More than 8,300 professionals from 60 countries attended the 2017 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, which was held in October in San Antonio, Texas. Conference panels and technical sessions examined best practices and emerging technologies throughout the oil and gas industry, including discussions on the role of data analytics, contemporary research and development initiatives, sustainability, automation, and recent innovations. Here are highlights from this year’s conference. Disruptive Drilling Technology A panel on starting companies selling disruptive drilling technology began with the advice, “If you remember anything today, remember it is not about technology—it is about money.” The advice from Tom Bates, an energy investor from Fort Worth, Texas, began a discussion put on by the Drilling Systems Automation Technical Section (DSATS) about starting successful companies that sell digitally controlled drilling tools. When discussing money, the panelists kept coming back to the critical, sometimes maddening role people play in deciding who gets money and profits in the end. “Most profitable companies do not want things that disrupt” the status quo, said David Blacklaw, Shell global drilling automation lead. For change to happen, it may well require upper management to promote changes that have benefits that are not obvious to those in operations. Even decision makers who see the potential are wary about changes at a time when mass layoffs are a fresh memory. “Automation has a lot of people nervous about their job security,” said Todd Benson, president and CEO of Motive Drilling Technologies. The worries range from decision makers who do not want to stake their job on an unknown startup to workers who see their jobs threatened. Motive Drilling sells a directional drilling advisor, which offers turn-by-turn directions now delivered by directional drillers. While companies using it have continued to employ directional drillers, it changes what they do. If a worker sees something new as a job, “you are the enemy,” Benson said.