Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM CT
“ Professional Ethics for Petroleum Engineers ”
W. R. “Rick” Farmer IV, P.E., SPEC
Double R Engineering, LLC
Larry Schmermund
Consultant
John Rogers Smith, P.E.
LSU, Retired
March 31, 2026
Noon – 1 PM CST 11:30 AM Lunch served
Petroleum Club of Lafayette - 111 Heymann Blvd, Lafayette, LA
Abstract
Ethical practices are important for upholding industry standards, improving the public perception of our industry, and preserving our individual and our employer’s integrity. This meeting will include an introduction to concepts and guidelines for professional ethics, a brief review of recent changes to the applicable rules, a review of licensing procedures, requirements, and practices, and a discussion of some real examples of the ethical challenges that can arise in the practice of petroleum engineering. Please contact John Rogers Smith at 225-772-0037 if you know of ethical issues or experiences that would be beneficial to discuss in the meeting. Members of all experience levels and specialties should find relevance in the examples. Participants will be credited with 1 PDH to fulfill the annual requirement for an hour of continuing education on ethics for professional engineers.
Biography
W. R. “Rick” Farmer, P.E ., is the owner of Double R Engineering, LLC, a consulting company. Rick has over 45 years in the oilfield, starting as a roustabout / roughneck / pumper through college and then as an engineer for the Union Oil Company of California. He worked for Petroleum Engineers, Inc. and Crescent Drilling & Production where he became a partner. Rick was the Drilling and Completion Manager at Century Exploration. He worked at Stone Energy as a Deepwater Planning Engineer. Rick began studying for his Fundamental Engineer Exam and his Professional Engineering License Exam following the Deepwater Horizon / Macondo Incident. From 2019-2021, he worked for Beacon Offshore Exploration as their P.E. for work involving the Transocean “Asgard”. In 2022, at Cantium, LLC, Rick worked as a Drilling Engineer designing the Kings Hill Well, which was drilled in Bay Marchand Field in 2023, to 24.000’ through 12,500’ of salt from an independent backup. He has approximately 39 years of experience in Designing and Supervising Well Operations, including drilling, completions, workovers, and plug and abandonment work in the GOM and inland waters of Louisiana and Texas. Of this work, the majority has been in the Deepwater, Jackup, and Inland Barge work. Since 2016, Rick has been an Industry Professor developing and teaching petroleum engineering classes.
He has served on the Delta Section of SPE as a Director at Large and on the Evangeline Section as Director at Large and as Vice President. Rick has served on the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE) on the Lafayette and New Orleans Chapter Boards and on the National Board as National President. From 2019-2021, he worked for Beacon Offshore Exploration as their P.E. for work involving the Transocean “Asgard”. In 2022, Rick is a member of the Louisiana Engineering Society, SEG, AAPG, ASME, and ASM. He is a licensed engineer in the State of Louisiana.
Larry Schmermund , Consultant, has over 50 years of experience in the Oil & Gas industry and has held positions globally, both offshore and in the office. He began his career in 1973, working on offshore drilling rigs starting as a roustabout and finally as an OIM. He worked his way into the office in 1986 as a Rig Move Engineer. Additionally, Larry successfully ran his own company for 15 years, providing rig moving, shipyard project management, stability instruction, licensing instruction and new build services to a global list of clients. Furthermore, he has authored several textbooks at clients' request and has conducted training for those global clients using these textbooks.
Larry joined Randy Smith Training Solutions in 2006 as the Worldwide Marine Training Manager, and in 2008, he additionally assumed the role of Technical Training Manager for North America. He built a strong, talented team and continued to grow the team and revenue in North America through the transitional period of the company acquisition by Moody International and the subsequent buyout by Intertek. In 2014, Larry helped form Smith Mason & Co., where he served as COO until his retirement in July of 2025.
John Rogers Smith, P.E., PhD, retired from LSU as an associate professor in petroleum engineering. Before joining LSU, he had over 20 years of industry experience in drilling, production, research, and reservoir activities. John is a life member of SPE and received his earliest training in petroleum engineering in the continuing education seminars sponsored by the SPE Evangeline section.
*Note Pricing Details
SPE Members:
$30 if paid by Wednesday, March 25, 2026
$35 if registered by March 25, 2026, and select Pay at Door.
Note the email invoice will show $30, but $35 will be charged at the door.
$35 if no pre-registration.
NON-SPE Members :
$40 if paid by Wednesday, March 25, 2026 .
$45 if registered by March 25, 2026, and select Pay at Door.
Note the email invoice will show $40, but $45 will be charged at the door.
$45 if no pre-registration.
NOTE: The Petroleum Club of Lafayette will no longer allow PC members to use their personal PC accounts to pay for outside organizations meetings/events' meals held at The Petroleum Club. This decision was made by The Petroleum Club's senior management.
Students/Faculty: First ten (10) are free; >10 then $10 / $15 at the door. Students/Faculty must email Grant Trahan for lunch vouchers by Wednesday, March 25, 2026 and there is no need to register on the SPE website. Valid for current SPE Evangeline Section SSPE members only.
Members in Transition (looking for work) $0 in-person if pre-registered by Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Join us to network and keep your industry knowledge current at no cost if you are not currently employed. To receive a lunch voucher, you must email Grant Trahan . Valid for current SPE Evangeline Section members only.
To receive a Continuing Education Credit Certificate by email, please click the Certificate link by March 31 or sign the roster at the meeting. You will be emailed after our meeting. Study Group Meeting = 1 CEU.
Contact Information
Lafayette, LA, United States