Dear SPE Aberdeen members, colleagues and friends,

New Volunteers – Wow, What a response!

I reported last month that we have had a great response to our call for volunteers and were looking forward to matching up the volunteers with opportunities.

What a great crop of new volunteers we have. In particular we have strengthened the recently formed Net Zero Committee and the D&I team and have new energy in our Programme and School and Career Guidance groups in particular.

Net Zero

The Net Zero committee have come out of the blocks at 100 miles an hour and are lining up five introductory presentations and a high-level panel discussion before we get to COP26 in November.

Diversity and Inclusion

Our Diversity and Inclusion committee have a number of new members with a range of personal experiences which will enable us to focus activities in the areas of race, gender and sexual orientation.

This month saw catcalling in the offshore environment as front page news. Initially shocked, I was angered and disappointed that we still have work to do to bring everyone on the journey to inclusivity. I commend Hazel Forgan for bravely calling this practice out and am delighted that she has accepted an invitation to join our D&I team.

Conference Season

As I write we are in the middle of the SPE Aberdeen Well Decommissioning Symposium. This is the 10th time we have run this event although the first time it has been digital. Next week we see Seismic 2021 and shortly thereafter DEVEX 2021 – both of these events have been designed from the outset to run digitally.

If you had suggested a digital conference a year ago no one would have understood what you were talking about. Now it is the norm – the “new normal”. Sometime soon this new normal will be challenged again as event venues start to open again. Will it be all digital vs all in-person or some kind of hybrid? You will decide!

Stay happy and healthy in 2021,

Kenny

Kenny McAllister

SPE Aberdeen Chair