THE Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is the largest individual-member organisation serving managers, engineers, scientists and other professionals worldwide in the upstream segment of the oil and gas (O&G) industry.

The origin of SPE is deeply rooted in oil and gas industry history when the American Institute of Mining Engineers (AIME) was founded in 1871. The SPE entity was officially established in 1957 as a constituent society of AIME. SPE offers a wide array of programmes and activities pertaining to disseminating information, the exchange of technical knowledge and promoting professionalism.

The society currently has more than 124,000 members comprising more than 87,000 professional members and 37,000 student members, across 135 countries. “Over 16 per cent of SPE’s members are from the Middle East, making it the second largest region in membership after the US. The region is also proud to be home of the second largest SPE Section after the Gulf Coast – SPE Saudi Arabia Section” reveals Waleed Refaay, managing director, SPE Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

SPE is run by a board of directors representing different geographical regions and the technical segments within SPE, namely HSE, reservoir, drilling and completions, production and operations, management and information, and projects, facilities and construction, ensuring technical excellence in all aspects of the E&P industry.

Some of SPE’s many programmes, activities, and technical resources include:

Conferences, workshops, training programmes: SPE are conference organisers for some of the largest events in the region, including:

• Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) November 10 to 13, 2014, UAE;

• Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (Meos), March 8 to 11, 2015, Bahrain;

• Kuwait Oil & Gas Show and Conference (Kogs) October12 to 15, 2015, Kuwait; and

• The Multi-Society event, International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) December 6 to 9, 2015, Qatar.

eMentoring programme: The eMentoring Programme gives SPE members a way to contribute to the E&P industry by sharing their professional insight and practical career advice with young professionals and helping university students with academic direction.

Energy4Me: is a global energy education outreach programme developed to attract young people to the petroleum industry as well as improve community awareness.

Distinguished lecturer programme: Each year, SPE selects a group of around 30 individuals who are experts in their field and capable speakers to share their expertise with SPE members through visits to local sections.

SPE Connect: is a virtual destination where one can communicate, collaborate, connect with other members from around the world.

The SPE Petroleum Engineering Certification programme: provides a recognised credential of petroleum engineering knowledge. The voluntary certification programme offers SPE members an opportunity to demonstrate a high level of commitment to their profession.

OnePetro: is an online library of technical literature for the oil and gas E&P industry. With contributions from 18 publishing partners and providing access to over 160,000 items, OnePetro.org is the definitive resource on upstream oil and gas. Over 1,700 new papers are added annually with historical papers dating back to 1884. OnePetro has over 3 million downloads per year.

Publications and journals: SPE publications cover all aspects of the upstream oil and gas industry and are considered the leading source of industry technical applications, issues, and discoveries.

Coming soon: SPE Competency Assessment tool that will enable engineers to create their own career development plans.