our meeting registrants and vendors, our staff, and the Austin and New Orleans communities," said Chet Thompson, president and CEO of AFPM. "The decision reflects guidance from health officials on limiting potential exposure to the virus, as confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continue to rise."

AFPM's IPC typically attracts about 3,000 attendees from around the globe annually, from petrochemical producers and traders to top executives. The conference also features keynote speakers that may not be in the energy industry. This year's keynote speaker was slated to be former US national security adviser John Bolton.

AFPM's annual meeting typically draws more than 1,000 executives and technical experts in refining, techology, contracting and consulting as well as traders.

"It was inevitable," a petrochemical market source said about the IPC cancellation. "It appeared that pretty much everyone had already backed out already."

AFPM's announcement about the conferences came after dozens of companies had already decided not to attend amid coronavirus concerns, having restricted employee travel. Those include ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical and Shell Chemical.

Other major gatherings have been cancelled as well. On Wednesday the city of Houston and the Houston Health Department also ordered the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, an annual three-week event that attracts tens of thousands of people, to shut down in its second week.

The rodeo's shutdown came days after the cancellation of the annual South by Southwest film festival in Austin.