A distinguished group of leaders from within and outside the upstream oil and gas industry will highlight the first-day events at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in San Antonio, Texas, discussing “Sustainable Oil and Gas: Improving People’s Lives” at the opening general session from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
The session panelists will include Lorenzo Simonelli, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Baker Hughes, a GE company; David Hager; CEO of Devon Energy; Franklin M. Orr, emeritus professor of petroleum engineering at Stanford University; Deborah Wince-Smith, president and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness; and Khaled Abdullah Al-Buraik, vice president of Drilling and Workover at Saudi Aramco.
Running from Monday through Wednesday at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, ATCE will draw a diverse crowd of engineers, scientists, management professionals, and policymakers, who will be focused on the innovative technology and thinking needed to address the challenges of today’s oil-price environment and of sustainably meeting growing global demand for the world’s primary energy source.
The conference will feature 430 technical presentations, including papers and ePosters, which were accepted from a record 2,511 submitted proposals. Forty-six technical sessions will cover all aspects of the upstream oil and gas industry; nine special sessions will address key technical, professional, and stakeholder issues; and four technical sections will hold luncheon or dinner meetings.
The exhibition is expected to draw more than 350 exhibiting companies and organizations from approximately 20 countries.
Special Sessions
ATCE’s slate of special sessions will include
- Monday
- Sustainable Development Technical Section: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Oil and Gas Industry
- Tuesday
- SPE Technical Directors: State of the Technical Discipline—A Conversation With Your SPE Technical Directors
- Separations Technology Technical Section: Separation Insanity—Designing the Way We Always Have To Meet Future Requirements
- Flow Assurance Technical Section: The Smarter Flow Assurance Path Toward Improved Offshore Production Economics
- Reservoir Description and Dynamics Advisory Committee: Emerging Topics in Reservoir Description and Dynamics
- Women in the Oil Industry: Own Your Future
- Wednesday
SPE Talent Task Force: Managing the Oil Industry Cycles
TAMEST [The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas]: Environmental and Community Impacts of Shale Oil and Gas Development in Texas: A Peer-Reviewed Scientific Report
Production and Facilities Advisory Committee: Can Unmanned Vehicles and Robotics Create a Step Change in the Oil Industry
Technical Section Events
SPE technical sections will hold meetings, including
- Monday
- The Petroleum Data-Driven Analytics Technical Section dinner
- The CO2 Capture, Utilization, and Storage Technical Section dinner
- Tuesday
- The Wellbore Positioning Technical Section luncheon
- The R&D Technical Section topical luncheon
Annual Events
Additionally, there will be events honoring members for their accomplishments and contributions to the industry, the work of SPE, and the greater community.
At the President’s Luncheon and Annual Meeting of Members on Wednesday, 2017 SPE President Janeen Judah will give a talk on this year’s achievements and upcoming initiatives. SPE’s newly elected Distinguished Members, notable volunteers, and outstanding sections will be recognized, and SPE Board members will be present to meet with attendees. The event will conclude with 2018 SPE President Darcy Spady receiving the presidential gavel and officially beginning his term.
Click here to read a more detailed listing of events.