SPE Dallas - Monthly Meetings

Topic: "From Soviet to Putin and Back - The Dominance of Energy in Today’s Russia"

Reservations: (without using the credit card option....ie pay at the door) - Contact Brian Chacka via email at Brian.Chacka@Denbury.com.

Online credit card payment can be made at http://www.spedallas.org/luncheon.htm
Please remember to bring your computer generated receipt to show that you have paid by credit card.

$120+ oil has a number of causes but the influence of Russia has been overwhelming and, surprisingly, underestimated and not discussed enough. Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has taken a giant step backwards into its Soviet past, and nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of energy politics. Modern Russian politics and energy sources, first oil and then both oil and gas, have been inextricably connected in a way unmatched by any other major power in the history of the world. This time, however, the state would be bare without the fig leaf of legitimacy that communist ideology once offered.

One reason for Putin’s huge popularity at home is that he has tapped into Russians’ two strong yearnings: a cultural affinity for strong, Tsar-like leadership, quite different from Western European and North American predilections, and an understandable hunger for prestige and world recognition, a need to be relevant. In the course of 15 years, the Russian people saw their country go from superpower to junior partner, and then thanks to Putin, to a renaissance of empowerment. Unlike during the Soviet era, Putin’s sojourn has not been on the back of nuclear weapons, which the country still owns in abundance, but has been fueled by oil and gas. What Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev could not do with nuclear weapons and raw military power, Putin has attempted with oil and gas, in what arguably can be called energy imperialism.

Russia’s prowess in, and reliance on, the use of oil and gas to gain political clout has its roots in the country’s tumultuous and astounding history. Developed over decades, the Russian repertoire of petro-political maneuvers is the product of gradual changes punctuated by dramatic moments of symbolic and concrete significance. At times, oil was weaponized as a matter of the system’s survival. Other times, it seemed the best possible way to pry open the door to the reluctant West. In both cases, the regime often found that the best way to be treated as part of Europe was through the strategic use of its raw materials.

This talk and book deal with Putin and the re-Sovietization of the country using energy sources as the means of personal and national empowerment. Vladimir Putin – his personality, his role in Russian evolution, and especially, his place in Russian hearts and minds – are all necessary to understand the cultural underpinnings of his success. We discuss history, analyze, and predict. More than in any other country, including the largest consumer of all, the United States, oil and gas have played a pivotal role in the modern history of Russia, the key to Putin’s re-Sovietization. Although Russia held recent elections with a new President, Dmitri Medvedev, Putin is in a commanding position. He will be around for a long while and he has to be reckoned with.

Michael J. Economides is Chairman of the Board of XGAS and Paleon Oil and Gas. He is also a Professor at the Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston. His professional interests include petroleum production and petroleum management, a particular emphasis on natural gas, natural gas transportation, LNG, CNG and processing, economics and geopolitics. Previously he was the Samuel R. Noble Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University and served as Chief Scientist of the Global Petroleum Research Institute (GPRI). Prior to joining the faculty at Texas A&M University, Professor Economides was the Director of the Institute of Drilling and Production at the Leoben Mining University in Austria. Before that, Dr. Economides worked in a variety of senior technical and managerial positions with a major petroleum services company. Publications include authoring or co-authoring of 14 professional textbooks and books, including “The Color Of Oil” and “From Soviet to Putin and Back” and over 200 journal papers and articles. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Energy Tribune. Economides does a wide range of industrial consulting, including major retainers by national oil companies at the country level and by Fortune 500 companies. He has had professional activities in over 70 countries. In addition to his technical interests he has written extensively in wide circulation media in a broad range of issues associated with energy, energy economics and geopolitical issues. He also appears regularly as a guest and expert commentator on national and international television programs.

Date	Speaker Name	Speaker Affiliation	Title/Topic	Attendance
July 15, 2004	no meeting
August 15, 2004	no meeting
September 15, 2004	Robert Truman	Baker Atlas	SEC Defined Reserves Booking	83
October 20, 2004	Mark McLane	SPE Distinguished Lecture	Reserve Overbooking- An Issue of Professional Ethics	84
November 17, 2004	Jeff Bolding	Dyna Coil	Case histories of Capillary lift enhances Gas production in 1000 wells	60
December 15, 2004	Doug Boone	I H S	Production optimization at the surface level	33
January 12, 2005	Giovanni Paccaloni	ENI-Agip (SPE President)	SPE Values, Mission Support Energy Sustainability	37
February 23, 2005	Gary Schein	BJ Services SPE Distinguished Lecture	The Application and Technology of Slickwater Fracturing	102
March 8, 2005	Morris Foster	Pres. ExxonMoble North Texas Energy Council		55
April 5, 2005		HEES Hydrocarbon development a global Challenge		425
May 18, 2005	Krishna Ravi	Halliburton SPE Distinguished Lecture	Cement Design and Placement for the life of the Well
June 23, 2005	Steve Holditch	TAMU	Gas Hydrates
July 20, 2005	Michael J. Economides	University of Houston
August 1, 2005	no meeting
September 14, 2005	John Lee	TAMU SPE Distinguished Lecture	Reserves from Unconventional Reservoirs
October 20, 2005	Open
November 16, 2005	Open
December 12, 2005	Mark Johnson	SPE Distinguished Lecturer	500 Sidetracks and Counting The Re-development of Alaska's north Slope via Coiled Tubing Drilling.
January 18, 2006	Open
February 15, 2006	Robert Meize	SPE Distinguished Lecturer	Lessons Leaned from Integrated Analysis of GOM Drilling Performance

6/14/2006 - John Y. Jo, President, Turnkey E&P Corp.: "Casing Drilling" Abstract and Bio pending.

7/19/2006 - Bob Perkins, Nexen Petroleum : "Aspen Field" Abstract and Bio pending.

9/20/2006 - James Bostic "Who's Rock Is It, Anyway?" - Legal issues involving drilling from offset locations

10/18/2006- Dr. John Lee, Texas A&M, "Unconventional Resources"

11/15/2006-Wesley Smith, Texas Board of Professional Engineers, Austin, TX Topic: "Ethics and the Benefits of Professional Registration"

12/20/2006-Charlie Kinard - Southwestern Energy Topic: "Southwestern's Fayetteville Shale play "

1/10/2007 Eve Sprunt, Former SPE President, Topic: "Pathways to Cleaner Energy"

2/14/2007 -Tommy M. Warren, SPE Distinguished Lecturer, Director of Casing Drilling Research and Engineering, Tesco Corp.: "Drilling with Casing - What it Can and Can't Do for an Asset."

3/14/2007 - Marina Voskanian, SPE Distinguished Lecturer, Chief of Planning and Development

4/18/2007 - Brent W. Hale, W.M. Cobb and Associates.

Topic: Noise Abatement and Community Relations in the Barnett Shale.

5/16/2007 - Phillip D. Patillo, SPE Distinguished Lecturer, Distinguished Advisor in Exploration and Production Technology, BP America: "Recent Advances in Complex Well Design."

6/20/2007 - Ray Flumerfelt - Pioneer Natural Resources "Advanced Production Data Analysis Techniques for Evaluating Resource Plays – A Case Study of the Barnett Shale"

7/18/07 - Speaker: "Barry Schneider - Denbury” Topic: "Denbury’s CO2 Tertiary Operations"

August, 2007 - No Meeting this month - summer vacation

9/19/07 - Speaker: "William K. (Bill) Ott, P.E. - Well Completion Technology” Topic: "Selection and Design Criteria for Sand Control Screens". For a copy of Bill Otts presentation slides please send a note to David Hamilton at dave_hamilton@nexeninc.com .

10/17/07- Dave Leopold - DFW Project Manager, Chesapeake Energy Corporation”, Topic: "Drilling and Operating wells at DFW Airport"

11/27/07 (Tuesday)- Ken Arnold -- distinguished lecturer (facilities engineering or ethics), share with Ft. Worth

12/18/07 - "William (Bill) Cobb - SPEI 2008 President” , Topic: "SPE and more"

1/16/08 - "Don Hannegan - SPE Distinguished Lecturer 2006/2007”, Topic: "Improving the Drill-Ability of “Hydraulically Challenged” Prospects"

2/6/08 - "Ron Harrell is "Chairman Emeritus" of Ryder-Scott Company”, Topic: "Petroleum Reserves Estimates - Where We Have Been, Where We Are, and Where We Appear Appear To Be Headed"

3/19/08 - "Mark Day - Sr. Construction Engineering Advisor for Devon Energy”, Topic: "Devon Energy Deck Raising Project - Eugene Island 330-B & C"

4/16/08 Ron Clarke with iiiTec , Topic: "Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Actuated Self-Powered Downhole Tools

5/14/08- Robert Hawkes - Team Leader of Reservoir Services for BJ Services Company Canada”, Topic: "Prefrac Reservoir Characterization From Perforation Inflow Diagnostic ( PID) Testing"

6/18/08 Pat Handren Topic: "Multi-Lateral, Multi-zone Well Designs To Maximize The Recovery of Unconventional Reserves"

7/16/08 Speaker: Bryan Dotson - BP, Topic: "Deliquifying Gas Wells for Full Depletion"

8/20/08 - Steven Fipke - Halliburton, Topic: "Multi-lateral, multi-zone well designs to maximize the recovery of Unconventional Reserves"

9/9/08 Tony Martin – BJ Services Topic: "Deliquifying Gas Wells for Full Depletion"

10/15/08 Speaker: Professor Michael J. Economides Topic: "From Soviet to Putin and Back - The Dominance of Energy in Today’s Russia"

SPE Dallas Section Reservations Policy for Meetings:

The SPE Dallas Section Board of Directors has adopted a procedure to help insure a quality experience for all our members and guests at our regular monthly meetings. As always, reservations for our regular monthly meetings are encouraged, but not required. Making a reservation allows the Program Chairman to anticipate the food and room requirements for that particular meeting. If the Program Chairman orders more food than is required, the SPE Dallas Section could lose money. Also, if too many members or guests forget to make reservations, and wish to attend the regular meeting, we can run out of food. Therefore, the following procedure has been adopted:

If a member or guest has made a reservation and their name appears on the reservation list, they may proceed to the meeting room after checking in at the host table for processing.

If a member or guest has made a reservation but their name does not appear on the reservation list, it implies that the reservation was made too late for them to be included in the Program Chairman’s initial estimate of attendees. Therefore, they are placed on the Standby List.

If a member or guest has not made a reservation and wishes to attend the meeting, they are placed on the Standby List.

At 5 minutes before the regular meeting, all reservations are cancelled except for the speaker and those who are in line at the host table. We will ask all those members or guests who are in line at that time and who have NOT made reservations, to step to the side and form a new line so that they can be placed on the Standby List.

Those members or guests who were placed on the Standby List, will be called on a first come – first served basis to be processed at the host table until the Program Chairman’s initial estimate has been reached.

Those members or guests who are not able to be processed will be able to attend the meeting but will not be able to eat. They do not have to pay to attend. We will do what we can to find some chairs for them so they can sit during the meeting.