SPE-GCS Blog

January 1st, 2021

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

It is the beginning of a new year and I want to wish all our SPE-GCS members and affiliates a Happy New Year 2021! I hope everyone had safe and joyful holidays. Like many people, I hope this year brings the end of the pandemic, full recovery for the energy industry and the return to normal life. This month also symbolizes the halfway mark of the Gulf Coast Section’s fiscal term. I will share a progress update on a few of the initiatives planned for the fiscal year, including the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiative and the Mobile App proposal.

The SPE International Diversity and Inclusion Committee launched during ATCE in 2020 with the vision of advancing the society’s commitment to diversity and inclusion within the oil and gas community through advocacy, collaboration and education. SPEI transitioned the …

January 1st, 2021

JANUARY 2000

You’ve got to love this South La. well and formation name: “Union Pacific Resources Group Inc. (UPR), Fort Worth, and partner Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, have made a gas discovery on the Etouffee prospect with their Continental Land & Fur Co. Inc. 1 well, about 15 miles southeast of Morgan City in Terrebonne Parish, La.”

The good news from Russia for the oil and gas industry is that the Communist Party no longer controls legislation in the Duma, or lower house of parliament. The rest remains a muddle. It's worth cheering that 60% of the Russian electorate voted in December's parliamentary election, but that welcome exercise of democracy is yesterday's news. It also makes the meaning of the outcome no less puzzling. Oil companies, though, should be wary. They increasingly get called to account when governments …

December 1st, 2020

¡Adios 2020! and Scholarship

Endowment Fund Update

When we rang in the new year and the beginning of a decade back in January, no one anticipated that 2020 would turn out to be the year it has been. It is typical around the world for people to hope for a new year full of blessings, good health, prosperity and happiness. There is no question that 2020 has been a challenging year because of the pandemic and industry downturn. I could write this entire article about the year’s challenges, but as we enter the holiday season, I will focus on the positive side of 2020 and provide an update on our SPE-GCS Scholarship Endowment Fund (SEF) efforts.

Here are some of the unexpected benefits that 2020 brought: Since around March, some companies in our industry have allowed employees to work full time and remotely …

December 1st, 2020

DECEMBER 2000

Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s independent directors late last month rejected as "inadequate" a sweetened offer by an Australian unit of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group to gain a 56 percent controlling interest in that company, up from the 34.3 percent it now holds. The bid for Woodside, which operates Australia's massive Northwest Shelf LNG export venture, marks Shell's continuing expansion into the Asia-Pacific natural gas market. The going was easier for Shell in New Zealand, where the New Zealand Commerce Commission approved the sale of gas-focused Fletcher Challenge Energy Ltd. to units of Shell and Apache Corp.

Rhetoric at the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change betrayed troubling political motives. French Pres. Jacques Chirac urged representatives from the US to "cast aside their doubts and hesitations" about the need for drastic response to climate change, asserting, …

November 1st, 2020

SPE MEMBERSHIP AND BENEFITS

It's hard to believe we are one month away from the end of 2020. I suspect a lot of people in the United States and around the world would like this year to be over soon. There is hope that next year will bring a fresh start, the end of the pandemic and the beginning or continuation of a global economic recovery for many industries, including energy. This month, I will talk about SPE membership, its benefits and the GCS enhanced on-demand content library.

If you are an SPE member, you should have received your share of SPE membership renewal reminders for 2021. I encourage all SPE members to renew their membership and continue to enjoy membership benefits. If you are not an SPE member, I encourage you to join at spe.org/join.

I have been an …

November 1st, 2020

NOVEMBER 1997

Phillips China Inc. has reportedly found oil in China's Bohai Bay. After drilling a dry hole on its first try, its second well flowed on test at a rate of 1,602 b/d. Phillips China, a unit of Phillips Petroleum Co., is operator of the block and holds a 60 percent interest, while China National Offshore Oil Corp. has the right to acquire as much as 51 percent of any proposed development.

BP Exploration Inc. and partners have started up the Troika oil and gas field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Troika, 150 miles south of New Orleans in the Green Canyon area, is produced from subsea facilities in 2,700 feet of water. The field was discovered by Marathon Oil Co. in 1994. BP Exploration Inc. is operator of the project. BP, Marathon and Shell Deepwater Development Inc. …

October 1st, 2020

SPE Volunteerism During Unprecedented Times

I was asked a few months ago why SPE-GCS charges a registration fee for its webinars. Shouldn’t webinars or virtual events be free if there’s no in-person networking or lunch provided? If someone is attending from the comfort of their couch at home, should they pay? These are all relevant questions. I will share a few thoughts on event finances, the scholarship program and volunteering with SPE.

SPE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. SPE-GCS relies on the proceeds from events organized by volunteers to operate, carry out the mission of SPE and support the scholarship program. During great times, the section benefits from strong sponsorship support from companies. Sponsorships help balance our event revenue and expenses, lower registration fees and allow our events to be more profitable. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and during industry downturns, we receive fewer …

October 1st, 2020

OCTOBER 2001

Operators, including Syncrude Canada Ltd. and Suncor Inc., which operate existing Canadian oil sands projects report having a number of projects under development or on the drawing board worth an estimated $51 billion (CAD). These projects are expected to extend oil sands production from about 600,000 b/d to an expected 1.9 million b/d within a decade.

Last month’s attack on the WTC is not forecast to significantly impact hydrocarbon demand, as economic growth is expected to be sluggish.

Military demand, on the other hand, is expected to spike significantly.

Light, sweet crude: $22.47/bbl

Natural gas: $2.00/MMbtu

U.S. active rig count: 1,140

OCTOBER 2008

Does this analyst report sound vaguely familiar..? "With numerous wells expected to be shut in and capacity coming online, 2009 is shaping up to be an ugly year in North America.”

Reliance Industries Ltd., Mumbai, and …

September 1st, 2020

CREATIVITY AND RESILIENCY

Last month, we held the SPE-GCS annual kickoff meeting virtually, where we formally thanked the outgoing board and welcomed new board members. Special thanks go to Gabby Morrow, past chair, for an excellent job during her term. I know I have big shoes to fill, and she has done a great job transitioning the chair role. During the kickoff, I also shared more details on the section goals. Here is a summary:

• Deliver more virtual and hybrid (virtual and in-person) events for greater flexibility.
• Enhance the online “On-Demand Content Library” and add more content with event recordings.
• Advance digital efforts by evaluating and proposing an SPE-GCS mobile app and deliver a podcast initiative.
• Look for opportunities to collaborate with other SPE sections and external organizations.
• Deliver diversity and inclusion (D&I) soft skills sessions to our members.

The kickoff was …

September 1st, 2020

SEPTEMBER 2002

Expandable-tubular technology advances as the industry extends its application from the drilling environment, where carbon-steel expandable tubulars reduce the telescopic effects of well construction, to corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) production liners with gas-tight connections.

Industry officials praise the key findings of a draft report by the US Environmental Protection Agency that found hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane wells does not contaminate underground drinking water sources.

Light, sweet crude: $28.66/bbl

Natural gas: $3.23/MMbtu

SEPTEMBER 2008

Shell installs the world’s deepest production spar at Perdido in 8,000 feet of water and about eight miles north of the international maritime border with Mexico. It's to be used for gathering, processing and exporting production from three fields, namely, Great White, Tobago and Silvertip.

BP will reportedly pay $1.9 billion for a 25 percent interest in Chesapeake’s Fayetteville shale assets covering 540,000 net acres, which the companies …