Focus on Sustainability, Digital Transformation at 2019 ATCE
Authors: Donnelly John , Wilson Adam , Feder Judy , Jacobs Trent 
Published: November 2019

The 2019 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) was held in Canada for the first time during 29 September–2 October. More than 6,000 petroleum professionals attended the event in Calgary, which offered a comprehensive review of technical topics related to industry productivity, digital transformation, safety, and sustainability.••

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Industry’s Difficult Task: Meet Global Demand While Lowering Emissions

John Donnelly, JPT Editor

The oil and gas industry must not only adapt to heightened public and government scrutiny on environmental issues but also be a leader in the world’s quest for a lower-carbon energy future, panelists agreed during the opening session at the conference.

The panel session, titled “Positively Impacting the World through Responsible Energy Development,” featured participants from BP, Baker Hughes, Gazprom Neft, and ARC Energy Research•Institute.

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Industry Strives To Leave Operations Alone

Adam Wilson, Special Publications Editor

Having rigs that run without people can increase safety and efficiency. The industry has known that for years, yet implementing these remote operations sometimes has been a challenge, and integrating these operations has been an even larger challenge. That was the topic at a panel dinner held by SPE’s Digital Energy Technical Section during the conference.

“Remote has been embedded in the digital concept for over 10 or 15 years,” said Tony Edwards, chief executive officer of Stepchange Global and moderator of the panel. “The idea of taking data information from your operations center, bringing it to the back office, and actually being able to do something is core to the digital oilfield integrated operations concept for 10 or 15 years now.”

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Bandwidth of Nanotechnology in the Oil Field Widens

Judy Feder, Technology Editor

On the final day of the conference, attendees filled a hall to listen to seven experts discuss the value to the oil and gas industry of particles that are less than 1 micron in length. Nanotechnology has great potential to reduce cost, increase production, and even improve the sustainability of E&P operations.

The gap between potential and reality is closing, the number of applications is growing, and the industry is ready and willing to use nanotechnology if it can be shown to deliver better performance for less money, according to the panelists and moderators—Steven Bryant of the University of Calgary; Hugh Daigle of The University of Texas at Austin; Ramanan Krishnamoorti of the University of Houston; Oya Karazincir of Chevron; Reinhard Pongratz and Philipp Urban of OMV Exploration; and Hui Zhang of M-I Swaco.

Nanotech in oil and gas has become a hammer with many nails.

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Women in Energy Share Tips, Tricks, and Wisdom at Inaugural Meeting

Judy Feder, Technology Editor

The real challenge of attracting and retaining women in the upstream oil and gas industry has nothing to do with gender, said four industry leaders at the inaugural SPE Women in Engineering Committee Breakfast.

The four—incoming SPE President Shauna Noonan, director of artificial lift engineering for Occidental Petroleum; Helen Chang, chief engineer for Alberta Energy Regulator; Lils Groenendaal, venture planning transition manager for Shell Exploration & Production; and panel moderator Melanie Popp, director of engineering for geoLOGIC Systems— came together to share their thoughts about personal and professional engagement, empowerment, and success with existing and new SPE members. In the course of the discussion, the panelists agreed that the real challenge of attracting and retaining all talent— not just women—is tied to the industry’s unintentional “brand” among people outside it.

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Canadian Startups Shine in Calgary Contest

Trent Jacobs, JPT Digital Editor

They are among the smallest companies in a business dominated by big ones. Yet, despite their size, technology startups have become central to the upstream industry’s mandate to adopt cost-saving and production-enhancing innovations. As more begin to agree with this idea, the infrastructure that supports the oil and gas startup ecosystem is strengthening.

The latest evidence came during the SPE 2019 Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) where a dozen startups were invited to take part in the third annual Energy Startup Competition. The event falls under the broader program that is the ATCE Startup Village.

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2020 SPE President Promises to Focus on Strengthening Organization’s Engineering Core

Trent Jacobs, JPT Digital Editor

This year’s conference wrapped up with the ceremonial induction of the new 2020 SPE President, Shauna Noonan, who is the director of artificial lift engineering for Occidental Petroleum.

Noonan’s ascendance to the organization’s top volunteer position comes after she served on the SPE’s board of directors and authored and coauthored more than 25 technical publications. An SPE member since her time as an engineering student at the University of Alberta, Noonan said it was “surreal” to be assuming the presidency in her home province. The annual conference was held in Calgary for the first time.