January 2021 SPE-Permian Basin Section Chairman's Corner

This month’s section meeting covers what it means to be a part of this industry given the pandemic and changing economics. I thought it would be interesting to parallel with how current circumstances have affected the Section.

We will continue to have virtual section meetings for the remainder of the section year. This is to ensure the safety of our members given the rise in cases locally. We will provide further notice when we transition back to face-to-face section meetings. However, there are select events from different parts of the section, such as Young Professionals, or other social events, that will be in person given proper precautions.

I will also take this opportunity to present our section goals that we set out in August and provide the status:

Goal 1: Successfully integrate Trans Pecos Board Members and section members/students with the Permian Basin Section through professional/technical events and leadership opportunities.

This is an ongoing effort to integrate the Trans-Pecos section with the Permian Basin Section. In the 2019-2020 Section year, the Trans-Pecos Section became a part of our Section, expanding the jurisdiction to include Texas Tech University (TTU) and University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) as universities that the section supports. We would like to recognize students from both universities for volunteering in various section activities this section year, such as those provided by the Young Professionals and the CO2 Conference.

Goal 2: Launch Members-in-Transition initiative and have programs carry out webinars and professional events to benefit section members.

We successfully completed this goal in launching Members-in-Transition (MiT) in August and continue to have monthly webinars for students and our members who are looking for their next opportunities. Please review this Pipeline for our upcoming MiT meeting this month. Additionally, we encourage students and Members in Transition to submit articles to the Pipeline covering skills learned and applied that could benefit the Section.

Goal 3: Complement community relation and other events through virtual platforms to maintain activity and engagement.

This is an ongoing effort to adapt to current circumstances. Be on the lookout for a virtual Energy4Me event coming this year to educate students. This will require numerous volunteers, such as yourselves, to participate in making videos teaching students of various grade levels about the oil and gas industry.

Goal 4: Create and utilize study groups for recent graduates, regular section members, and new section members to increase engagement breadth and leadership opportunities.

This is an ongoing effort for our growing section to create groups representing difference petroleum engineering disciplines. For instance, we successfully launched our Data Analytics Study Group last year, and they are active in holding monthly webinars and increasing engagement in the Section. We sent a survey to the Section expressing interest to be a part of current and new study groups, and we received an overwhelming number of responses. Be on the lookout for more study groups launching in the section this year based on your feedback.

Goal 5: Launch a Diversity and Inclusion Committee to support diversity and inclusion initiatives for members

We successfully completed this goal in launching a Diversity and Inclusion Committee in August. Please review this Pipeline for the January meeting details from this Committee. Be on the lookout for other events, which will require your involvement, such as a D&I panel for TTU and UTPB students.

I would like to wish the Section a Happy New Year, and hope everyone fulfills their goals set out for 2021 while adapting to this ever-changing environment.