The SPE International Board of Directors met in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 26-27 February 2011 under the chairmanship of Alain Labastie, SPE 2011 president, to discuss a wide range of member programmes that will further support the oil and gas industry worldwide. The board meets three times a year in a different location worldwide to gain input and insights from the diverse regions SPE serves. Abu Dhabi was selected as the venue for the 2011 kickoff meeting to signify its importance to SPE and its members.

During their meeting, the board set the annual SPE budget, determined new initiatives for technical resources and member services, which were set out in committee meetings that preceded the meeting, and discussed the society’s overall strategic direction. The 27-member board oversees SPE’s global programmes.

The board approved several new events that will address current hot topics in the industry and agreed on programme additions serving SPE’s membership, which grew to a record 97,100 in 118 countries as of 31 December 2010, up 5% from 92,100 members in 2009. The Middle East is one of the highest growth areas with a record number of new members joining yearly. The Middle East is the second largest region with SPE members after North America, with more than 15% of members worldwide.

The board also discussed new activities for young professional members aged 35 and under, as well as the expansion of its training and online courses providing lifelong learning. New publications including books and new additions to OnePetro (a multi-society electronic library with over 90,000 papers from 11 oil and gas societies) were also addressed during the two-day meeting in Abu Dhabi.

During the meeting, the board held discussions with senior management of ADNOC group to explore opportunities for additional cooperation between ADNOC and SPE. Key leaders from ADNOC including Ali Al Jarwan, Chief Executive Officer, ADMA-OPCO and Chairman of the SPE Middle East Board and Saif Ahmed Al Ghafli, CEO, Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company Limited attended the meeting.

At the end of the two-day meeting, the SPE board congratulated the company on its record membership increase and its strong financial structure.

Tags: The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)