The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) , one of the world's largest offshore technology shows, concluded Thursday in the fourth largest U.S. city of Houston, after a four- day display showcasing the latest products and technologies that will enable the energy industry to go deeper into the sea for oil and gas.

The conference, which started on Monday, drew more than 70,000 participants from over 100 countries and regions to its exhibition area.

As new products and technologies on display at the conference demonstrate the trend that the industry is going deeper into the sea to meet the world's rising demand for energy, safety remains the focus point as the industry explores oil and gas in even more challenging areas in deeper water, Steve Balint, chairman of OTC 2012, told Xinhua on Thursday.

It is projected that the world's demand for energy will climb 40 percent by 2030.

James Watson, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement of the U.S. Interior Department, promised Tuesday at the OTC a set of new rules to promote offshore drilling safety.

Watson said his agency is planning four main efforts to boost offshore drilling safety, which includes completing revisions to a drilling safety rule imposed in October 2010 when the U.S. government decided to resume deepwater drilling for the first time since the oil spill.

The agency will also finalize a workplace safety rule known as SEMS, and work out a separate rule governing the design, testing and maintenance of blowout preventers. The failed blowout preventer is believed to be a main factor that caused the BP spill.

Several panels and keynote speeches during the conference focused on the aftermath of the BP spill. Innovations related to offshore drilling safety and disaster response were also highlights at this year's OTC.

More than 300 Chinese companies, a record number, took part in the 2012 OTC, which indicated Chinese companies' increasing devotion to this industry as well as their hope to cash in on the global market, said Zhou Shouwei, president of China Petroleum & Petrochemical Equipment Industry Association.

The Chinese companies are here to search for potential partners, learn from their foreign counterparts as well as to share expertise and technologies, Zhou said, adding there is still an obvious gap between products of Chinese companies and those of foreign companies. "I expect more and more heavy equipment and hi- tech equipment to be brought by Chinese companies to future OTCs," he said.

Chinese companies' participation in the OTC is terrific, said Balint. Having China participating in the conference is "great for China, for the whole industry to be able to exchange ideas globally," he added.

Founded in 1969, the annual OTC is the world's foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the field of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection.