R&D Technical Section marks first year at ATCE

In its ongoing endeavor to foster cooperative research within the upstream oil and gas industry, SPE's R&D Technical Section (RDTS) held its annual meeting at the 2007 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Anaheim, California. According to Section Chair Chris Buckingham of the Southwest Research Institute, while the section made a great deal of progress during its first year of existence, much work remains in the year ahead.

"I hope that once you leave this meeting, you'll have a better idea of what the R&D Technical Section is, what it has been doing over the past year, and how you can contribute in the coming year," Buckingham told the audience of roughly 40.

The RDTS formed as an initiative brought forward by SPE's R&D Advisory Committee in June 2005, with a mandate to promote research and technical development in any area required by the upstream oil and gas industry. The section was officially approved by SPE's Board in mid-2006 and held its first meeting at the 2006 ATCE in San Antonio, Texas. Since then, the section has grown from 46 members to more than 200, and includes researchers from industry, governmental agencies, independent research institutes and academia.

At the Anaheim meeting, Buckingham reiterated the section's goals and outlined its progress with the help of its other officers and directors. One of the section directors, David Curry of Baker Hughes, explained that the section's goals to encourage and facilitate cooperative R&D development spanned the industry and the world.

In support of this international initiative, the section changed its constitution this year, allowing three more directors to be added, making a total of six. This allows for representation from a wider range of technical disciplines and geographic areas, especially from organizations outside the U.S.

The section also changed its nomination and voting procedures this year to be more aligned with other SPE groups. New section directors will hold 3-year terms in a staggered sequence such that two directors are replaced every year. The two new directors for 2007-2010 are Erdal Ozkan of the Colorado School of Mines and Tim Tipton of Marathon Oil Company. They join returning directors Curry (2007-2009), Ken Brown of the Alberta Research Council (2007-2009), Sunil Kokal of Saudi Aramco (2007-2008), and Richard Felder of ExxonMobil (2007-2008).

The section’s updated constitution can be found on the section's website (log-in required).

RDTS website highlighted

"One of the aspects of this section is that it is predominantly virtual," Curry told the audience. "Most meetings through the year take place online and via teleconference." In keeping with this virtual element, the section launched a website in September 2007 to help disseminate information, keep section members aware of activities, and facilitate communication.

Buckingham guided the audience through how to access the site, which can be found by visiting the SPE Technical Section homepage, clicking on the Research and Development link, and logging in with your SPE user name and password. He then discussed various features of the site, including links to company technology websites, joint-industry-project sites, and SPE's research provider's directory.

The site also includes original content from the section directors, a series of articles on R&D topics ranging from drilling challenges for the next trillion bbl of production to opportunities in gas hydrates. "These articles are meant to generate online discussions, allowing interested parties to go back and forth on a topic with the author and with other interested parties," Buckingham said.

While activity in these threaded discussions and visits to the site have been sparse to date (since September, approximately 120 people had visited the site and 82 clicked on the articles), Director Felder announced several initiatives designed to improve the website and generate greater participation. "We plan to add new articles from the recently appointed directors and open up article submissions to other section members. We also are considering creating a 'Researcher Highlight' section and adding other elements to help our members. Finally, we want to promote greater activity in the discussion forums."

Several members of the audience offered suggestions for the website that might prompt more visits and greater participation. These suggestions included practical topics that members could reference for their daily work activities, such as tips on how to effectively transition a technology from the development stage to field trials. On the other end of technology-development spectrum, another audience member suggested including a focus on methods to help researchers choose which project to pursue. There was also interest in including guidelines a researcher could use to get buy-in for a project from management and to solicit assistance from other researchers.

Still others suggested adding a "Help Wanted" section to the site, which might include a listing of existing projects that are looking for funding or participants, or postings from companies offering research internships. Buckingham and the other officers in attendance agreed to consider these ideas for future website updates.

RDTS aims to grow its roster

"While there is no magic number regarding total section members, we do want a critical mass," said Buckingham. A great deal of time was devoted to membership, with discussions focused on the current size of the section and ways to attract more members.

Buckingham expressed a need to continue expanding the section's roster, as greater membership may spur greater participation in the website's threaded-discussion groups. He encouraged current members and directors to drum up interest in the section from colleagues who have not yet joined.

A suggestion was made that the option for joining the RDTS might be included in SPE's annual membership-renewal drive. During the registration process, new and recurring members could check a box indicating that they are interested in R&D or in joining the RDTS.

Buckingham aims to generate further exposure for the RDTS by becoming active in SPE's Technical Interest Group (TIG) task force, and trying to coordinate activities between TIGs and RDTS. In addition, the section will be heavily involved in the 2009 SPE R&D Conference to be held in Lisbon, Portugal. "Several of our officers and directors were part of the first R&D Conference, held last year in San Antonio, Texas," Buckingham said. "We included links to presentations from that first event on the RDTS website, and we want to expand our involvement going forward."

The meeting wrapped up with Buckingham inviting the audience to next year's RDTS meeting, to be held during ATCE 2008 in Denver, Colorado, and asking for volunteers to help get the many initiatives discussed moving forward. "SPE is by nature a volunteer organization, and volunteers are particularly vital to keep our young section moving and growing," Buckingham concluded.

To learn more about the RDTS and how to participate, contact Buckingham by email, or by phone at +1.210.522.3307.

 

Ted Moon is the Technology Editor of JPT Online. He brings information on emerging technologies, R&D successes, new field applications, updates from SPE papers about recent innovations, and more. If you have a question or suggestion for future article topics, email Ted at teched@spe.org.