Month: September 2019

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SPE Aberdeen Appoints Wells Expert as chair

SPE Aberdeen Appoints Wells Expert as Chair
Press Release
16 September 2019

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section has appointed Kenny McAllister as Chair. He takes over from Mr Ian Phillips and will hold the position until September 2021.
Beginning his career as a Research Scientist and Product Development Project Leader with a large chemical multinational, Mr McAllister has since gained more than 20 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, specialising in the development and commercialisation of new well and near-well technology.
Mr McAllister holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physics from the University of Strathclyde and Master of Science degree in Information Technology from the University of York.
Currently, he is Managing Director of Seal-Tite UK LLC where he leads its well integrity business interests in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Mr McAllister said: “I am delighted to have been selected by my peers as Chair of the SPE Aberdeen Section, and I look forward to continuing to build on the sterling work done by Ian Phillips over the past four years.
“We are emerging from difficult times across the industry and I look forward to continuing to serve our members through knowledge sharing and technical events, as well as inspiring future generations through our schools’ programmes and events for Young Professionals.”
Involved in SPE Aberdeen for 5 years and a member of the SPE for over 20 years, Mr McAllister previously chaired the Programme Committee which brings technical experts from around the world as well as local speakers to present in Aberdeen. Mr McAllister is passionate about the science and art of new technology adoption. He has been instrumental in bringing intelligent wells technology such as downhole fibre optic measurement and surface control downhole valves to the industry across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
SPE is an international organisation, with thousands of members in the UK, each of whom is affiliated to one of three UK sections in Aberdeen, London and Great Yarmouth. Aberdeen is the largest of these sections with over 2,500 members.

 

by david david No Comments

Chair’s Address: September 2019

Dear SPE Aberdeen members, colleagues and friends,

Wow, what a month it is has been. In the last few weeks we have enjoyed our session launch, the Young Professionals (YPs) summer BBQ and then the Offshore Europe 2019 juggernaut rolled into town.

Our session launch event attracted new volunteers into the section and some necessary changes in the committee chairs as some of our YPs gained promotions and new jobs outside the SPE Aberdeen catchment area. I am both delighted to see their progress and sad to see them go.

About 10% of the section’s professional membership gives back through volunteering such as serving on a symposium committee, performing outreach activities through the Schools and Career Guidance committee or other routes. I think that number is staggering given the pressures on those working the oil and gas industry alongside the competing calls on an individual’s time.

The Programme Committee launched its Evening Technical Session programme for the year. There is a tremendous mix of SPE Distinguished Lectures and local experts sharing their experiences. We have presentations ranging right through a development lifecycle. Dana Petroleum will take us from Section to Development, BP will tell us about the first year of the Clair Ridge production and we have several presentations on production challenges such as scale through to Shell sharing their lessons on the P&A of Brent Alpha. It is a programme so full we have added a 9th presentation this year.

Offshore Europe brought the industry’s leadership big hitters into Aberdeen for the first time at the new P&J Live. I loved the new venue. The central foyer gave easy access to the conference and all the exhibition halls. The protection from the weather was a boon to exhibitors who will be glad to see the back of the bad old days of the tents at the AECC.

We were fortunate to have SPE President Sami Al Nuaim participate in our Awards event during OE2019 celebrating the contributions of our SPE volunteers. The event included a presentation by SPE International WIN (Women in Energy) Chair Nihal Mounir to inspire our newly launched SPE Aberdeen WIN Committee. Sami and Nihal had participated in the inaugural WIN event at OE2019 earlier in the day. We also launched the 2020 Offshore Achievement Awards at this event.

Those who attended the opening plenary sessions of the conference will have heard about the industry being on the front foot of two issues key to the future of North Sea Basin – Energy Transition and Diversity.

Of course, SPE Aberdeen volunteers were out in force at OE2019; on the SPE stand, participating in the YPs Emerging Engineers Forum, conducting Schools tours for both teachers and pupils and at the launch of the WIN Committee.

The new Continuing Education session starts in earnest next month with our first seminar Inwell Monitoring & Surveillance on October 2nd and we address cyber security at the Transforming Controls Safety and Security – How Safe is your Asset? seminar on October 30th.

There’s plenty to engage in this month. See you there.

 

Kind regards – Kenny McAllister

SPE Aberdeen Chair

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Congratulations to all our SPE Regional and Section Award Winners

Congratulations to all our SPE Regional and Section Award Winners

This week, during Offshore Europe, we held our annual award ceremony. This event was a great opportunity to celebrate all the hard work, dedication and commitment of our volunteers; all of whom played a significant role in the section being awarded the SPE President’s Award for Section Excellence. Sami Al-Nuaim, SPE President, was on hand to present all the awards.

The full list of awards recipients is below – congratulations to all.

SPE Aberdeen Section Awards:

Stuart McIntosh – Section Service Award

Janis Corbett – Section Service Award

Lorraine Mutch – Section Service Award

Alfred Akisanya – Section Service Award – Student Chapter Faculty Sponsor

Liz Hodge – Section Service Award – Aberdeen Science Centre

University of Aberdeen – Best Student Chapter Award

Heriot-Watt University – Highly Commended Student Chapter

 

SPE Regional Award Winners

Elliot Kinch – Regional Public Service Award

Brenda Wyllie – Regional Service Award

Ritika Pawar – Regional Service Award

Graham Skinner – Regional Service Award