SPE pursues dynamic agenda at this year’s ATCE in Calgary
The Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition is underway today, with a notably different site, a dynamic opening session, and very unusual weather for this time of the year. For the first time that anyone can remember, the ATCE is being held in Calgary, Alberta, in western Canada. And, wouldn’t you know, the weather has risen to the occasion by staging a very early taste of winter. Attendees arriving from out of town yesterday (Sept. 29) and today have been greeted with light snow, temperatures below freezing and a snow cover of anywhere from 4 to 8 inches. Those folks arriving from Texas and its seemingly endless summer have taken particular notice of the difference in extremes.
Meanwhile, ATCE is kicking off this morning with a particularly dynamic session, entitled, “Positively Impacting the World Through Responsible Energy Development.” Moderated by Ms. Eithne Treanor, who runs a specialist media consulting company based in Dubai, the session consists of a panel comprising four executives in the oil and gas industry. They include Jackie Forrest, Senior Director of Research at ARC Energy Research Institute; Leigh-Ann Russell, Head of Upstream Procurement & Supply Chain Management (PSCM) at BP; Jeanne-Mey Sun, Executive in charge of Energy Transition and Clean Energy Solutions at Baker Hughes; and Andrey Bochkov, CTO at Gazprom Neft.
Oil and gas positively impacting society. The panelists this morning are talking about the massive role that oil and gas play in making the lives of citizens better. Everyone knows that integration of economic growth, social development, and stewardship has massively impacted society. SPE asks attendees to imagine a world without fuel, special chemicals, concrete, and 40% less food production. “Our mission of providing cleaner, portable energy sources positively affects the daily lives of people everywhere, today and in the future,” notes SPE.
Accordingly, the panelists, as a collective group, are being asked to discuss the following questions: How can we balance economic growth, social development and environmental stewardship better? What does the public expect from us? How can we excel technically to be the most efficient energy provider while protecting the source and the planet? What new technologies could help us to be more effective?
Other ATCE features. In addition to today’s opening session, ATCE this year features 300+ technical presentations, including such subjects as Unconventional Completions Optimization; Unconventional Reservoir Characterization; Strategies and Tactics for Digitalization; Digital Transformation in Petrophysics; Socially Responsible Engineering; Data Analytics; and Reframing Environmental Sustainability Challenges as Opportunities for Innovation.
Also, Special Sessions on relevant industry topics will be held. Organizers have signed up 200+ exhibiting companies and will facilitate 20+ training courses, as well as multiple networking events. More than 5,000 industry professionals are expected to attend through the final day, Wednesday, Oct. 2.
