I hope everyone is enjoying their summer with their families before school starts again and that you are managing to stay cool in this heat. August is an exciting month for SPE and we have a number of great events planned for the coming months.
Many of you were in attendance at URTeC in Houston last week and know how well attended that event was. There were numerous excellent technical papers presented and I want to offer my congratulations and thanks to all those who participated in those sessions. It is because of your efforts that the Mid-Continent Region and, in particular, the Oklahoma City Section are so successful. With that in mind, I want to take this opportunity to inform the membership that this year our section was awarded with the SPEI Gold Standard. This is the second highest award a section can receive and further illustrates the diligence and commitment our members and volunteers possess.
To win the Gold Standard is no mean feat. Each section must write an annual report at the end of each year detailing its operations, financial health, illustrating its benefits to the members, and dedication to the SPE Mission. Once submitted, a committee rigorously reviews the reports from all sections and ranks them. The highest award is the President’s award, and while OKC has continually done very well, we have yet to achieve this honor. As Chair this year, it is my goal and sincere wish to bring this award to the Oklahoma City Section. This cannot be achieved without the hard work from our many excellent volunteers and section members, so I want to encourage everyone to keep up the good work this year.
Recently, the OKC Section hosted the seventh annual Young Professional Energy Forum at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club. This was a very well attended event, planned and executed entirely by Young Professionals from SPE, OIPA, OCAPL, AAPG, and YPE. The theme this year was Career Progression and Career Management. Our panel discussion focused around decisions young professionals must make regarding technical paths versus managerial paths. Our keynote was Tony Maranto, CEO of Roan Resources, and he spoke to the idea of how to control one’s own future. I would like to thank all of our speakers, volunteers and especially our sponsors who worked to make this an excellent event.
The Annual Technical Conference and Exhibit (ATCE) in Dallas is right around the corner and I would urge any who have the time to attend. This is a great event for technical dissemination, networking and seeing old friends and colleagues. Beyond the individual sessions, there are also many formal training classes which can fulfill continuing education requirements as well as expertise enhancement.
In local events, the section will be hosting the third annual SPE Awards Banquet on September 7th. This event is our way to give back to the volunteers, members and sponsors who have helped out so much over the year. As in past, it will be held at Remington Park and will feature dinner, entertainment and the presentation of awards to this year’s winners. This year, the Mid-Continent region has 8 SPE International Award winners and 9 SPE Regional Award winners. This is an outstanding reflection of the talent and dedication our region’s and section’s members have. I hope you will all join us in celebrating their achievements at the banquet.
I look forward to seeing you at the many events we have scheduled for this summer and the rest of the year.