Here is a question for you. If you leave a wakeup call and at the appointed hour receive said call in this form — “He he he, this is Goofy, wake up he, he, he, or you are going to be late” — where might you be staying?

If you answer the Disneyland Hotel you probably attended the 2007 SPE Annual Technical

The cover of the children’s book “Oil and Natural Gas.”
Conference and Exhibition (ATCE). If the sconces in your bathroom were Mickey Mouse hands holding torches, you probably attended ATCE. And, if you heard some excellent technical presentations coupled with honest discussions of related industry issues, such as women in the industry or a special session on social issues, you definitely were at ATCE in Anaheim, Calif.

I took a couple of things away from the conference, in addition to the bag full of giveaways. First, although we speak confidently of a rosy future propelled by high oil prices, too many of us still retain memories of the bottoms of the oil and gas price cycles. The older generation, although hopeful, is still gazing over its shoulder waiting for the next bust. We just can’t seem to buy a mid- or long-term vision of high oil prices and unbridled prosperity. I don’t see that same skepticism in the young professionals, and that is not a bad thing. However, cautious we are, perhaps we should begin to develop more faith in a bright future. Otherwise, we might just be left in the dust.

Speaking of the young professionals in this industry, I find them invigorating. More than that, they are eager to make a contribution. And, they believe in the continued prosperity of the industry. One might argue that that is because they have never been through the dramatic downturns that we older folk have experienced more than once. That may be true, but I see in the young professionals a resiliency that I don’t recall in my generation.

The second thing that I took away from the conference was an appreciation of the growing commitment of SPE to public education. Perhaps the best illustration is the new, hard-bound book for children entitled Oil and Natural Gas. Created to educate children about the industry, the book will be made available to school libraries, teacher organizations and other parties that regularly work with or educate children. The book will be available at www.amazon.com.

In addition, SPE is expanding the Ambassador program that puts industry speakers in front of teacher workshops, groups working with children and other industries, including the US Department of Energy. And the new education Web site, www.energy4me.org, provides not only valuable information about our industry but numerous links to other sites whose purpose is to educate the public. If you would like further information about the various SPE education initiatives go to www.spe.org or call the society at 1 800 456 6863.

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