Tyumen, RUSSIA –
2014 SPE President Jeff Spath arrived in Tyumen on September 14, 2014 as part of his trip all across Russia on a weeklong tour that will also take him to Moscow, Sakhalin and Samara. Spath was accompanied with SPE VP Sales and Marketing Roberto Chiarotti, SPE Russia and Caspian Regional Director Andrey Gladkov and SPE Moscow Office Director Claudia Rodionova.
This is the second time SPE Tyumen Section was honored to host the highest rank in SPE since visit of 2010 SPE President Alain Labastie.
Spath has a long history of service to SPE. He served as the SPE Board’s technical director for Management and Information and as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer. In 2011, he was named an SPE Distinguished Member.
On September 15 Jeff made his first stop in Gazpromneft research center where he has an opportunity to speak with young professionals about benefits of membership, global strategy, short-term and long-term goals of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. The audience listened with enthusiasm about SPE. Lots of questions answered were related to active participation in a huge variety of the SPE events and programs.
Then, on the way to another largest oil company in the region LUKOIL, Spath visited Schlumberger drilling operations center which supports almost all geomarket. The meeting leading by Crispin Chatar, Schlumberger Drilling Manager, joined together engineers and line management of the world largest service company with executive of the world largest individual member society. The open dialogue covered questions of what programs can SPE offer to its members for self-development and networking. Also an involvement of Schlumberger technical community in local and regional SPE activities was discussed. Jeff listened carefully his colleagues. Vice president of Industry Affairs for Schlumberger Spath began his career with Flopetrol-Johnston Schlumberger as a field engineer conducting well tests onshore and offshore Louisiana and has worked for 30 years in various global positions in reservoir engineering, research, and management.
Later that day KogalymNIPIneft, the research branch of LUKOIL company, welcomes Spath with outstanding interest. 2014 Regional Distinguished Corporate Service Award winner, LUKOIL is looking forward to the long-term relationship with SPE.
Vladimir Vitalyevich Mulyak, General Director of LUKOIL-Engineering says that SPE activities are “the exceptional opportunity for the industry professionals to meet with others and to exchange knowledge and information on the international level; innovations in the oil and gas industry are impossible without this opportunity”. To be in a vanguard of the newest technologies the oil company pursuing the same goal as SPE: knowledge accumulation and dissemination.
Meeting was started with a speech of Deputy Director of Research in Well Construction Daniyar Lyabipovich Bakirov. He appreciated SPE efforts in conducting high quality workshops and training sessions for LUKOIL engineers, specialists and experts. Also many ideas for future interactions were generated. At the end of the meeting Jeff Spath personally granted 1-year SPE membership to Daniyar Bakirov and presented memorable SPE pins as a sign of high appreciation of their support of the regional SPE activities.
Second part of the trip was related to key educational centers for scientists, engineers and specialists of all Western Siberia: Tyumen State University and Tyumen State Oil and Gas University.
The meeting with TSOGU starts with welcome speech of the Head of the University, Rector Vladimir Vasilyevich Novoselov. Then Dr. Novoselov demonstrated to Jeff Spath the highest level of oil & gas educational programs existing in the university, moving between variety of classrooms and laboratories he showed unique 5D virtual drilling training room, university faculty shared newest innovations and patented inventions. Spath pointed on a role of university in support of TSOGU students` activities in SPE. Not without reason the biggest student chapter in the region is acting in TSOGU. Established in 2005 the chapter has been received the Outstanding Student Chapter Award for two times and the Gold Standard Award for three times. Tyumen State Oil and Gas University is also the alma mater for both: the previous and current SPE Tyumen Section Chairpersons – Andrey Korotchenko and Alexey Borisenko.
On the evening special event, organized by SPE Tyumen Section and TSOGU SPE Student Chapter, Jeff Spath met with officers of the professional section and the students chapter. Many students and oil & gas professionals had an opportunity to talk directly to SPE President in informal atmosphere on a welcome buffet before the event. More than hundred people attended and all of them represented oil and gas companies operating in the region: Gazprom, LUKOIL, Rosneft, Surgutneftegas, Schlumberger, Baker Huges, Halliburton, Novatek and others.
After short introduction and welcome speech of SPE Tyumen Section Chairperson Alexey Borisenko, the word was passed to Jeff Spath. With each phrase in his keynote speech Spath fired up people`s interest and enthusiasm in SPE. Jeff identified ways SPE can be more relevant to its members, bringing knowledge and education to experienced and young professionals. The way how SPE benefits to university and high school students. He mentioned Energy4me program helping society (and even kids) to better understand oil & gas industry. After Spath`s speech Andrey Gladkov shared instruments of support provided to SPE members from Russia and Caspian regional level, so professionals working in Tyumen feel that they could be the part of the community with more than 120 thousand people around the globe.
Special guest of the evening, well-known expert Alexander Stanislavovich Timchuk presented a unique technical lecture on the challenge of unconventional resources, heavy oil and arctic oil production.
Next day morning, September 16, SPE President was hosted in the Technical Center of Tyumen State University. The meeting started with a speech of Deputy Director of Research in TSU Andrey Viktorovich Tolstikov. Then Dr. Tolstikov demonstrated to Jeff Spath unique laboratories and equipment: supercomputer named after famous Russian scientist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, laboratory for creation of nanoobjects “Nanofab-100” and brand new chemical laboratories.
Also Spath supported TSU students` initiative to create a chapter of Society of Petroleum Engineers in their university, the second SPE student chapter in Tyumen. SPE President wished good luck to the chapter`s leader Tair Esenbayev.
Spath finished his Tyumen tour in Schlumberger Client Support Laboratory providing solutions to well services operations in Russia and Central Asia area since 2005. Schlumberger continuously invests in local resources and infrastructure to further enhance service capabilities and address technical challenges. Tyumen Client Support Laboratory (CSL) is equipped with specialized, state of-the-art equipment to support well cementing and stimulation operations for all area and meet stringent regulatory requirements. The laboratory includes well known oil field lab equipment such as HPHT rheometers, consistometers, ultrasonic cement analysers, fluid loss cells, and also such unique equipment as formation response tester, proppant pack conductivity apparatus, fluid flow friction loop, fluid gas migration analyzer and many others currently utilized to support conventional operations as well as new technologies implementation. CSL manager Olesya Olennikova continuous high level of internal customer support tradition initiated by well-known expert, Schlumberger advisor, the builder and first CSL manager Dan Fu and his successor Bernhard Lungwitz.
At the end of this trip Spath says: “For 30 years in the oil and gas industry I`ve visited many countries and what I saw here in Tyumen is really impressed me”
As many years of SPE history since 1957 SPE Presidents have been travelling around the world promoting the SPE mission: to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge, and to provide opportunities for professionals to enhance their technical and professional competence. No doubt that this trip of 2014 SPE President Jeff Spath is the significant step forward for the future of the oil and gas industry in Tyumen region and in all Russia.