Our industry is front and center with any wave of climate change discussion. This is our reality and was the case in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), held in the resort of Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt in November 2022. Reports indicate COP27 had a better outcome than the previous COP26 meeting. So naturally, I want to share this information with our members. There are numerous outcomes that I am certain SPE will be discussing in future meetings and publications. Three aspects, in particular, are the participation of the oil industry in the conference, decarbonization vs. reduction, and attempts to phase out petroleum.
Petroleum industry participants outnumbered every national delegation at the COP27 climate summit. The influence of UAE, the host of COP28 in 2023, showed on the sidelines and in the negotiations with CEOs of several international and national oil companies and oil ministers in attendance. Getting involved in climate change events, presenting the industry’s viewpoint, and explaining the substantial efforts taken to mitigate the climate challenge is essential for our industry to continue, to level the playing field and offer a balanced path to energy security and sustainability that we owe the world based on what our industry can deliver.
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said at the leaders’ summit, “The UAE is known as a responsible supplier of energy and will continue to play this role as long as the world needs oil and gas.” The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Egypt, Tarek El-Molla, added, “As the cleanest hydrocarbon fuel, natural gas is seen as the perfect solution that strikes the right balance and will continue to play a key role in the future energy mix.”
Some of the highlights of the conference included:
- The emphasis on decarbonizing, rather than reducing, fossil fuel use was adequately addressed and continually presented as a viable method to help reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) showcased Al Reyadah, the region’s first commercial-scale carbon capture utilization and storage facility.
- Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy announced the signing of a joint development agreement with Saudi Aramco for one of the largest planned carbon capture and storage (CCS) hubs in the world. The center in Jubail Industrial City will begin operation by 2027 and be able to store 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in its first phase, and extract, use, and store 44 million tonnes of CO2 by 2035.
At the 2021 COP26 in Glasgow, coal was named as a problem for the first time, with countries agreeing to phase down its use. In Sharm el-Sheikh, some sought to turn the heat onto other fossil fuels. Egypt never included fossil fuel phaseout language in the draft text, although it does promote renewables and “low-emission” energy. This could be interpreted as gas, which has lower emissions when burned than coal or other fossil fuels, with CCS. The final resolutions of the conference did not include any language to phase down petroleum.
SPE Resources: Energy Stream
I mentioned in last month’s column one of the gaps we have in SPE is the need for more member knowledge of the services available to them in SPE. I want to highlight a relatively new resource for SPE members. The SPE Energy Stream platform contains valuable information helpful to petroleum engineers for all aspects of Petroleum ++. Below is an introduction to the platform. I want to thank Dana Otillio, SPE Director, Global Marketing and Virtual Programs, for helping me prepare this material.
1. What is Energy Stream?
SPE Energy Stream is an online platform that provides 24/7 access to educational multimedia content. SPE’s global audience has the flexibility to watch relevant content on their time via live broadcasts and on-demand recordings. SPE Live is just one example of available live and on-demand programming on SPE Energy Stream.
2. What are the different types of information available on SPE Energy Stream?
With more than 700 videos available, professionals and students can hear about industry innovations, technical solutions, and inspirational member stories. Member-exclusive presentations from Distinguished Lecturers and highlights and presentations from recent SPE events are available. SPE Tech Talks offer an exclusive look at the industry’s latest products and services. Some of the industry’s most respected professionals serve as moderators and speakers, contributing expert analysis and insights.
3. Where can a member find what is available?
Several features from the Energy Stream homepage help filter content to customize and meet members’ individual interests. For example, users can access videos by technical topic, product type, upcoming live programs, or trending content. In addition, all videos are tagged with additional technical and industry terms to recommend other related videos. Once users find the content of interest, they can save a video for access later in their ‘My Saved Content’ playlist.
4. How are the topics selected? What does a member need to do to suggest a topic they are interested in seeing?
The Virtual Programs staff works closely with different member groups to bring diverse and timely content to SPE’s audience. Content is created in collaboration with the SPE technical directors, technical sections, event committees, Distinguished Lecturers, JPT and The Way Ahead editorial staff, sister societies, and other special interest groups such as Gaia and the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. In addition, SPE continually looks for new topics and perspectives to feature on an SPE Live or webinar, especially those covering current technologies, energy transition, automation and optimization, and market trends. If a member would like to suggest a future topic, they can share their idea via this form.
5. Who selects the speakers/contributors? If a member wants to contribute with something in their area of expertise, what should they do?
Speakers and moderators are selected in coordination with the member group assisting in organizing the SPE Live or webinar. Most groups, such as technical sections, have subject‑matter experts in mind when they suggest a topic. In other cases, the speakers were selected by a committee, such as the SPE Distinguished Lecturers. SPE Virtual Programs staff can also suggest speakers who have previously participated in related programs.
Most recently, SPE has offered a new way for technical and geographic sections and student chapters to submit educational video content from their recent events and webinars for consideration on SPE Energy Stream. The goal is to provide regional and technical groups with an opportunity to gain additional exposure for their content beyond their borders.
6. What future services are SPE envisioning to update/evolve Energy Stream?
The future of SPE Energy Stream includes enhancing features on the platform to make it a more user-friendly, personalized experience for our global audience. SPE wants to make multimedia content more accessible in multiple formats, such as videos and podcasts, and a more robust variety of short- and long-form content. New ways to deliver content are currently being developed to enhance the accessibility of timely, trending information.
Another priority is developing a more extensive library of regional content. In 2023, SPE will create more live content for the Eastern Hemisphere time zones. Engaging sections and chapters to contribute content to SPE Energy Stream is another way SPE hopes to expand its geographic representation.
7. How can a member access Energy Stream?
Members can access Energy Stream using SPE.org member login credentials to access exclusive content and save videos for future watching. Watch Energy Stream’s informative user video here.
To give you a quick starting point and whet your appetite to all you can find easily on Energy Stream, here are two more links that you can access as examples right now in addition to the two shown with the images.
CCUS Solutions Contributing to Energy Transition
Until next month!
