During 2020 the SPE Balikpapan Section launched its flagship program called ‘Presidential Lecture Webinar Series’. The series was honored to host three distinguished speakers: Tom Blasingame (2021 SPE President), Darcy Spady (2017 SPE President), and Nathan Meehan (2016 SPE President).
Tom Blasingame focused his presentation around “Petroleum Engineering: Past, Present, and Future”. He highlighted two points:
- Continuing to build technical skills to thrive in the oil and gas industry
- Being resilient to keep winning during the rising of energy transition and carbon neutrality initiatives.
Darcy Spady discussed the “Reduced Methane Emissions in the O&G Value Chain”. He recalled the message that the SPE delivered to the world during his presidency: “prepare the industry towards to an improved eco-friendly and responsible way of doing things with the support of technology”.
Nathan Meehan continued the series with the topic: “Oil & Gas Industry amidst COVID-19: Toward Sustainability”. He mentioned that the initial impact of the pandemic was dramatic and immediate, however, the opportunity to survive and thrive was opened by collaboration and utilizing digital transformation.
“The opportunity to host three SPE Presidents during 2020 was valuable and insightful for members in Balikpapan. Analytics from the webinars showed that the sessions impacted more than 800 participants and due to its success, the plan is to continue with the program until 2021”, said the leaders of the program, Albert Malvin Richal Dading and Nia Setya Budiningtyas.
Sri Konsep Harum Wicaksono is a member of the TWA editorial committee.