The sixth annual Emerging Engineers Conference (EEC) held last year in Houston by the SPE Gulf Coast Section drew a record 150 participants. The one-day event gave YPs the opportunity to hear from industry leaders on a variety of topics related to global energy outlook, technological innovations, the business side of the energy sector, career management, and more.
The conference theme was “Riding the Energy Roller Coaster: Challenges, Innovations, and Opportunities.” Keynote speakers were Ganesh Thakur, 2012 SPE president, and Jim Longbottom, global business development and marketing manager at Halliburton. Thakur advised audience members to “continuously expand their technical, soft, and teamwork skills, actively own their career development, adopt the global nature of E&P business, interact positively with people from different cultures and backgrounds, and create exceptional values for our customers and business.” Longbottom encouraged the listeners to “love and enjoy what you do, know more than just your job, be ethical and trustworthy, gear up for challenges, and identify opportunities.”
The morning session focused on industry challenges and opportunities, with topics such as exploration challenges, deepwater developments, and the potential of unconventional resources. The afternoon session featured innovations, with speakers who discussed improved oil recovery, intelligent-well technology, nanotechnology applications in the energy industry, and business strategies for challenging oil and gas projects. A poster contest offered a platform for YPs to highlight technological achievements and successful projects they had undertaken. A social networking event toward the end of the day gave participants a chance to relax and share ideas with fellow YPs.