Best shot images

Just another day’s work, studying deltaic outcrops with the assistance of modern drone capabilities. In collaboration with Cari Johnson, Ellen Reat, and Casey Duncan of the University of Utah, we are documenting deltaic facies and stacking patterns in South Africa’s Kookfontein Formation. The technology is impressive, but it still requires human brains to operate the …

I don't know how anyone could see a sight like this rig and not marvel at its sheer size, design, ingenuity, and engineering excellence. One of the largest land rigs ever built, Doyon 26—aptly nicknamed "The Beast"—is going to drill some of the longest ERD wells in the world in an extremely technically challenging Arctic environment. What an awesome experience to visi…

This picture is of a remote field Reliance Production Optimization operates for a client. Minus-40 Celsius and our helicopters and operators are hard at work keeping the gas flowing. What a crisp beautiful day that was!

Photo by Rodney Schulz, Schulz Financial, creator and instructor of Oil & Gas Economics and Uncertainty, a 2-day training seminar offered by SPE. I took the picture with a Nikon D300 camera equipped with the 18-200 F3.5-5.6 VR lens.

The North Sea weather can get really bad in autumn. Gale force winds can rattle the rig and the high choppy seas can smash against its steel legs. Sometimes the dramatic weather can give you some surprises. I took this picture while the weather was against us. The rain horizontal and intermittent. The wind strong and howling through the sub structure. Then the clouds …

I took this picture many months ago in 2017, when I was working as a petroleum engineer offshore Mexico for Pemex. I lived around 5 years on platforms working on production facilities upstream, separation, compression, and pumping of oil and gas. My room had a window and every morning I woke up to this image in the dawn.

The SPE Denver Section sponsored a weather balloon project for a local astronomy class at Noel Community Arts School in Denver. With the help of SPE volunteers and their high school science department, the students designed, built, launched, and retrieved a payload that delivered a camera to near space, where this picture was taken. The project helped the students to …

A stunning sunset from the Normand Subsea looking toward the Glen Lyon FPSO, BP West of Shetland. Photo by Steven Donaldson.

Being involved with SPE has been the better choice in my career, both as a student and as a young petroleum engineer. My SPE member connections were helpful in academics and provide me an opportunity to enhance soft skills. A big step for me as a student was becoming the president of the Surcolombiana University SPE Student Chapter; everything started there. Now 2 yea…

Picture taken by Benjamin Gonzalez, independent consultant. Picture was taken on location—Rincon and Warren Wells on the north side of Cheyenne, Wyoming, off Highway 85. The location was supposed to get 8-in. of snow on that day.