Tulsa, OK, USA / 26 January 2015 — The Technical Program Committee for the 2015 Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC), chaired by Tom Blasingame (SPE), Skip Rhodes (AAPG) and Gene Sparkman (SEG), has announced a record number of abstracts – 764 – submitted for the event set for 20-22 July in San Antonio, Texas. URTeC, the industry's leading multidisciplinary unconventional conference, is a joint venture between the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).

“This is more than a 10 percent increase in abstracts submitted over last year,” said SEG Program Co-Chair Gene Sparkman and vice president technology transfer, Lumina Technologies, Inc., “and also included more geophysical focused papers which will continue to strengthen the true multidisciplinary context of the conference.”

Last year, SPE, AAPG and SEG announced record attendance of more than 5,200 oil and gas professionals at the second annual URTeC held in August in Denver, Colorado — growth of some 20 percent over the inaugural event in 2013. More than 230 companies exhibited at the event, showcasing the latest products, technologies and services for successful unconventional play development.

“With a record number of abstracts submitted, URTeC is becoming widely recognized as the premier sharing venue for the cross-disciplinary best practices that define success in unconventional plays,” said AAPG Program Co-Chair Skip and director, unconventional resources, Pioneer Natural Resources.

URTeC comprises experts from every aspect of the unconventional sector and features a multi-themed technical program including oral sessions, ePapers, team presentations, topical breakfasts and luncheons and interactive panel sessions. The highly-rated science and technology exchanges in the first two URTeC events have set a precedent that the URTeC 2015 Technical Program Committee intends to exceed.

“From geology and geophysics, to reservoir, production and completion engineering, URTeC 2015 promises to be the most significant technical event of the year for unconventional resources,” said SPE Program Co-Chair Thomas A. “Tom” Blasingame and professor, petroleum engineering, Texas A&M University.

The Technical Program Committee is currently reviewing and scoring abstracts for paper selection. The URTeC 2015 technical program announcement and registration will open in March. Exhibition space and sponsorship opportunities are available now, for more information visit www.urtec.org.

About SPE

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 124,000 members in 135 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

About AAPG

Founded in 1917, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is the premiere global organization for petroleum explorationists with over 42,500 members in 129 countries. The original purpose of AAPG, to foster scientific research, to advance the science of geology, to promote technology, and to inspire high professional conduct, still guides the Association today. AAPG provides publications, conferences, and educational opportunities to geoscientists and disseminates the most current geological information available to the general public.

About SEG

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the science of applied geophysics and the education of geophysicists. SEG's mission is connecting, inspiring, and propelling the people and science of geophysics. It provides its members with a variety of resources designed to further their success in the geophysics community. For more information, visit www.seg.org.