Journal of Petroleum Technology August 2012 : Page 120

CONFERENCE PREVIEW Annual Conference Focuses on Unconventional Wisdom Gentry Braswell, JPT Online Technology Editor The theme of SPE’s 88th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) is “Unconventional Wisdom.” The event, which also serves as the society’s annual meeting, will take place 8–10 October at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Current applications and future technologies will be featured in more than 400 peer-selected technical papers. More than 400 exhibiting companies will showcase the latest technologies, new products, and industry services. This year, ATCE has an expanded techni-cal program and special events focused on projects, facilities, and construction. Technical demands for this discipline are changing, and SPE is bringing the latest technologies, discoveries, and solutions to its annual conference. Opening General Session The state of practice of unconventional oil and gas operations will be the subject of the opening general session, “Mak-ing Unconventionals Conventional,” on Monday morning. A panel will discuss the technical and financial challeng-es of unconventional production, such as resource size, drilling and comple-tions, safety, and the environment. Mark Albers of ExxonMobil, Timothy Dove of Pioneer Natural Resources, Steve Holditch of Texas A&M Energy Insti-tute, and Dave Lesar of Halliburton are the panelists. Panel Sessions State-of-the-art techniques and tools for managing large projects are the key top-ics of Tuesday’s panel session, “Chal-lenges in Projects, Facilities, and Con-struction.” The moderators are Jeff Sawchuk of BP and Bob Hubbard of JM Campbell. Dick Westney of Westney and Associates, Cheryl Wiewiorowski of BP, Mike Mileo of Chevron, and John Walsh of Shell are the panelists. Case histories about collaborative upstream technologies and work set-tings are the subjects of the second panel, “Organizational Change Management through Collaborative Technology and Environments,” on Tuesday. Work trans-formation and change management will be an important part of the discussion. Keith Killian of ExxonMobil and Julian Pickering of Digital Oilfield Solutions are the moderators. The panelists are Sami Al-Neaim of Saudi Aramco, Adel Al Abba-si of Kuwait Oil, Michael Hauser of Chev-ron, Mark Lochmann of Halliburton, and Guillermo Arango of Baker Hughes. Authorities representing the diverse points of view of operators, service com-panies, academia, banking and finance, and consultation and advisory firms will convene for Tuesday afternoon’s “Creat-ing Value with Unconventional.” Randal Brush of William M. Cobb and Associates, and Bradford Larson of Societe Generale are the moderators. Panelists are Alan Farquharson of Range Resources, Wil-liam J. Haskett of Decision Strategies, William N. Knecht of Gaffney Cline Asso-ciates, A. Lance Langford of Statoil, John Lee of the University of Houston, David E. Roberts of Marathon Oil, and Brady Rodgers of JP Morgan. Perspectives, lessons learned, and best practices in working on unconven-tional plays are the topics of the panel ses-sion, “Education, Recruiting, and Train-HOLDITCH HUBBARD ing for the Uncon-ventional World,” on Wednesday. Moderators are Luciane Cunha of Petrobras Ameri-ca and Frank Platt of Texas A&M Uni-KNODE versity. The panel-ists are Tamir Aggour of Saudi Aramco, Terry Savoie of Shell, Felix Soepyan of Baker Hughes, John Lee of the University of Houston, Christine Ehlig-Economides of Texas A&M University, and Valerie Jochen of Schlumberger. Topical Luncheons Several major offshore well integrity incidents and heightened public con-cern about hydraulic fracturing have led to increased attention to subsurface hydrocarbon containment in the past few years. Research and development needs regarding subsurface containment and its challenges are the subjects of the first topical luncheon on Tuesday. 120 JPT • AUGUST 2012

Conference Preview • Annual Conference Focuses On Unconventional Wisdom

Gentry Braswell, JPT Online Technology Editor

The theme of SPE’s 88th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) is “Unconventional Wisdom.” The event, which also serves as the society’s annual meeting, will take place 8–10 October at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Current applications and future technologies will be featured in more than 400 peer-selected technical papers. More than 400 exhibiting companies will showcase the latest technologies, new products, and industry services. This year, ATCE has an expanded technical program and special events focused on projects, facilities, and construction. Technical demands for this discipline are changing, and SPE is bringing the latest technologies, discoveries, and solutions to its annual conference. Opening General Session The state of practice of unconventional oil and gas operations will be the subject of the opening general session, “Making Unconventionals Conventional,” on Monday morning. A panel will discuss the technical and financial challenges of unconventional production, such as resource size, drilling and completions, safety, and the environment. Mark Albers of ExxonMobil, Timothy Dove of Pioneer Natural Resources, Steve Holditch of Texas A&M Energy Institute, and Dave Lesar of Halliburton are the panelists. Panel Sessions State-of-the-art techniques and tools for managing large projects are the key topics of Tuesday’s panel session, “Challenges in Projects, Facilities, and Construction.” The moderators are Jeff Sawchuk of BP and Bob Hubbard of JM Campbell. Dick Westney of Westney and Associates, Cheryl Wiewiorowski of BP, Mike Mileo of Chevron, and John Walsh of Shell are the panelists. Case histories about collaborative upstream technologies and work settings are the subjects of the second panel, “Organizational Change Management through Collaborative Technology and Environments,” on Tuesday. Work transformation and change management will be an important part of the discussion. Keith Killian of ExxonMobil and Julian Pickering of Digital Oilfield Solutions are the moderators. The panelists are Sami Al-Neaim of Saudi Aramco, Adel Al Abbasi of Kuwait Oil, Michael Hauser of Chevron, Mark Lochmann of Halliburton, and Guillermo Arango of Baker Hughes. Authorities representing the diverse points of view of operators, service companies, academia, banking and finance, and consultation and advisory firms will convene for Tuesday afternoon’s “Creating Value with Unconventional.” Randal Brush of William M. Cobb and Associates, and Bradford Larson of Societe Generale are the moderators. Panelists are Alan Farquharson of Range Resources, William J. Haskett of Decision Strategies, William N. Knecht of Gaffney Cline Associates, A. Lance Langford of Statoil, John Lee of the University of Houston, David E. Roberts of Marathon Oil, and Brady Rodgers of JP Morgan. Perspectives, lessons learned, and best practices in working on unconventional plays are the topics of the panel session, “Education, Recruiting, and Training for the Unconventional World,” on Wednesday. Moderators are Luciane Cunha of Petrobras America and Frank Platt of Texas A&M University. The panelists are Tamir Aggour of Saudi Aramco, Terry Savoie of Shell, Felix Soepyan of Baker Hughes, John Lee of the University of Houston, Christine Ehlig-Economides of Texas A&M University, and Valerie Jochen of Schlumberger. Topical Luncheons Several major offshore well integrity incidents and heightened public concern about hydraulic fracturing have led to increased attention to subsurface hydrocarbon containment in the past few years. Research and development needs regarding subsurface containment and its challenges are the subjects of the first topical luncheon on Tuesday. Unconventional reservoir survey management, challenges caused by surveying technologies, and avoidance of surveying pitfalls are the topics of a second topical luncheon on Tuesday. Robert Wylie of National Oilwell Varco is the moderator. The speakers are Bill Allen of BP and chairman of SPE’s Wellbore Positioning Technical Section, Kyel Hodenfield of Schlumberger, and Angus Jamieson of the University of Highlands and Islands. Special Sessions The pitfalls of and strategies for partnering with communities are the topics of “Partnering with Communities in Order to Maintain Our License to Operate” on Monday. The moderator will be Tom Knode of Halliburton. Lessons learned in applied enhanced oil recovery techniques are the focus of “EOR—Out of the Lab and Into the Field,” on Tuesday. Gene Narahara of Chevron Energy Technology Company is the moderator. The panelists are Cosan Ayan of Schlumberger, Danielle Morel of Total, Gary Jerauld of BP, and Greg King of Chevron. Arctic, deep water, and subsea are examples of remote locations where reliable separation technology has become essential for the development of resources. Heavy oil, produced water, and sand disposal are examples of more challenging applications in which separation technology is also pivotal. Emerging technology trends and design challenges of conventional separators will be the focus of “Knowledge Sharing on Separations” on Wednesday. The moderator is Robert Chin of Shell. Other Special Events Industry experts in drilling systems automation will offer updates on their systems, technologies, and projects during the Drilling Systems Automation Technical Session Presentation Series on Sunday afternoon. Non-oilfield companies will also present potential oilfield applications of advanced automation and robotics. Lyn Arscott, an SPE past president, will give the keynote presentation at the 25-Year Club Breakfast on Monday morning. The club is a special lounge for SPE members who have 25 or more years of continuous membership, Legion of Honor members, Century Club members, and other invited guests. It is open daily. Some of the largest and most innovative projects from a facilities and construction point of view will be recognized during the “Learning from Facilities Megaprojects” dinner on Monday evening. Panelists will describe efforts in the concept, design, execution, and production of the projects. The rapid installation of facilities in Saudi Arabia, Brazil’s large offshore facilities, deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Canadian oil sands development are among the projects that will be discussed. Ken Arnold of WorleyParsons is the moderator. Key SPE and overall industry successes will be celebrated at the Annual Reception and Banquet on Tuesday evening. Distinguished SPE members who have made significant contributions to the industry will also be honored. During the President’s Luncheon and Annual Meeting of Members on Wednesday, 2012 SPE President Ganesh Thakur will share industry and SPE achievements, and new initiatives that will benefit members. Luncheon attendees will also be able to meet the SPE Board members, the incoming 2013 SPE President Egbert Imomoh, and SPE Distinguished Members. Young Professionals, Students SPE will provide networking activities at a student meet and greet session on Sunday morning. At the student general session and awards luncheon that follow, the Gold Standard Achievement Student Chapter winners, Outstanding Student Chapters regional winners, and scholarship winners will be recognized. Petroleum engineering students can discuss challenges, issues, and ideas for the future of the industry with petroleum engineers at the Student Great Ideas Session on Sunday afternoon. SPE student chapter officers can collaborate on and discuss new ideas and best practices during the Student Chapter Officer Workshop on Sunday evening. The 11th annual PetroBowl is a popular quiz panel tournament that tests the knowledge of SPE and the upstream sector. A reception for the student chapter teams will immediately follow the event on Monday. The International Student Paper Contest will feature competitors from around the world in the undergraduate, master’s, and PhD divisions on Monday. The Young Professionals Reception will take place the same evening. Young professional and section liaisons will have the opportunity to collaborate at the Student Chapter Faculty Advisor Session on Tuesday morning. Technical skills, soft skills, and teamwork within a cross-generational team are the focus of the Cross-Generational Program on Tuesday. In this new event, teams will hone their communication, negotiation, and collaboration skills by solving problems in a case study. The event is supported by the SPE Soft Skills Council, the SPE Young Professionals Coordinating Committee, and the SPE Talent Council. The Energy4me “Energize Your Classroom” Teacher Workshop invites 100 San Antonio-area science teachers (grades 4 to 12) to attend a free, 1-day energy education workshop on Wednesday. The teachers will learn about the scientific concepts of energy, and receive an introduction to oil and gas exploration and production. About 200 high school students will see firsthand the exciting opportunities in the industry at the Energy4me High School Student STEM Event on Wednesday. They will perform handson experiments and explore advanced technology on the exhibition floor. For more information about ATCE, visit www.spe.org/atce/2012/.

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