You don't have many conversations these days that don't eventually turn to the poor-to-pathetic job this industry does of presenting its story and its accomplishments to the general public. You have all been witness to this - the opportunity arises to set the record straight, to educate our detractors and, inevitably, we pull out our gun and immediately shoot ourselves in the foot.

And that is why I wanted to say a few words about one of the best public relations projects I have seen undertaken in this industry in a long time. Done by Total and La Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie (CSI), it takes place in Paris. It's a milestone.

Specifically, it is an exhibit entitled "Stewardship of the Planet" that will run in CSI's museum at La Villette for 6 months. Opening on Feb. 10, the exhibit will cover two floors of the museum. The exhibition is designed, in the words of Total, to portray "the adventure that is the modern petroleum industry." More precisely, the exhibit, targeted particularly toward family groups, explores the challenges of exploring for and producing oil and gas in more difficult areas utilizing ground breaking technology in the larger context of managing the planet's resources.

The exhibit is divided into five parts. First is the history of hydrocarbons wherein the visitor is presented with the basics of the origins of hydrocarbons and the exploration and production strategies necessary to successfully extract them. The first segment is designed to lay the foundation of knowledge that is necessary to fully understand subsequent discussions of exploration and production activities in more hostile, sensitive environments.

Parts two, three and four deal with difficult operations in Venezuela, the North Sea and offshore equitorial Africa. Included are presentations of the problems of heavy oil extraction, high pressure/high temperature operations in the North Sea and recovery of large deposits in deep water offshore Angola.
The finale, part five, delivers the most important message. Or rather, it attempts to answer the most important questions - what is the future of hydrocarbons, what might replace hydrocarbons and how might these answers impact the future of the planet.

I laud Total for this impressive effort at publication education about our industry and its effect on our planet. Would that there were more like it.

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