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* IP Week one of biggest oil industry gatherings
* SOCAR, Exxon, Shell latest to cancel parties
* Main organiser says conference 'full steam ahead'
(adds detail on daytime events going ahead)
By Julia Payne, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ahmad Ghaddar
LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The list of parties at London's
International Petroleum Week, one of the world's biggest oil
industry gatherings, continues to shrink as hosts such as
ExxonMobil and Azerbaijan's SOCAR cancel events due to the
coronavirus, trading sources said.
IP Week is a key oil traders' gathering that takes place
every year in February. This year, it is scheduled for Feb.
24-27. Oil majors, national oil companies and trading firms host
receptions for networking throughout the week.
Spooked by the epidemic, several oil companies based in Asia
said last week they would skip IP Week this year.
Oil major BP then cancelled all events along with
storage company Vopak and inspection company Bureau
Veritas.
Others are now following suit. ExxonMobil, SOCAR,
Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina joint venture
PetroIneos are the latest to cancel receptions this week.
SOCAR's event typically draws more than 1,000 people.
Shell hosts several receptions, and so far, only its fuel
oil event has been cancelled, traders specified.
"IP Week reception scheduled for February 25th at the Savoy
(hotel) is cancelled due to recent developments concerning the
spread of the coronavirus," SOCAR said in a note to attendees.
A spokesman for Exxon said one part of its business had
cancelled IP Week-related activities, without providing details.
A spokesman for Shell did not immediately comment.
IP Week organisers, the Energy Institute, said the main
conference was "full steam ahead" but added "common sense
precautions are being taken at the venue as regards coronavirus"
and delegates should follow UK government advice on the virus.
Commodities pricing agency Argus, which also runs a series
of events as part of IP Week, said it was planning to go ahead
with them, but a spokeswoman added: "It's a developing situation
and things could change."
S&P Global Platts, another IP Week event organiser, was not
immediately available for comment.
China reported its fewest new coronavirus infections since
January on Tuesday and its lowest daily death toll for a week,
but the World Health Organization said data suggesting the
epidemic had slowed should still be viewed with caution.
Among others, Spain's Repsol has decided not to
send a delegation, traders said. Repsol did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
"The avalanche is rolling down the hill," one source said,
referring the lengthening list of cancelled meetings and
parties.
(Reporting By Julia Payne, Ahmad Ghaddar and Dmitry Zhdannikov;
additional reporting by Olga Yagova and Shadia Nasralla, Editing
by Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)
