SPE signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with two leading industry associations, enabling closer collaboration on sharing technical knowledge and meeting the world’s energy needs in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
The agreements were signed with the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) and IPIECA, both of which have global memberships and work to promote industry safety, environmental, and social performance.
SPE and IOGP pledged to work together to improve sustainability performance among oil and natural gas companies. The memorandum was signed at IOGP’s London office by Sami Alnuaim, 2019 SPE president, and Gordon Ballard, IOGP executive director.
“This MOU formalizes a long-standing collaboration between SPE and IOGP,” said Mark Rubin, SPE’s CEO and executive vice president. “Our two organizations have been closely aligned for many years and we have appreciated IOGP’s support for our programs, especially their active involvement in our International HSE conference series.”
Opportunities to work together on sustainability performance include creating conversations in workshops, conference panel sessions, and publications that support decision making to help integrate sustainability factors into business performance. IOGP will participate in SPE’s conferences and workshops, and SPE will promote IOGP reports among SPE’s membership.
“Oil and gas continue to provide a significant proportion of the world’s energy to meet growing demands for heat, light, and transport,” Ballard said. “Our collaboration to improve sustainability performance and reporting shows our strong commitment in this area.”
The two organizations will also promote STEM education. SPE’s global energy education program, Energy4me, relies on hands-on activities that use simple components to teach complicated engineering functions used in oil and gas exploration and production. ṢPE will provide ideas and content based on this program to support IOGP’s global advocacy program.
SPE’s agreement with IPIECA was signed by Alnuaim and IPIECA Executive Director Brian Sullivan at the IPIECA office in London. The MOU will allow SPE and IPIECA to collaborate on improving sustainability performance among the oil and natural gas industry.
“Both SPE and IPIECA are motivated to coordinate and share technical knowledge that helps the oil and natural gas industry meet world energy demand in a safe and sustainable manner,” Rubin said.
Both parties understand that the future license to operate will largely depend on the industry’s ability to communicate the contribution of oil and gas to sustainable development while improving industry performance. “Along with sharing our combined networking and knowledge resources, this agreement is poised to benefit not just our industry but also our communities as we share good practices and peer learning about sustainability,” said Sullivan.
Opportunities to work together include IPIECA’s participation in global and regional SPE meetings. IPIECA also will promote SPE programs, including publications and conferences on topics relevant to its membership, and SPE will promote IPIECA material and meetings that will enhance members’ knowledge of environmental and social issues.
More information on IOGP can be found at www.iogp.org and about IPIECA at www.ipieca.org.