Your SPE: A Year Is Too Short

Abstract

President's column Time flies for SPE presidents; a year is nothing. Geologists know that very well, but I am a production engineer, so how could I know? As I assumed the post of SPE President on 24 September last year I felt, as I said in my maiden speech, an over-riding sense of awe and eager anticipation. Awe when I thought of the richness and diversity that our SPE represents, as well as my responsibility to the global membership and to our industry as a whole. Eager anticipation when I thought of helping to realize the Society's dreams at the beginning of the 21st century. I started out with three key objectives: to grow membership in the developing regions to make SPE a truly global organization; to develop more online resources for members; and to reach out to the young, who are essential to the future of our industry. However, the moment I started my Presidency, the credit crunch, as it was called then, hit the world and developed rapidly into a global financial recession. Many companies reacted immediately with travel bans and cost cutting, and the consequences of those were quite dramatic for SPE. However, the SPE Board and staff reacted very swiftly, bringing meetings and workshops to where the members are, in practical, lower-cost places. We also accelerated the use of new communication technology. During my acceptance speech in Denver, I made a joke about organizing an SPE conference in Second Life, so guess my delight when the Digital Energy Conference did just that. Overall, I believe SPE will rise from this recession much stronger, with an even leaner cost structure and with a new habit of utilising new technologies like web streaming conferences, the use of Webex and Skype, and the creation of "virtual presentation rooms" in place earlier than planned. So in the end, I am proud of the resilience of our Society, which cannot claim to be unaffected by the downturn but which can claim to have continued to deliver excellent programs and to attract high-quality audiences at worldwide events. It seems that senior management in our industry still values SPE's offer when it comes to technology dissemination and learning. My grandmother used to say that the heavier the cross you are carrying, the stronger you get.