Richardson, Texas, USA (June 2013) –  The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)  has named Helge Hove Haldorsen, vice president of strategy and portfolio for Statoil Development and Production North America, as 2015 president of the international professional society. Haldorsen, who is based in Houston, Texas, will take office as president-elect on 2 October 2013 at the close of SPE’s Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans, LA, USA.

Prior to his tenure at Statoil, Haldorsen worked for Norsk Hydro in various roles including chief reservoir engineer, vice president technology and competence, vice president exploration and research, senior vice president international exploration and production, and president Hydro Gulf of Mexico.

He has also held various engineering positions at British Petroleum, Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio), and ExxonMobil (Esso). He was a second lieutenant in the Royal Norwegian Navy and professor of industrial mathematics at the University of Oslo.

Haldorsen earned an MS in petroleum engineering from the Norwegian Institute of Technology and a PhD in reservoir engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves on the Offshore Technology Conference board of directors and the external advisory board for the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.

About Society of Petroleum Engineers

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose more than 110,000 members in 141 countries are engaged in oil and gas exploration and production. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge providing publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

San Antonio, Texas, USA (9 October 2012) – The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) announced today the launch of a pilot for a new knowledge-sharing site called PetroWiki. PetroWiki will be the online resource to research and share knowledge about E&P industry operations, ranging from basic engineering calculations to best practices appropriate to specific regions, formations, or resource types.

The PetroWiki pilot, launched 1 October, is based on the drilling and completions volume of the Petroleum Engineering Handbook (PEH). Published in 2007, many new technologies are missing from PEH. The wiki format will allow SPE members to keep PEH evergreen, updating and extending it to new technologies. By October 2013, the site will contain the complete handbook, and it will grow with contributions from SPE’s global membership base. All content in PetroWiki is vetted by moderators with subject matter expertise.

“This is a game-changer for SPE. PetroWiki will be an important technical resource for our industry, with rich links to other content, including papers in OnePetro” said Mark Rubin, Executive Director of SPE. “The opportunity for members to share their knowledge with others, and for younger members to learn from these experiences will be invaluable.”

About Society of Petroleum Engineers

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 104,000 members in 123 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Paige McCown, Senior Manager PR/Communications/Social Media, +1.713.457.6826, media@spe.org

San Antonio, Texas, USA  ( 8 October 2012) –  The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) announced today that Chevron Corporation has committed USD 1 million to support SPE programs dedicated to increasing student participation and advancing energy education.

Starting this month, Chevron will donate USD 250,000 per year for four years to support three initiatives: SPE’s Student Dues program, enabling students to participate as members free of charge; the Energy4Me program, educating the public and students about energy and the upstream oil and gas industry, online and through training and teaching materials; and PetroWiki, SPE’s knowledge-sharing wiki, providing information about E&P industry engineering.

“As a not-for-profit organization, SPE counts on the generous support of companies like Chevron to offer valuable programs to our members and the industry,” said Mark Rubin, Executive Director of SPE.

“Chevron understands the importance of enabling students around the world to benefit from SPE’s programs,” said John McDonald, Chevron Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. “Education opens the door of opportunity.”

About Society of Petroleum Engineers

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 104,000 members in 123 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

About Chevron Corporation

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

Richardson, Texas, USA (26 June 2012) – The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) has named Jeff Spath, vice president of industry affairs for Schlumberger Limited in Houston, as 2014 president. Spath will take office as president-elect of the 100,000-member international organization on 10 October 2012, at the close of SPE’s Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Spath has a long history of involvement in SPE. His volunteer positions include service as a Technical Editor and Associate Editor on the Editorial Review Committee, the Society’s committee for peer-reviewed journals, during 1992-99. He served as Technical Director for Management and Information on the SPE Board of Directors during 2005-08, and an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 1999-2000. In 2011, he was named an SPE Distinguished Member.

Spath’s prior positions with Schlumberger include president of the Reservoir Management Group and president of Data and Consulting Services. He joined Schlumberger as a well testing field engineer in 1984 and has held various global positions in reservoir engineering, research, and management. He has published extensively in oil and gas literature and holds 14 patents in production and reservoir engineering. Spath earned BS and MS degrees in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University and a PhD degree in reservoir engineering from the Mining University of Leoben, Austria.

About Society of Petroleum Engineers

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 104,000 members in 123 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

Brisbane has become the centre and base for many of the major unconventional resource players in Australia with the latest coal seam gas (CSG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and shale gas developments projects. SPE expects regional and global participants to attend the URCE in Brisbane, including influential industry leaders, professionals, senior government officials, and NGO representatives.

“We are very proud of the progress of our industry in Australia.  The Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Center offers a great location and an opportunity for attendees to be at the centre of an important emerging industry,” said Rod Bresnehan, program committee co-chairman, Mitsui E&P Australia.

A joint Australia, North America and international technical committee consisting of senior research and industry personnel from major academic, operating, and service company sectors is being assembled to develop a programme that focuses on the best practices from the North American industry while gauging new international developments and best practices.

“Our expectations are that Queensland will play a major part in Australia becoming the world’s number one gas producer and key LNG exporter. This exchange of technical information will be invaluable for all those involved and will highlight the diversity of emerging unconventional gas projects across Australia and internationally, Ray Johnson, program committee co-chairman, Armour Energy.”

As conventional oil and gas reserves have diminished, interest in unconventional resource exploration and development has increased, with Australia as one of the key focus areas. An AUD180 billion unconventional gas industry has been established within a very short timeframe, and growth continues to accelerate.

New technologies and initiatives, such as the Queensland Gas Scheme and major CSG projects, have created regional and economic opportunities in Australia’s energy sector for emerging players like AGL, Armour Energy, Arrow Energy/Shell, BG Group/QGC, Beach Energy, Senex, Blue Energy, Santos/PETRONAS, Origin/ConocoPhillips, Mitsui E&P, Westside, Molopo, Schlumberger, Halliburton, and others.

EVENT CONTACT

Jenny Chong, Senior Event Manager, 60.3.2182.3000, jchong@spe.org

These recommendations are based on nominations submitted via SPE’s nominating process. Anyone can nominate a candidate for a Board position. The nomination period opens in September each year, and runs through 1 December for the position of president, and through 15 December for other open Board positions. Next year’s list of open positions, nominee qualifications, and nomination forms, as well as further submission guidelines, will be available sometime during September. The nomination process involves filling out an online nomination form and attaching supporting documents that include a CV, résumé, and letters of support.

Read more about the 2014 nominations in April JPT

Read the entire April JPT

Richardson, Texas, USA (16 February 2012) – The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is pleased to announce the release of its newest magazine – Oil and Gas Facilities.

Oil and Gas Facilities, a bimonthly publication, promises to be the industry’s most important periodical serving projects, facilities, and construction (PFC) professionals. Topics will include upstream onshore and offshore facilities, processing systems and design, measurement and control, pilot projects, mooring and station keeping, and many more. The magazine replaces the peer-reviewed journal SPE Production, Facilities, & Construction, but each issue of Oil and Gas Facilities will include several peer-reviewed technical papers in a special section.

“In the last few years, SPE has recognized the dramatic increase in complexity and technical challenges facing our discipline,” said John Walsh, SPE Technical Director for Projects, Facilities, and Construction. “With the creation of Oil and Gas Facilities and under the guidance of industry leaders, SPE is responding to this need and creating new knowledge-sharing platforms in our discipline.”

The idea for the magazine began in 2011 during a meeting of the PFC Advisory Committee. The committee recognized that SPE provided many good programs in the discipline, but many PCF specialists do not view SPE as their professional home. Oil and Gas Facilities is one of the new initiatives that will help change that.

To subscribe of to learn more about Oil and Gas Facilities, please go to http://www.spe.org/go/ogf.

About Society of Petroleum Engineers
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 104,000 members in 123 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org. 

Richardson, Texas, USA, (January 30, 2012) – The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference (LACPEC) is a 3-day multidisciplinary technical program scheduled for 16–18 April 2012 in Mexico City, Mexico.

The conference offers a varied program focusing on maximizing oil and gas recovery and productivity, and enabling the region’s economies to fully benefit from their hydrocarbon resources.

The theme of this 3-day multidisciplinary technical program is “Supply-Side Energy: Latin America Makes a Difference.”

“The goal is to emphasize that the region is aggressively developing new and existing conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources—safely, environmentally, and at a pace that has significantly affected the global energy market,” said PEMEX E&P General Director and LACPEC General Chairperson Carlos Morales.

The program committee is led by chairpersons Francisco Garcia Hernandez, PEMEX E&P; Tom Blasingame, Texas A&M University; and Nestor Saavedra, Ecopetrol.

LACPEC, which is endorsed by PEMEX E&P, features more than 200 technical presentations on topics such as drilling and completions, enhanced and improved oil recovery, mature fields and heavy oil, production and facilities, health, safety and environment (HSE), social concerns, and human resources.

The daily plenary sessions promise to be both stimulating and provocative and will illustrate the growing role of the region in the global oil and gas markets. The sessions will bring together top executives from several oil operators and service companies to discuss topics such as Technological Challenges and Opportunities in Latin America and Rejuvenation of Brown Fields in Latin America – Collaboration and Integration.  

In addition to the technical sessions, the conference will also include a young professionals summit, a student paper contest, a Petrobowl contest, a SPE student chapter meeting, and training courses.

The young professionals summit—for professionals 35 years of age and younger—is aimed at inspiring the younger generation of workers to become actively engaged, to develop a passion for what they do, and to acquire the basic tools to become inspiring leaders.

Several 1- and 2-day training courses will be available at the conference. Topics include Field Piloting for EOR/IOR Schemes, Forecasting Production and Estimating Reserves in Unconventional Gas Reservoirs, and Oilfield Data Mining.

An exhibition will showcase the latest technologies, products, and services benefiting the Latin American and Caribbean region. Attendees will have time to browse the exhibit floor during special events and coffee breaks.

To register for LACPEC, make lodging reservations or learn more about this conference, visit www.spe.org/events/lacpec.

For additional conference updates, visit Facebook and Twitter.

About Society of Petroleum Engineers
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 104,000 members in 123 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.  

Richardson, Texas, USA, (January 17, 2012) – The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and Getenergy  have announced plans to join efforts to bring providers of education, training, and national workforce development to the global oil and gas industry through their events.

The unique partnership will see SPE play a role in Getenergy’s annual global meetings from June 2012 onwards.  Getenergy’s will bring its learning arena exhibitions and specialist knowledge of education and training for the upstream business to some of SPE’s leading global technology and engineering events in the coming 3 years. 

“Education and training is a vital part of SPE’s mission,” said Ganesh Thakur, 2012 SPE President and Vice President and Global Advisor for Reservoir Management for Chevron.  “This partnership will help bring more educational opportunities to our members, giving them improved access to the most relevant resources.”

Getenergy has, for the past 10 years, run events that bring together academic and commerical learning providers with the upstream oil and gas industry on a global basis. The meetings are unique and are used by participants to improve the way that industry and education interact to produce skilled people in all job functions. Their interactive nature makes collaborative working in this vital area of common interest achieveable. The next global meeting will be held at University College London on 13-14 June 2012.

“We are excited at the opportunity to have the SPE involved with our annual global meetings,” said Phil Andrews, Chief Executive, Getenergy.  “We will work together to ensure that the widest possible group of national and international oil, gas, and services companies can access and build working relationships with universities, colleges, national and international training, and learning providers on a global basis.”

For more information go to SPE.org or Getenergyevent.com

About SPE

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 104,000 members in 118 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

About Getenergy

Getenergy is a unique, independent organisation that brings providers of education and training together with national and international oil, gas and services companies on a global basis through specialist events, meetings, study groups and networks. Getenergy’s mission is to grow national workforce capability in hydrocarbon producing countries by improving the relationship between education and the oil and gas industry.  For more information log onto www.getenergyevent.com.

Richardson, Texas, USA, (January 12, 2012) – The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) announces it has attained record membership, reaching 104,762 members  globally.  The society has doubled in size in just the past 10 years, driving SPE to offer more programs and services to a truly diverse industry.

Individuals employed in the exploration for and production of oil and gas make up the largest percentage of the SPE membership at 75,395 members.  Student members represent the largest growth, at 29,367.  The SPE professional membership has grown by an average of 4.7% each year for the past decade. The membership is extremely diverse, with members in 118 countries.

“Our membership is growing in nearly every SPE region, including those in North America, although our greatest growth is outside North America,” said Ganesh Thakur, 2012 SPE President and Vice President and Global Advisor for Reservoir Management for Chevron.  “Many years ago, the SPE leaders had the foresight to see the expansion of the oil and gas industry global­ly and adapt our services and reach to ensure the long term success of the society.”

With diversity comes the challenge of how to reach and serve all of its mem­bers. To better extend its member services, SPE now operates offices in Calgary, Dal­las, Dubai, Houston, London, Kuala Lumpur, and Moscow, and offers technical con­ferences and workshops in locations across the globe. The society also publishes a suite of magazines, including the highly regarded Journal of Petroleum Technology; peer-reviewed journals; books for oil and gas professionals; and textbooks.  SPE is also extending its reach to underserved segments of members, from young professionals with programs including global workshops and eMentoring, to specialty technical areas such as projects, facilities, and construction, adding a new magazine, Oil and Gas Facilities, this year.

“SPE’s mission is to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources, and related technologies for the public benefit; and to provide opportunities for professionals to enhance their technical and professional competence,” Thakur said.  “Achievement of such a level of membership is a testament to how well we are fulfilling our mission.”

For information, visit www.spe.org.

About SPE

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 104,000 members in 118 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.