JPT’s Technical Section Editorial series features insights from committee members across SPE’s technical sections. Articles examine technical priorities, key activities, and emerging challenges within specific disciplines, providing SPE members with clear insight into how industry experts and volunteers are helping define SPE’s technical direction. Collectively, the series reflects the depth of SPE’s technical community and its continued commitment to advancing knowledge-sharing across the upstream energy sector. Learn more about the SPE Artificial Lift Technical Section (ALTS) on the ALTS SPE Connect Page.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the Southwestern Petroleum Short Course (SWPSC), and the Artificial Lift Research & Development Council (ALRDC) share a common mission around advancing artificial lift technology, but each contributes in a distinct way.
They all serve as industry hubs for artificial lift knowledge, technology development, training, and collaboration, helping operators improve production, reduce costs, and solve lift‑related challenges. They all play complementary roles. Together, they form the backbone of the global artificial lift community.
Southwestern Petroleum Short Course (SWPSC)
The first Southwestern Petroleum Short Course was held in 1954 as the West Texas Oil-Lifting Short course, initiated by the petroleum engineering faculty at Texas Technological College, W.L. Ducker, Norma Lamont, Phil Johnson, and their industry friends in the Permian Basin. In later years, the association changed its name to Southwestern Petroleum Short Course since the conference expanded its coverage to include all phases of petroleum production.
Consequently, the Short Course expanded its content beyond artificial lift to include a broader spectrum of topics, including well completions, stimulation, workovers, reservoir operations, and production handling. However, the emphasis remains on artificial lift!
During these many years, more than 2,750 technical papers by more than 2,700 authors have been presented to tens of thousands of registrants representing all phases of petroleum production. Many of the authors and presenters are "household names" in the industry. They are experts in their specialties and attend the conference to associate with their peers, who are also experts in their own rights.
In addition, generations of petroleum engineering students have attended the SWPSC to associate with professionals and gain insight into the industry. All papers are available in digital format and distributed as the annual proceedings of the Southwestern Petroleum Short Course. The information thus imparted is intended to be practical and immediately useful for solving current problems and for presenting new techniques and practices to the oil and gas industry.
Artificial Lift Research & Development Council (ALRDC)
The Artificial Lift Research & Development Council exists to share information among artificial lift users, suppliers, researchers, and consultants around the world and to promote appropriate research and development for improved artificial lift business and practice.
To support artificial lift technologies for the oil and gas industry, the ALRDC undertakes and organizes international workshops and seminars to educate the industry in gas lift, gas well deliquification, sucker-rod pumping, electrical submersible pumping, and progressing cavity pumping.
Another workshop of high prestige is the Inventors of New Artificial Lift Technology Forum (INALT), which is usually held every 2 years during the same week as the SPE Artificial Lift Conference and Exhibition – Americas (SPE ALCE), and this year offers a $10,000 award for the most innovative project presented.
SPE Artificial Lift Online Coffee Meetings
This new initiative of the SPE Artificial Lift Technical Section (SPE ALTS) is helping industry friends to stay connected and have positive conversations about artificial lift and production optimization. Everyone is welcome to participate and share comments, questions, and suggestions. The idea is to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee (or your favorite drink) while sharing knowledge and experiences with colleagues that can be of positive help to others.
For more details about upcoming events, follow the SPE ALTS on LinkedIn.
What’s New in Artificial Lift?
To reinforce the message that working together leads to success, we would like to showcase 10 of the 68 outstanding papers presented 20–23 April in Lubbock, Texas, during the 2026 SWPSC.
- 2026008 Corrosion Mitigation Through Automated Corrosion Management and Downhole Design Changes for Annular Gas Lift Wells by N. Trotter and M. Bohn, Oxy.
- 2026018 Enhanced Performance Back‑Check Technology for Gas Lift Valves by S. Bisset, Flowco-Inc; and T. Hunt and M. Gautreau, JMI Manufacturing.
- 2026022 Evaluating High-Pressure Gas Lift Strategy In Delaware Basin With a New Dynamic Iterative Nodal Analysis Workflow by R. Hieronymus, Oxy.
- 2026031 From Routes to Exceptions: Automating Plunger Lift Well Management by J. Portillo, J. Hartman, B. Bowen, K. Flowers, and T. Nicosia, Oxy.
- 2026019 Gas Lift Optimization Achieved at Scale Through Automated Model Building, Automatic Model Tuning, and Application of Autonomous Control Logic Through an Enterprise Production Optimization Solution by V. Chawla, M. Urdaneta, and C. Verde, Weatherford.
- 2026010 Gas Release System Bypass (GRSB): An Advanced Gas-Handling Technology to Enhance ESP Performance in High-GLR Wells by R. Boeger, ExxonMobil; and S. Vyas and S. Vestal, Odessa Separator Inc (OSI).
- 2026016 Reducing Carbon Footprint by Deploying High-Performance Electric Submersible Pumps and Enabling Real-Time Digital Optimization by P.M. Villarreal, C. Arrias, D. LaMothe, L. Kheliouen, L. Guevara, D. Aylett, and W.F. Wang, SLB; and G. Morehouse, SOGC Inc.
- SPE 2026028 Top Ten Challenges in Jet Lift Production Operations and the Solutions Successfully Implemented in Producing Oil Wells in the South Texas Region by R. Catlett and C. Kallies, Gulftex Energy; M.R. Toro, Colibri Energy Solutions; and O.A.N. Pinto, Absolute Hydraulics LLC.
- SPE 2026005 Turning Failures Into Fortune: The Power of QAQC in Artificial Lift Operations by C. Richardson, Oxy.
- SPE 2026033 3-1/2" Tubing PAGL Application: An Alternative to Tubing Replacement by O. Sayman, Plunger Dynamics LLC.; T. Trentadue, D. Laird, and A.D. Fernandez, Coterra Energy; and S. Suarez and Z. King, Flowco.
The above list is just an example of the positive collaboration that exists among organizations, and the benefits we can gain for our wells by engaging with other teams like SWPSC and ALRDC, in addition to SPE.
