Dear SPE Aberdeen members, colleagues and friends,

One of the great things about being part of this industry is the constant challenge. Members of the SPE are problem solvers by instinct and preference. This industry offers an array of technical challenges from squeezing the last economic drop from our mature basins to leaving the remaining hydrocarbons safely in place after wells have passed their useful life through to the reuse of wells and reservoirs and addressing the big questions of energy mix.

We are a technical body not a political one. Our role is to share information about HOW things can be done. It is our role to be well informed of the direction of travel and discuss the practical implementation of changes in direction. In November we took on the big questions facing the industry.

The Young Professionals heard from OGTC about the technology requirements to take the industry towards Net Zero Emissions.  This helps inform our discussions and provide new ways to think about energy use and generation on our offshore platform as well as reuse and repurposing of our asset and the continuing need for indigenous hydrocarbon production for decades to come. 

Helping us see the need for different attitudes to getting those necessary barrels was David Moseley of Westwood Global Energy when he delivered his Evening Technical Presentation. David argued that commitment to MER requires an increase to exploration drilling. 

We took some of the best presentations from the SPE Aberdeen Well Abandonment conference to the Decommissioning Conference 2019 with our friends in the industry Decom UK and OGUK. Our ability to safely and permanently seal our wells, isolate reservoirs and demonstrate our effectiveness and cost efficiency are crucial to the continuing support of decision makers. 

As we continue to look to the technological challenges to meet the future of our industry one of the areas of growth is likely carbon capture utilisation and storage. The Continuing Education team are developing a one-day seminar on this subject for 2020.

Being part of SPE Aberdeen is being part of the future of the industry. 

We look forward to discussing the big questions with SPE President Shauna Noonan when she visits us in January 2020. Please come along to the Evening Technical Meeting to meet Shauna where she will be giving a short talk before the main technical presentation.  

See you there.

Kenny