The Distinguished Lecturer (DL) Program is one of SPE's longest-running and most successful initiatives, now in its 64th year. It began in 1961 with just three lecturers. It offers an opportunity to share valuable insights on industry trends, challenges, and technical applications with more than 170 participating professional SPE sections globally.
Typically, SPE dispatches 25 to 30 DLs annually to share their knowledge on tours to every region of the world, each lasting approximately 2 weeks. For some smaller sections, the DLs sent by SPE represent their only technical talks annually. DL talks often attract members that don’t ordinarily attend monthly technical meetings.
Who Are We Seeking?
The pure concept of being “distinguished” makes some people slightly apprehensive. Rest assured that SPE is not necessarily looking for rocket scientists or PhDs with 30 years in the industry. In reality, if you have at least 10 years experience in a subject of widespread interest, then you are a viable candidate.
Being a comfortable public speaker and willing to share knowledge coupled with a supportive employer are favorable contributing factors. Typically, nominees from North America, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and Australia are well represented, so we are keen to encourage a greater geographic variety through more nominations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as enhanced gender diversity by including more women.
Distinguished Lecturer Committee (DLC)
The important task of judging nominees falls to the Distinguished Lecturer Committee (DLC). The DLC has 51 members currently, 36 standing members specializing in the eight SPE technical disciplines, and 15 regional members, usually appointed by SPE Regional Directors.
The DLC hails from 36 different organizations across 20 countries, split as 38% operators, 24% service companies, 22% consulting companies, 12% academia, and 4% retirees. Typically, DLC members specializing in reservoir will judge all of the reservoir submissions, but many DLC members are generalists with experience spanning several disciplines.
Each DLC serves a 3-year term whilst the DLC Chair alternates between Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere to provide a degree of geographic balance.
Novel Distinguished Lecturer Initiatives
Ordinarily, DLs deliver their talk at professional sections around the world, although occasionally an SPE student chapter might arrange a presentation by a locally based DL. In recent years, SPE Western Australia coordinated a “DL Extravaganza” for 500 to 600 undergraduate petroleum engineering and geology students in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. These featured DLs from Australia from companies including Eni, Santos, Woodside, and Well Data QA, representing a significant commitment in time and expense.
As a bonus, Simon Seaton, SPE CEO, and Terry Palisch, SPE 2024 President, delivered keynote speeches in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Not only were these memorable days for the Timorese students, but these events helped to enhance regional and global promotion of this flagship SPE program and the concept of SPE DLs. A third edition is now being planned for Q1 2026 in Timor-Leste. Additionally, for the first time ever, a dedicated DL technical session was curated for IPTC 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
DL Program Feedback
Recent years have represented some of the best years on record with more than 1,600 respondents annually providing feedback subsequent to attending DL talks globally. The DL program, the lecturer, and the DL meeting all rate higher than 96% as “excellent or good,” on average, over the past four lecturer seasons.
This confirms that the DL program continues to be one of SPE’s most successful initiatives and indicates that the DLC, composed entirely of volunteers, supported by the SPE DL management team, is doing a stellar job.
However, not resting on its laurels, the DLC continues to strive for improvement and frequently discusses ways to enhance the program.
How To Get Nominated
The nomination window for the 2027–2028 season is now open until 1 March 2026 online at https://www.spe.org/en/dl/
Please seek a friend, acquaintance, or colleague to nominate you online, a straightforward process that should take a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes. Aside from basic contact details, this only requires the proposed title of the lecture as well as a short summary of the nominee (maximum 100 words). One of the most common mistakes is that candidates nominate themselves—it is important to note that self-nominations are not permitted.
Once nominated, the SPE online system will issue a confirmation email to the nominator, as well as a separate email to the nominee, listing what is required to be uploaded online by 31 March 2026.
The critical requirements are as follows:
- A copy of the presentation PowerPoint file (expected to take 30 mins to deliver)
- An abstract and bio (One page maximum, combined)
- Two recommendation letters supporting the proficiency of the nominee
- A 1-minute selfie video to promote the talk to the DLC and prospective audiences
Any historical records from SPE, such as participation on committees, will be provided to the DLC automatically.
Timeline and Costs
Once submissions close at the end of March, the DLC almost immediately begins judging the materials submitted. Judging extends throughout the month of April, each DLC member assessing 15 to 20 nominees of typically more than 100 entries in total. In May, the DLC will convene a meeting, both in-person and virtually (bordering OTC in Houston), to review the judging outcomes and discuss any anomalies, for example cases with an abnormally high standard deviation.
Subsequently, around 55 to 60 nominees make it through to the final round. They will be invited as Potential Lecturers (PLs) to present in person at one of two final selection sessions, called Presentation Review (PR) or PR meetings, during September/October. During the interim period, two DLC members are assigned to each PL as a point of contact (POC) to help fine-tune their submission, taking into consideration feedback received during the first round of judging. The POCs will also arrange practice runs for the PLs and provide additional feedback to help them be prepared as optimally as possible.
Presentation Review (PR) Meetings
A PR meeting consists of an evening “icebreaker” reception followed by 2 days of judging the PLs presentations. A 1-hour segment for each PL consists of 30-minute presentation, 15 to 20 minutes of Q&A, and 5 to 10 minutes of feedback. Each PL must have a minimum of eight DLC members assessing and scoring their performance.
A key objective of the DLC members is to ensure that all candidates receive an equal and fair opportunity to make it through as a SPE DL. However, there is a high dependence on each nominee bringing their “A game" to the final presentation. With an attrition rate of approximately 50%, the margins are often extremely fine. Note also that the DLC must give due consideration to the final balance of those selected across various dimensions including SPE discipline, representative geographic region, employer organization, gender, and other factors.
Many unsuccessful candidates, supported by a summary of the feedback comments recorded from the DLC judges, are encouraged to reapply the following year.
The 2025 PR meetings were held in Bangkok, Thailand (thanks to PTTEP and Chevron), and Houston (kindly hosted by Baker Hughes). Varying the regional location helps contribute to our objective of enhancing the globalization of nominees.
Next year the Eastern Hemisphere PR meeting will potentially be staged in Muscat, Oman, in mid to late September 2026, which should help boost nominees from Middle Eastern nations in the immediate vicinity.
The Western Hemisphere PR meeting will be held before ATCE in Houston in late October 2026. In-person attendance at one of these meetings is mandatory, and the associated cost represents the only financial expense for a PL during the entire process.
Benefits
Ultimately, those selected will be sent on global tours as SPE DLs from approximately September 2027 through May 2028, with each tour covering maybe seven to eight sections across cities within a specific region.
Meetings can be incredibly diverse, ranging from audiences of several hundred in a major metropolis such as London or Houston, to medium-sized sections such as New Zealand or Ghana, or maybe just a handful of members in a remote location such as Cambodia or rural Montana.
Many past DLs describe their participation and experiences as some of the most memorable in their professional careers, gaining widespread recognition, worldwide exposure, and an enhanced network of contacts globally. As SPE ambassadors, all associated costs whilst on tour are covered by SPE. The only sacrifice to a DL and their organization is time.
If you believe that you are qualified and have an attractive topic, please consider being nominated now by a colleague, acquaintance, or friend. https://www.spe.org/en/dl/
