Later this month here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’ll enjoy the spring equinox and with it the passing of winter to spring. For those of us here in North America, particularly our members in Texas, who recently experienced a polar vortex accompanied by snow, ice and freezing temperatures, this transition is welcome.
With spring comes new beginnings and that, too, is welcome. The concerns of COVID have not vanished, but as vaccinations roll out across the globe, we glimpse the possibility of recovery. I am hopeful.
This month our events calendar is full, so let’s take a look at what’s available to you.
APPEX 2021
For the first time ever with a fully online event, APPEX 2021 returns to connect a global audience with global business and exploration opportunities from March 1 to 4, and it’s designed to accommodate your schedule.
Broadcasting from London, each day of APPEX will consist of two, two-hour sessions, running from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (GMT). Each session will cover farmouts, licensing rounds, new data availability and open acreage. With more than 50 countries represented in the showcase, you’ll have the opportunity to quickly scan the globe for opportunities. APPEX has built its reputation as the place for decision-makers, managers, executives, government officials and investors to network, to assess opportunities and to look ahead to the future of international oil and gas development.
And this year, you can do it from the comfort and convenience of your office or home. Plus, presentations are available on-demand to view at a time, place and on your favorite electronic device.
CCUS Conference
Speaking of the future of oil and gas development, later this month – March 23 to 25 – we’ll be hosting our online CCUS Conference: “An Emerging Field for Petroleum Geologists.”
CCUS – carbon capture, utilization and storage – is an approach that the industry is investigating as a means of addressing public concern about the carbon intensity of oil and natural gas. It also happens to require the skill sets of petroleum geoscientists and engineers to be successful.
Cindy Yeilding of BP America and Daniel Yergin of IHS Markit will keynote this conference, and the committee co-chairs Autumn Haagsma of Battelle and Jack Pashin of Oklahoma State University and the organizing committee have assembled a stellar program, covering:
- Subsurface storage
- CO2 enhanced oil recovery
- Monitoring
- Risk assessment
- Case studies and industry applications
- CCUS activities around the world
- Monetization and economic considerations for CCS and CCUS projects
If you’re interested in understanding the many facets of CCUS and the opportunities it presents, please consider registering and participating in this conference. As a special bonus, the first 250 paid registrants for the event will receive a copy of Daniel Yergin’s newest book, “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and Clash of Nations,” which I reviewed in the January issue of EXPLORER.
International Petroleum Technology Conference
We close out the month with the International Petroleum Technology Conference from March 23 to April 1 with the theme “Progressive Collaboration and Innovative Solutions: Shaping the Future of Energy.”
IPTC is a joint venture of AAPG, the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. It is focused on the Eastern Hemisphere and showcases the breadth of geoscience and engineering required for our industry to succeed.
Executives and industry thought leaders, along with technical subject matter experts, will participate in the program through a series of plenary sessions, insights sessions, panels and more than 400 technical papers presented in 44 technical sessions and e-posters.
The conference has been extended in length, but with each day shortened to accommodate business realities as we participate from our desks.
This year’s IPTC is being hosted by Petronas and co-hosted by Mubadala Petroleum and Schlumberger and was to take place in Kuala Lumpur. Due to the pandemic, the event is going fully online for the first time and creates an opportunity for members who would not normally be able to attend IPTC to do so this year.
The goal of the conference is to “address how improved partnership models, enhanced business strategies, and new technologies are being utilized to future-proof the industry as it navigates the volatility, unpredictability, complexity, and ambiguity and addresses the challenge of a lower carbon world.”
We’ve got global E&P opportunities; we’ve got emerging technologies to address carbon emissions; and we’ve got a strategic and technical conference looking at the changes our industry is experiencing.
We’ve got what you need to navigate the coming months and years. This is the month to spend some time thinking about the future, and I look forward to participating in these upcoming events with you.