HOUSTON Nike Air Max 90 Ultra Flyknit Shoes , May 4 (Xinhua) -- The world's largest oil and natural gas trade show, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), kicked off in the U.S. energy hub of Houston on Monday with a visible presence of emerging Chinese companies.

The annual event, a conference and exhibition, was unveiled Monday morning in the cavernous complex of NRG Park near downtown Houston. Thousands of professionals from around the world braved the Texas heat to attend the industry gala.

The show has apparently felt the pinch from the plunging oil prices as quite a few OTC veterans told Xinhua they saw less visitors and exhibitors coming this year.

OTC Chairman Ed Stokes, however, remained optimistic Nike Air Max 90 Ultra Moire Shoes , saying though he did not have the attendance number right now but this year's exhibition floors are the largest ever -- enough to cover around 12 American football fields.

"The drop in oil price may have some impact (on OTC), but it doesn't affect the quality of the programs we have. The people here to speak are top class and the equipment and technologies on display are top notch," Stokes said.

Stokes noticed the increasing number of Chinese companies coming to the show. Among some 2,700 exhibitors, about one tenth are from China.

"We have more than 130 countries represented here. China is the second largest economy in the world and also a big player in oil industry," said Stokes. "So it's very important for Chinese companies to be here to advertise themselves and network with others."

Cao Minghui, an operation director with Sinopec Oilfield Services Corporation Nike Air Max 90 Ultra SE Shoes , admitted to Xinhua that as a latecomer in the industry, China still lags behind in many areas, especially in core technologies, but "we boast some leading stuff too."

"We are here to show our strength," Cao said while pointing to several simulated models of rig platforms, "we are eager to expand our overseas market."

Yang Yun, executive vice president of China Offshore Oil Engineering Co. Nike Air Max 90 Ultra 2.0 Shoes , was more ambitious. "During previous years, we were here more to learn from others, but this year we are more focused on marketing our own products and landing overseas clients," he said.

The four-day-long show includes exhibitions, panel discussions by high-profile speakers and technical sessions. Started in 1969, it showcases leading-edge technology for offshore drilling, exploration Nike Air Max 90 SE Shoes , production, and environmental protection.

by John Kwoba

NAIROBI, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- There were three seasons in one in the distance running in 2009.

The first was the flowering of Botswana's Nijel Moses, the second saw the blossoming of Jairus Birech in the steeplechase, the third brought the late blooming of Eunice Sum.

Throw in Asbel Kiprop, Mohammed Aman and Genzebe Dibaba, and several others Nike Air Max 90 Flyknit Shoes , and there could be an explosion of colour at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech, Morocco on Sept. 13-14.

The six are part of the 88 member team announced by Africa for the Championships for the two-day championships.

The first edition of the IAAF Continental Cup was in 2010 with the Croatian city of Split acting as the host and saw Americas come out on top with 422.5 points, just 5.5 points in front of Europe, Africa was third and AsiaPacific was last.

On the track, among the outstanding performances was the 400m hurdles win by Britain's Dai Greene in 47.88 and Kenya's David Rudisha taking the 800m in 1:43.37.

Looking back to 2010, Split was a superb start to a new era in athletics with the IAAF Continental Cup.

Now the athletes and organisers of the second edition of this innovative new member of the IAAF World Athletics Series have to rise to the challenge posed by their predecessors from four years ago.

Of course, there will be no David Rudisha returning to defend his 800m title at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech next week Nike Air Max 90 Ultra Shoes , but Kenya still has nine athletes named in a strong Africa team of 88.

Rudisha, who has struggled to establish his dominance in the two-lap race, has only one race left in Birmingham, a 600m event, after which he will head to holiday.

However, his countrymen will be lining up in Marrakech, Morocco on 13-14 September for the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup.

Among the male stars of the team are 800m runners Nijel Amos Air Max 90 Ultra Flyknit Shoes , the winner of the Diamond League Trophy and Mohammed Aman, 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Kenya team will be led by World 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop, Africa Javelin winner Julius Yego and 3,000m steeplechase Commonwealth games champ Jairus Birech as well Egypt's Ihab Abdelrahman, who leads the 2014 world javelin lists.

The 2014 IAAF Continental Cup will follow the same reformatted set-up that featured in the 2010 edition in Split City Croatia with four teams competing against one another: Americas, Africa, AsiaPacific (Asia and Oceania) Air Max 90 Ultra Moire Shoes , and Europe. During the last championships in Split City, Americas ruled the roost claiming 422. 5 points ahead of Europe 417, Africa 293 and AsiaPacific 290.

Asia-Pacific and Americas will pick their teams based on rankings. The winner of each individual event will score eight points, the second will score seven, the third six.

South Africa dominated the 19th Africa senior championships, which ended on Aug. 14 in Marrakech by picking up 10 gold medals, 5 silver and 4 Bronze.

The podium was completed by Nigeria (8 gold Air Max 90 Ultra SE Shoes , 9 silver, 7 Bronze) and Kenya (7 gold, 8 silver, 10 bronze).

It is important to note that 9 new championships records were set and 21 national records were broken. With 49 countries attending in Marrakech, 20 won at least one medal while 33 countries have succeeded to place one finalist.

The next edition will take place in 2016 in Republic of South Africa.

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