Falih said, provides members the opportunity to reflect on lessons of the past while looking to challenges of the future, as Saudi Aramco's recent 75th Anniversary did. “That was an occasion to reflect on the achievements of previous generations,” he said. “It was also a chance to celebrate the accomplishments of the present generations, to express our gratitude to the men and women of our oil industry. … Most importantly, that anniversary provided us with the opportunity to look ahead to the future, not just relive the past.” The event was Al-Falih's first address since he became company president and CEO on Jan. 1, and appropriately so, he noted, given the important relationship between the company and SPE. “Consider the incredible volume and value of the oil and gas resources that have been entrusted to the members of this section to steward: fully a fifth of the world's proven reserves of crude oil and the planet's fourth largest reserves of natural gas,” he said. “Because this section plays such a distinctive role in the upstream segment of our business … there is a tremendous amount riding on the work of this organization.” And there is much to look forward to, he said, from enhanced oil and gas recovery techniques and new discoveries to economically developing tight and sour gas and enhancing environmental protection techniques such as carbon capture and sequestration. However, there are also “soft” challenges that SPE can help meet. “Given the demographics of our industry, one of the most critical challenges we currently face is ensuring that hard-won experience is passed on to younger upstream professionals,” he said. “There are some things that just can't be learned from a book, a journal article or an online educational module; instead, this practical knowledge is passed from one individual to another.” --MORE
