SPE Forums
For 40 years, SPE Forums have brought industry experts together to shape the
future of technology development. Past Forums on topics like horizontal
drilling, smart wells, real-time optimization, and produced water management
contributed to new developments and innovations in use today. Forums differ
from workshops in that they focus on tomorrow’s problems and the technologies
that will be needed 5 or 10 years from now rather than technology being applied
today.
Forums are SPE’s “forward-looking” meetings – what will the industry or the
technology be like (or need to be like) in 5 or 10 years, and how are we going
to get there. Forums are designed to bring people from across the industry who
know the most about a specific technology together in one place for a week to
discuss the future development of the technology – the potential of the
technology, the challenges and barriers, and possible directions/solutions.
Conclusions are not as important as getting ideas on the table. Forums are
intended as idea-generators that will help the participants go back to their
companies with a new energy focused on moving toward future needs.
Forums are:
- Limited in attendance (75 to 85 people) to allow opportunities for
discussion
- Applications to attend are welcome. Applications include information
about the applicant’s background and experience. Attendees are selected
by the Forum Steering Committee, based on who will contribute the most to the
discussion and having a balance of viewpoints (service company, operators,
consultants, academics, representation from various disciplines involved in the
technology, etc.).
- Confidential to encourage open discussion. Extensive note-taking is not
allowed, and nothing is published except possibly a short summary if all
attendees agree to one.
- Heavy on discussion and interaction. Formal presentations are discouraged.
Discussion leaders start with three or four slides to set up the discussion and
then open it up. Break-out groups are often used to discuss a topic in a
smaller group and then report back to the full group.
- Relaxed and informal with time for networking. They are held in resort-like
settings and include social events and free time to allow informal interaction
among participants. Attire is casual.
- Not for everyone. Forums are about idea-generation. Forums are the place
for companies to send their key technologists and brightest people.
- International. SPE holds Forums in North America, South America, Europe,
the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific. Each Forum draws international
attendance, though the majority of attendees may be from the local region.
