SPE News
Each year during its Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE), SPE honors members whose outstanding contributions to the Society and the petroleum industry merit special distinction. Recipients will be recognized at the Annual Awards Banquet on 22 October.
This section lists with regret SPE members who recently passed away.
After years of market shocks, technological breakthroughs, and rising uncertainty, ATCE 2026 will provide new insights on how industry leaders and technical experts are preparing for the next era of the upstream business.
-
Joseph John (Joe) Taber died 29 December 2016 at the age of 96. He was a Distinguished Member of SPE and the Improved Oil Recovery Pioneer Awardee in 1990 from SPE and the Department of Energy. -
A message from David Quirk, SPE Canadian Educational Foundation Chair, and Helen Chang, SPE Canadian Educational Trust Past Chair
-
SPE’s Senior Professionals – members aged 55 and older – are integral to SPE and the oil and gas industry. That’s why this year, we’re initiating programs and services that will target the extensive skills, expertise, and experiences of this member group.
-
Lawrence Buck Curtis, SPE, died 25 January. He was the SPE president in 1971 and a trustee of the SPE Foundation. Curtis joined Conoco in 1949 and spent his career of more than 40 years with the company. He held several management positions there, including chief engineer and manager of international operations and general manager for production engineering services, …
-
For more than 35 years, the SPE Foundation has played an important role in providing support for SPE programs and services for members. SPE Foundation trustees, who are all past presidents of SPE, are dedicated to the principles of OneSPE, and are particularly keen to fund activities that benefit SPE members worldwide.
-
Michael Lyle Payne, SPE, died 9 September 2016. He was 56. Payne had more than 30 years of experience in the industry, including in drilling operations, computing, research, and consulting. He was recognized with the SPE Drilling Engineering Award in 2000. Payne was a segment engineering technical authority at BP and previously held positions at the company leading up…
-
Keith Hal Coats, SPE, died 13 September 2016. He was 81. He was an accomplished teacher and pioneer developer of reservoir simulation software. In 1992, Coats founded Coats Engineering and served as the president until 2005 and technical director until his death. There he developed the reservoir simulator, Sensor, beginning in 1992 and continued to work on it until hi…
-
Every year, SPE recognizes members who have made an exceptional effort to ensure the technical excellence of the Society’s peer-reviewed journals. For their contributions, the following individuals are recipients of the 2016 Outstanding Technical Editor Award.
-
Six more will join the elite group of members who have attained the milestone of reviewing 100 papers.
-
The 2016 SPE Legends of Artificial Lift are announced. Recipients will be honored at the 2016 SPE Artificial Lift Conference and Exhibition for North America to be held this month.
