(Oklahoma City, Okla.) – Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, along with Oklahoma Energy Secretary Michael Ming, will lead a delegation of eight Oklahoma oil and gas companies to the Global Petroleum Show (GPS), taking place in Calgary, Canada, June 12-13, 2012. Officials from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce (ODOC) will also attend.

The Oklahoma companies exhibiting at GPS in Oklahoma’s booth are Everest Sciences, Pipeline Equipment and Kline Tools, from Tulsa; Double Life and Pro-Formance Manufacturing, from Oklahoma City; Continental Wire, from Jenks; King Oil Tools, from Enid; and TechTrol, from Pawnee.

Governor Fallin will also tour the oil sands and Devon’s Jackfish projects.  She will speak to industry leaders including CEOs of major energy companies about the proposed Keystone pipeline expansion that would extend from Cushing, Oklahoma to Alberta.  Cushing is the largest oil storage facility in the world and serves as the price point for WTI Crude.

In addition, Governor Fallin will speak at the International Energy Leader’s Forum, where she will address an audience comprised of international oil and gas CEOs as well as Energy Ministers, to talk about the numerous business opportunities present in Oklahoma.

“Like Canada, energy already plays an enormous role in Oklahoma’s economy,” Fallin said. “More than 300,000 Oklahoma jobs are supported by the oil and gas industry, which leads to more than $14 billion in yearly impact to our economy. As governor, I’m focused on helping the industry grow and flourish. Oklahoma has always been a leader in the energy field, and we intend to keep it that way. We’re excited to go to Canada to promote our Oklahoma companies and showcase the ways they can help our northern neighbors efficiently develop their energy resources.”

Bill Ardrey, President and CEO of TechTrol USA, said that the exposure from international trade shows provides valuable opportunities for his business.

“Within the last 18 months, we expanded our involvement with ODOC to help promote our products on an international level,” said Ardrey. “With the assistance we are receiving, specifically attendance at international trade shows that target our markets, we can position our products in the global market and potentially increase our overall sales revenue. As a small Oklahoma Rural manufacturer, that kind of exposure would be very difficult without the support of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.”

In addition to the oil and gas focus, Governor Fallin, along with Oklahoma Secretary of Science and Technology Stephen McKeever, will travel east to meet with Canadian aerospace companies and government officials in Montreal on June 14.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase Oklahoma’s products, services, and value proposition that make Oklahoma a top destination for the global aerospace industry,” said McKeever. “When international aerospace companies are considering expansion into the United States and evaluate the market options, they’ll find Oklahoma’s proposition and the differentiators that make our market unique extremely compelling. Oklahoma has the infrastructure and policies in place that make the state a global center of excellence in aerospace and Unmanned Aerial Systems.”

In 2011 Oklahoma exports totaled $6.2 billion. Oklahoma’s exports increased 41 percent from 2009 to 2011, marking the third consecutive year of significant export growth.  The state’s largest market is Canada with merchandise exports of $1.9 billion in 2011, 31 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports. Oklahoma’s export base is primarily composed of three industry sectors: natural resources including oil and natural gas equipment and expertise; agricultural products; and aerospace technologies.

Oklahoma is also reaping the benefits of its economic development strategy. In 2011 Boeing announced that it was going to relocate 550 jobs to Oklahoma City from Long Beach, CA and in 2012 they announced that an additional 1,000 jobs will be moved to Oklahoma to support the new U.S. Air Force Tanker aircraft.  Umicore, a Belgian technology company opened in 2011 a new manufacturing facility in Quapaw, OK which created over 100 jobs and announced plans in 2012 to consolidate their global wafer manufacturing operations at the Oklahoma facility.

Partial funding to attend GPS and offset the cost of small Oklahoma companies stem from the State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Program which is a federal three-year pilot trade and export initiative authorized by the U.S. Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

The mission is also partially funded by the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, Oklahoma’s primary economic development support organization. The roundtable accomplishes this by providing critical private funding in support of the economic development efforts of the governor, lieutenant governor and Oklahoma Department of Commerce by encouraging business investment and jobs in Oklahoma.

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