Sustainable Recovery: New Risks for Global Recovery
Authors: Ben-Naceur Kamel 
Published: May 2022

Just as the pandemic situation is receding and restrictions to entry in many countries have been lifted, the geopolitics of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army has led to nearly historical highs in gas and oil prices. SPE was one of the first global energy-related societies to issue a statement from its leadership on Ukraine. SPE’s leadership condemns the human tragedy unfolding in Ukraine and supports all actions by the international community to prevent further escalation of the conflict. We also encourage all efforts to find a peaceful solution. SPE is providing financial support through our sections in the region to aid with food and humanitarian aid, and the evacuation of our Ukraine-based members and their families.

The worldwide spare capacity in oil production (mostly limited to Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Iraq) is so low that it would be insufficient to prevent oil prices from skyrocketing, should further restrictions be imposed on Russia’s oil exports. The upstream underinvestment resulting from two downcycles in 2015 and 2020 has strongly impacted both production capacity and record-low reserve discoveries. Higher energy prices are leading to global inflation and to an economic slowdown, a macroeconomic phenomenon called stagflation.

In this context, 2022 had a strong start for SPE, with the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time (the previous edition was held in Dhahran) with an attendance of more than 13,000. The efforts by the IPTC organizing program and executive committees were exceptional, with an enthusiastic involvement of Saudi young volunteers.

The IPTC Excellence in Project Integration Award was the opportunity to recognize exceptional projects as a showcase of technology, efficiency, collaboration, and sustainability. Such projects make us all feel proud to be part of the oil and gas industry.

Saudi Aramco’s exclusive sponsorship also contributed to the great success of IPTC. The Saudi hosts organized two geological field trips, the first one being “A Visit to Jurassic Succession and Edge of the World.” The second was “The Great Discovery,” one of the world’s most historically significant geological localities—the magnificent outcrop of Dahil Heet which contributed to the discovery of the world’s largest oil deposits.

I was very impressed by the progress made by the city of Riyadh in the promotion of sustainability, including an outstanding public transportation system with six metropolitan lines being developed simultaneously.

In May 2021, the SPE Board of Directors and the AAPG Executive Committee announced that they were exploring the possibility of a merger between the two organizations. The Steering Committee, comprising volunteers, was created to define the conditions for the merger and worked tirelessly to develop a merger plan. SPE’s leadership viewed the idea of a merger, which has been broached many times over the years, as a catalyst for change that our organization needs. We must better position SPE to address declining corporate support and the significant loss of younger members, as well as deal with the changes occurring in our industry.