Volume
1, Issue
4
In this Issue:
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Volume
1, Issue
4 In this Issue: |
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From the Chairman Cheryl R. Collarini, P.E. | |||
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We will all be wishing for "paper doll" employees in the next few years, especially technical ones, because there won't be enough real ones to go around! This oil industry of ours is going to be very short of experienced technical personnel. Like the weather, everyone is talking about it, but who is doing anything about it? What can be done about it? You really can't substitute for experience with total success, like substituting margarine for real butter in a recipe. But, there are some things we can do now to help mitigate the shortfall in the intermediate to long term. First, we can use "bridge" talent. I think of these technical experts as suspension bridges, connecting young talent across the body of knowledge from novice to experience. These are our 50-plus-year-old early retirees, packaged off people with so much talent and experience to offer as mentors. In the current times of poor stock market performance, there is added incentive for them to contribute in exchange for deserved compensation. A structured program wherein experienced mentors work on technical projects with less experienced technical people is not hard to design and implement and can have huge positive effects on staff development. |
Sincerely,  | ||
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Upstream
News
Proved Reserves - The Next Battle Ground? In an environment charged with accounting scandals, jittery investors, and nervous management, our industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continue to improve their open dialog about methods to achieve consistency in proved reserve estimates. Reserve estimates are inherently uncertain, and there is no magic solution. The challenge of defining what "reasonable certainty" means remains alive in this environment of rapid technological change. The degree of certainty is directly related to the amount of information we are able to collect and analyze. And we are in the Information Age where important changes occur nearly every day. The most controversial issues still involve, as they have for the past 30 years or more, how proved reservoir limits are defined and what is meant by a "conclusive formation test." Advances in seismic, logging, and computing technologies continue to be examined to determine whether these tools provide the information needed to achieve reasonable certainty of the existence of producible hydrocarbons and the volumes that can be recovered commercially. The SEC interpretations and commentaries (see www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/guidance/cfactfaq.htm) are clear and understandable; however, they acknowledge the definitions are not precise and that special individual circumstances may exist which qualify reserves as proved where compelling technical evidence is demonstrated. The issues are important and timely, as evidenced by the more than 150 in attendance at the most recent SPEE forum with the SEC in October in Houston. Industry experts continue to put forth case studies showing the reliability of 3-D seismic, pressure transient analysis, and new logging and testing technology. This continuing dialog is the way to achieve the consistency in reserve reporting that companies, evaluators, and the investing public all desire. It is clear, however, that better information, carefully evaluated, is the way to clarify the reserve picture. For operators, this may include a closer look at the amounts and types of information gathered, particularly in frontier areas. For reserve estimators and auditors, this will certainly require careful analysis and systematic documentation of data and methodology. Both cost time and money, but both have the potential for near-term impact on the bottom line. We thank and commend the SPEE and the SEC for their important efforts in this regard. Meet Some of Our Talented People! Reservoir engineer with 10 years of experience with one major and one independent oil company. He is highly experienced in evaluation of deepwater Gulf of Mexico and international properties. He has a solid grasp of reservoir and production engineering concepts and applications. His references speak highly of his ability to technically support his recommendations. Ask for R503.Engineering technician with 23 years of support experience in several disciplines within the oil and gas industry. She is highly experienced in production data retrieval, reserve information and analysis programs, drilling, production, and technical information systems. She possesses excellent computer application skills including, DIMS, PEEP, Volts, OFM, Oracle, HIS, MS Office Suite, and more. Ask for TE343.Geologist with 27 years of highly diversified petroleum geological experience in all aspects of exploration and exploitation. He has offshore and onshore experience that includes successful prospect generation, acquisition analysis, and reservoir characterization and modeling. He also has a solid background in formation evaluation, risk analysis, computer mapping, and geochemistry. Ask for G1040.Geoscientist with over 19 years of diverse experience in geology, sequence stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and seismic interpretation for a major oil company, service companies, and as a consultant. She has expertise in field and regional studies, prospect and block evaluation, reservoir characterization, risk analysis, project coordination, and mentoring. Ask for G287Registered petroleum engineer with 27 years of increasing responsibility in oil and gas operations. He has been exposed to the majority of the onshore U.S. Basins and offshore Gulf of Mexico and is highly experienced in oil & gas capital projects and operations management. Ask for DP206.Project manager with 10 years of experience as a project engineer and five years of experience managing large domestic and international infrastructure projects, including loading and unloading facilities. He is experienced in detailed engineering, construction management oversight, facility staffing, and commissioning of facilities for CNG/PNG loading/unloading sites worldwide. Ask for F282.
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I'd rather have a Paper Doll….
