SPE Technical Directors’ Outlook: Do Good, Then Do Better

Abstract

While leading initiatives to define and honor sustainability, Johana Dunlop said she is trying to balance “pride and accountability” in the oil and gas business. The technical director in charge of health, safety, and environment regularly points out that those in the oil business make the world a better place by delivering energy that fuels economic progress. She also cautions that the industry needs to pay close attention to influential voices from outside the sector when setting standards for running a sustainable business. Company earnings reports for 2018 showed that it was a generally good year for exploration and production, but the fall in oil prices late in the year warned against complacency in 2019. SPE technical directors all see room for improvement. Erdal Ozkan, director for reservoir, said that it is time to stop being satisfied with methods leaving behind 70% of the oil in conventional reservoirs. Terry Palisch, director for completions, said it is time to figure how to maximize production with the best combination of well spacing and completion designs in unconventional plays. Ramona Graves, director of academia, is seeing a world of petroleum engineering programs that need to start sharing ideas about how to produce better-trained petroleum engineers. Birol Dindoruk, director for management and information, wants to ensure that SPE continues to listen to groups pushing the industry to make the changes needed to maximize the value of its data assets. Jeff Moss, director for drilling, says drillers need to focus on finding ways to reduce drilling costs with efficiency gains using tools such as automation to be competitive during cyclic service costs and oil prices. Hisham Saadawi, director for production and facilities, sees great growth potential for natural gas, but innovative engineering ideas are required to address the problems that flow out of the wells along with the gas.