Before I get chatty this month, there are a couple of housekeeping things I need to cover with you. First, on page 85 of this issue you will find the entry form for the 2003 Meritorious Engineering Awards (MEA). As you will see, we have changed the categories significantly after a lengthy review by a panel of industry technologists. We made the changes for two reasons. First, we hope the categories will be better defined, giving entrants a clear indication of the appropriate category for their entry. This will avoid entries being submitted for categories in which they were not appropriate. More importantly, we have made the changes to reflect the direction of technical development within the industry. As a result, we now have only seven technical categories in which entries may be submitted. These are: Exploration, Subsurface Characterization, Wellbore Construction, Completions, Production, Remediation and Facilities.

Unlike previous years, it is possible to submit your MEA entry in two subcategories - standalone technology and systems - within each of the seven technical categories. Therefore, there is the possibility that we will present 14 Meritorious Engineering Awards in 2003, one for standalone technology and one for systems technology, within each of the seven main technical categories. As always, the awards will be presented in May at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston after our judging panel of 36 industry experts determine the winners. The deadline for entries is Dec. 6, 2002. We encourage you to enter, and wish all entrants the best of luck.

"What Is It?"

On another note, Hart's E&P's"What Is It?" brainteaser contest got off to a roaring start last month. You will find this month's teaser on page 61, and we encourage you to guess, "What Is It?" We have had some really good answers and more than a few tongue-in-cheek answers that might make up a special feature at some point. We will announce September's winner in the November issue and this month's winner in the December issue. The time delay allows us to receive entries from remote areas that have longer delivery times. The bottom line is that we, and you it seems, are having fun with "What Is It?"

Money talks

Our budget meetings took place in New York during the first week of September. The talk quickly turned to market conditions, as I am sure most budget meetings have during this budgeting season. I know you want to hear that we came to the conclusion that the next boom is just around the corner. Wish I could but, maybe, glad I can't. What we talked about instead is the possibility that, at least temporarily, capex in the upstream industry has decoupled from oil prices. We have had oil prices in the $20 and better range for most of the past 2 years. In years past, healthy oil prices would have spurred additional spending. But this isn't years past, and the anticipated spending increases have not materialized. As we go forward, that may not be all bad. We concluded that we are probably set for moderate increases in spending of 5 to 7 % per year in the current conservative environment, barring a rapid escalation in oil prices. I don't know many that would trade conservative but consecutive spending increases for the boom and bust cycle that we have ridden throughout our history. I hope we are right.

Comments