Fall has officially begun, and while that may mean the year is winding down, it certainly does not mean that SPE Oklahoma City is doing the same. We still have a number of great events, technical, social and altruistic in scope, planned for everyone as we close out the year.
The SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibit (ATCE) was held last week in Dallas and for those of you that attended, you know that it was a great event and excellent opportunity to reconnect with colleagues from across the industry. I attended several SPE Officers meetings while I was there and I wanted to take a moment to describe some of the revisions that have been made to the SPE Strategic Plan that was voted and approved by the Board of Directors in March of 2018. The Board of Directors itself will be reduced in size throughout the coming years, however, regional activities such as the Student Paper Contest and Regional Awards will be unaffected.
As part of the process for revising the Strategic Plan, which occurs roughly every five years, SPE performed an ‘environmental scan’ in order to determine what is happening around the world that may affect SPE, either positively or negatively. A few of the insights that resulted from this scan were that; oil and gas will remain a key component of the global energy mix, but will face greater competition for market share in some areas and hydrocarbon commodity prices will remain volatile. Attracting and retaining talent will continue to be a challenge for the industry, and in line with this, roles and skills of oil and gas professionals are shifting as new technologies and ‘data analytics’ take a more profound role. It is expected that the digital revolution will affect member needs and expectations, and it is incumbent upon SPE and the local sections to evolve to meet these needs. Additionally, society expects the oil and gas industry to meet the world’s energy needs in a manner that protects the environment, and negative public perception will continue to affect the industry’s ability to operate.
Subsequent to performing this environmental scan, SPE has identified four key strategic goals that it plans to prioritize in order to advance their mission over the coming years. The first is Life Long Learning, which encompasses the robust selection of cross-disciplinary learning opportunities sought after by industry professionals. Objectives include: expanding the scope of programming to include events, publications, and technical sections on topics such as the use of big data, analytics, automation and robotics; and equipping technical professionals to understand/develop skills in digital technologies. The second is Knowledge Transfer, ensuring that SPE content and community are seamlessly accessible online. Objectives are: to develop a single online means to identify applicable SPE resources and content; explore the use of alternative delivery platforms for training; increase the amount of SPE content that is available by video; and enhance SPE Connect to facilitate technical knowledge sharing. The third is Membership, SPE membership and engagement is critical to industry professionals from diverse technical specialties. Objectives are: broaden membership base; engage new companies; and improve the conversion rate of student members. The final is Professional Pride, insuring SPE members understand and are inspired by our industry’s contributions to society and represent the industry positively to the public. Objectives are: increase member understanding of the industry’s value to society; educate students about the value of the oil and gas industry; showcase industry contributions to sustainable development; and engage external stakeholders.
As you can see, these strategic goals are still in line with SPE’s core mission, to collect, disseminate and exchange technical knowledge, however, they are being expanded into the realm of data science and making use of technology to aid in knowledge transfer. As a Section, Oklahoma City plans to be a leader in pursuing these new goals. We are already hosting study groups on the topic of data science, and we are planning to increase our online knowledge transfer footprint. As members, if you have any suggestions or requests for topics, speakers, etc. let myself or someone from the section leadership know and we will do our best to fit your needs.
Before closing for this month, I just want to point out a few of the events we have upcoming in the hope that you will find something that interests you. In line with technical dissemination, we will be hosting a Reservoir Study Group this month concerning the topic of machine learning and its applications to frac hits and unconventional EOR. Our Completions Study Group this month will discuss the use of 4D chemical tracers to correlate zonal productivity to evaluate drilling and completions success. The Environmental, Health & Safety Study Group will discuss the benefits of reuse and recycling in exploration and production. Next month, there will be a Production Study Group to which the topic of ESP failure analysis and methods for improved ESP performance will be covered.
Beyond our many excellent technical events, I would be remiss if I did not discuss the member benefits for opportunities to socialize. This year we will be trying out an Octoberfest styled event, to be hosted at McNellie’s and will include dinner and drinks with admission. The Fall SPE Golf Tournament – Hosted by YP will be held at Kickingbird on October 26, this is always a great chance for vendors to get some one on one with clients. On November 2nd, we will be showcasing our second SPE Sprits Tasting which will feature tequila tastings and food pairings.
Finally, in following with the goal of Professional Pride, SPE OKC will be partnering with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma City to fight hunger in our municipality. All of these great events and more can be found on our website SPE OKC, we hope to see you there!