Community Consensus: Incubation and Adoption of Small Things

Abstract

President's column My goal is to support small producers and tech providers. Cautionary note: If you work for a huge corporation and feel there is no need for little, pesky innovators, please stop reading this article now. Go and munch on some plants and wait to be covered in sediment and be part of a future hydrocarbon system. Should you choose to stay, there will be a group hug conducted at the end of this article. One of my stated goals during my presidency is to support small producers and technical providers. One of my most unexpected experiences has been the pleasant surprise of finding a hotbed of startups … in France. While being escorted through the WAI—We Are Innovation—center in Massy, France, I was struck by the thought that this is a place where great thoughts turn into great companies. Administered by BNP Paribas, this facility was packed with hard-working innovators, but not too many suits. In the midst of this group, led by a guy wearing a suit and tennis shoes, was Habib Al Khatib, a geophysicist. He and his two colleagues are working with groundbreaking, yet painfully simple, technology. If Habib fails, he starves. I’m pretty sure Habib won’t fail. We had an excellent discussion about the place for small tech providers in SPE, and the critical need for innovation in our industry. That innovation is generated by companies large and small. I kind of sympathize with the small. For the past decade, I have been on the board or acted as an advisor to startups. It’s much more comfortable at the board level for me. I get to come and go when there are lots of people around, and they are usually pretty happy. I’ve been a small producer, seeking financing while competing with hundreds of others like myself. You get well practiced at the “elevator pitch,” yet the process can be daunting, frustrating, and tiring. Why do I bring this up? I discuss this concept of startups and incubation because we have a lot of SPE members in this space, and I want to support you. Maybe you once worked for a large corporation and were placed into transition by an external force. Maybe you started in a big organization and have been chomping at the bit to be freed from the constraints there. Whatever your reason, there is a home for you in SPE.