Special Sessions

Time: 0830 - 0945
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-1

This special session, hosted by the SPE WITS Casing Deformation Work Group, offers conference attendees an opportunity to join an open discussion regarding the challenge of casing deformations that can occur in multi-fractured horizontal wells. A moderated operator panelist session will focus on recent case studies and speaker perspectives on casing deformation. The specific intent of the session is to engage the audience in a collaborative discussion designed to disseminate useful findings from the Work Group's efforts to unify industry in reducing the impact and increasing the understanding of these events.

Time: 0830 - 0945
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-2

The ESG movement is at a turning point – from the margins to the mainstream to right at the center of business polemics in a few short years, exciting some, exasperating others. Never has business had more to contend with as they measure environmental, social and governance topics:- from grappling with new concepts such as single, double, even triple materiality; to reeling from accusations of greenwashing no matter how hard they try; and retreating to greenhushing in order to create the space to think, experiment and innovate that is so absent from the public ESG space. Multiple frameworks have been created to guide these efforts but there are now so many as to cause confusion. Interoperability has become the new buzz word – efforts to ensure these frameworks speak to each other. The ISSB [International Sustainability Standards Board] dominates the US space whilst the EU’s EFRAG [European Financial Reporting Advisory Group] and dominates the EU space. Every region of the world has its references attempting to help companies account for the impact of ESG topics on the health of the business and on the health of the planet – to varying degrees. Why companies? Because business is where humans produce, trade and consume – all of which result in use of resources and the generation of waste, the root causes of unsustainability. Therein lies the challenge……………is all this effort actually measuring what matters to help return humanity inside planetary boundaries? Is the effort to satisfy external stakeholders such as investors and activists helping operations to align their performance with more planet and society friendly practices? This special session will bring together a panel of experts all of whom are on the front line of “measuring what matters” and can help our highly technical ATCE audience fast track their knowledge of the ESG space and take away the ability to follow, take positions and apply some new concepts in their daily professional roles.

Time: 1015 - 1130
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-1

Inflow control technology (ICT) encompasses a suite of technologies that help you build and operate better wells – both for traditional fossil fuels, and for new energy sources. The phrase includes both passive and active devices which allow equalization of reservoir drainage or injection across the whole of the reservoir – if done correctly, effectively negating the heel-toe effect and can reduce production of unwanted fluids. The technology works by introducing a pressure drop at various stages of the well to allow an evenly distributed flow across the whole reservoir. This session will discuss the current status of ICT technology, how it delivers value and improves environmental measures. The session will then turn to the future potential of the technology, including the use of ICT in carbon capture and storage (CCS), the drive for electrification of the technology, and the combination of fiber optics with inflow control to really drive the well with data – all of which are currently at an embryonic stage. The panel will end with a Q&A session allowing the audience to benefit from the real-world experience of 4 key operators deploying and developing inflow control technology. Notes: i) The panelists are all members of the ICT forum, which plans a back-to-back meeting with ATCE 2024. ii) This submission is supported by ICT subject matter experts in Aker BP, Equinor, ExxonMobil, and Shell.

Time: 1015 - 1130
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-2

The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), encompassing machine learning, deep learning, and more, has significantly impacted various domains within the Exploration and Production industry, specifically exploration, wells and drilling, production, and sustainability. Over the decades, AI has undergone notable advancements, from physics-driven models to the recent breakthroughs in generative AI. These developments have unveiled versatile use cases and advantages. However, accompanying this progress are concerns related to result trustworthiness, the potential replacement of human roles by machines, the necessity for reliable data, the need for regulations, and the imperative testing of unbiased algorithms/models. This panel discussion will explore the evolving landscape of AI applications in the energy sector. Panelists will explore the new horizons that AI presents, identify warning signs to be vigilant about, and provide insights on preparing organizations for the future applications of AI. The discussion aims to shed light on the transformative potential of AI in energy, while also addressing the crucial considerations and precautions necessary to navigate this technological frontier. 

Time: 1400 - 1515
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-1

This session will showcase the best papers/presentations from the 2024 Hydraulic Fracturing Technical Conference (HFTC). These top papers/presentations will showcase excellent case studies and the latest technologies in hydraulic fracturing.

Scott Taylor, SPE Paper #: 217815 - Validation Conductive Fracture Imaging with Cross Well Strain and Permanent Fiber Optic Flow Profiling

Carl Montgomery, Invited Presenter - When You Buy a Frac, What are You Buying?

Dan Dall'Acqua, SPE Paper #: 217822 - A Comprehensive Review of Casing Deformation During Multi-Stage Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Plays: Characterization, Diagnosis, Controlling Factors and Mitigation Strategies

Time: 1400 - 1515
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-2

This session will showcase the best papers/presentations from the 2024 Drilling Conference (DC). These top papers/presentations will showcase excellent case studies and the latest technologies in drilling.

Pedro Arevalo, SPE Paper #: 217746 - Automated Pump Startup: A Collaborative Approach Towards Drilling Systems Automation

Ashley Johnson, SPE Paper # 217674 - Mitigating Drilling Dysfunction: Stopping HFTO Where It Starts

Alexander Groh, SPE Paper # 217717 - Speech Recognition Technology Used to Detect Drill String Breakover and Optimize Drilling Tasks

Time: 1545 - 1700
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-1

Leadership has a critical role in ensuring that a desired culture of safety exists within an organization. Good leaders engage their employees in a way that builds trust and yields desired discretionary effort around safety. Research has also shown that companies with an engaged workforce perform better in safety, quality, and financially versus their peers with less engaged workers. What soft and hard skills are required to be a better leader in safety? What considerations need to be made relative to human performance and risk management? How do you effectively train leaders so that they retain, and take action on the information they have been given? And how do we understand when a leader isn’t fostering an environment of trust and the desired culture of safety? The panelists for this session will look at desired leader attributes and effective training to help achieve improved engagement and a proactive safety culture.

Time: 1545 - 1700
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-2

The primary objective of this session is to shed light on the evolving landscape of the oil and gas industry, particularly in the context of unconventional resources. The focus will be on exploring how digital technologies are transforming operations, optimizing efficiency, and reducing environmental impact.

Time: 0830 - 0945
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-1

Around the world, underground reservoirs have been successfully used for secure and long-term storage of gas. The first instance of natural gas storage underground occurred in 1915, where a depleted natural gas well was repurposed into a storage field in Ontario, Canada. While the first instance of carbon dioxide storage underground was in the early 1970s, where associated storage of carbon dioxide was a result of enhanced oil recovery operations in the United States. These forms of gas storage continue to play a vital role in meeting our goals for energy security, affordability and sustainability. Over the years, the behaviour of stored gas in the subsurface has become well understood and documented by both engineers and geologists. Furthermore, fit-for-purpose techniques for drilling, completion and ongoing monitoring have advanced dramatically – in particular in recent years due to the rise in carbon capture, utilization and storage projects (CCUS) globally. Underground storage reservoirs now face their next test – hydrogen. As the development of the hydrogen industry continues, it is becoming increasingly clear that the use of underground reservoirs will be critical to ensure safe and secure storage of hydrogen in large quantities. In a future where excess renewable energy is converted to hydrogen, underground reservoirs provide a long-term storage solution that can balance energy systems or be used as a buffer for direct hydrogen use. While the storage of hydrogen underground presents its own unique technical challenges in the subsurface, there is still much that can be gleaned from past and current experience in gas storage including CCUS. This special session aims to discuss those experiences and how they may help propel forward the technical readiness of underground hydrogen storage worldwide.

Time: 0830 - 0945
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-2

A major challenge delaying the significant expansion of geothermal energy production, compared to the surge over the past decade in other renewable sources such as wind and solar, has been the lack of a coherent and universally adopted standard for assessing the potential of geothermal resources. Although some strong analogies with petroleum industry practice can be drawn, geothermal heat is a fundamentally different type of resource from hydrocarbon resources. Its diffuse nature in sedimentary rocks, strongly process dependent recovery characteristics and extensive deep seated and serendipitous magmatic origin make it hard to quantify in terms familiar to petroleum engineers. Efforts are underway within the SPE to produce a standard for evaluation of geothermal resources equivalent to the Petroleum Resource Management System (PRMS). A discussion at this session on this subject will be both timely and helpful towards the transfer of petroleum industry related technology and skills and the identification of gaps in those technologies and skills that remain to be filled in order to meet the geothermal resources evaluation challenge.

Time: 1015 - 1130
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-1

Climate change risks are driving a rapid shift in energy investments: fossil fuels are being de-emphasized, while renewables and carbon management technologies gain prominence. Resources and talent are increasingly devoted to carbon capture, hydrogen production, and geothermal energy. What is the right balance between R&D investments in traditional oil and gas versus R&D in new energies? Do we need new managerial and risk assessment approaches or skills to address these challenges?

Time: 1015 - 1130
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-2

In the last 20 years, distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) has become a powerful tool with many applications including those in the oil & gas industry. This panel session will focus on flow measurement activities associated with DFOS technologies and help the broader audience to understand the current state of the art in flow measurement using these technologies. 

Time: 1400 - 1515
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-2

This session will showcase the best papers/presentations from the 2024 Drilling Conference (DC). These top papers/presentations will showcase excellent case studies and the latest technologies in drilling.

Tom O'Grady, SPE Paper # 217935 - Application of Hydraulic Port Collars in Two Stage Cementing Operations Reduces Rig Time/Drilling Cost in the Permian Basin

Alex Vetsak, SPE Paper # 217753 - The Insulated Drill Pipe - Field Experience and Thermal Model Validation

Abraham Montes, SPE Paper # 217737 - Comparing Drilling Anomaly Prediction by Purely Data-Driven and Hybrid Analysis Methods - Case Study of Utah FORGE Geothermal Wells

Time: 1400 - 1515
Location: Exhibit Hall B2-1

This session will showcase the best papers/presentations from the 2024 Hydraulic Fracturing Technical Conference (HFTC). These top papers/presentations will showcase excellent case studies and the latest technologies in hydraulic fracturing.

Mauro Weimann, SPE Paper # 217800 - Unconventional Variables that Impact on the Fracture Height Growth on Vaca Muerta Formation and its Implications for Fracture Simulation and Well Productivity

Tim Benish, SPE Paper # 217825 - Evaluation of Completion Designs and Fracture Heterogeneity via and Instrumented Slant Monitor Well

Evan Rodgers, SPE Paper # 217811 - Optimizing Stage Lengths by Leveraging Fracture Interference