Society of Petroleum Engineers

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Founded	October 6, 1957
Type	Professional organization
Origins	The Petroleum Division of the AIME
Area served	Worldwide
Method	Conferences, publications, training
Members	127,000
Key people	Simon Seaton (CEO/Executive Vice President), Terry Palisch (2024 President), Olivier Houzé (2025 President), Med Kamal (2023 President), Kamel Ben Naceur (2022 President), Mark Rubin (former CEO, ret July 2023)
Employees	270
Website	www.spe.org

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a 501(c)(3)^[1][2] not-for-profit professional organization.^[3][4]

SPE provides a worldwide forum for oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) professionals to exchange technical knowledge and best practices. SPE manages OnePetro and PetroWiki, in addition to publishing magazines, peer-reviewed journals, and books.^[5] SPE also hosts more than 100 events each year across the globe^[6] as well as providing online tools and in-person training opportunities. SPE's technical library (OnePetro) contains more than 314,000 technical papers—products of SPE conferences and periodicals, made available to the entire industry.

SPE has offices in Dallas, Houston, Calgary, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. SPE is a professional association for more than 127,000^[7] engineers, scientists, managers, and educators. There are about 59,000 student members of SPE.^[8]

The history of the SPE began well before its actual establishment. During the decade after the 1901 discovery of the Spindletop field, the American Institute of Mining Engineers (AIME) saw a growing need for a forum in the booming new field of petroleum engineering. As a result, AIME formed a standing committee on oil and gas in 1913.

In 1922, the committee was expanded to become one of AIME's 10 professional divisions. The Petroleum Division of AIME continued to grow throughout the next three decades. By 1950, the Petroleum Division had become one of three separate branches of AIME, and in 1957 the Petroleum Branch of AIME was expanded once again to form a professional society.

SPE became tax-exempt in March 1985.

The first SPE Board of Directors meeting was held 6 October 1957. SPE continues to operate more than 100 events around the world.

SPE is a non-profit association for petroleum engineers. Petroleum engineers who become members of SPE gain access to several member benefits like a complimentary subscription to the Journal of Petroleum Technology, unlimited free webinars, and discounts on SPE events (conferences, workshops, training courses, etc.) and publications.^[9] SPE Connect is a site and app for SPE members to exchange technical knowledge, answer each other's practical application questions, and share best practices.

SPE is made up of about 127,000 members in 145 countries.^[10] SPE Sections are groups of SPE Professional Members, and SPE Student Chapters are groups of SPE Student Members typically named for the hosting university or a geographical region. 67,000+ professional members are affiliated with 192 SPE Sections, and about 59,000 student members are affiliated with the 392 SPE Student Chapters.^[11]

SPE annually grants scholarships to student members.

Annually, SPE recognizes individuals for their contribution to the oil and gas industry at the regional and international levels.^[12]

All individuals who receive SPE Awards were nominated by either an industry colleague, mentor, etc., except for recipients of the Cedric K. Ferguson Young Technical Author Medal,^[13]which is awarded to SPE members who author a paper approved for publication in an SPE journal (peer-reviewed journals on oil and gas topics) before age 36. Eligibility for the awards is denoted online.^[14]

SPE International Awards are announced online, featured in the Journal of Petroleum Technology, and presented at the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition.^[15]

SPE grants technical and professional awards at the regional level.^[16] To be considered for these awards, one must be nominated online. Regional technical award eligibility is described online. SPE regional award recipients are considered for the international level of the award they received in the following award season. Regional awards are presented at regional or section meetings.

The SPE Distinguished Lecturer Committee (DL) each year selects a group of nominees to become SPE Distinguished Lecturers. SPE Distinguished Lecturers are nominated for the program and selected by the committee to share their industry expertise by lecturing at local SPE sections across the globe. Nominees are notified of their nomination and must submit a summary of their biography, a presentation that can be given in thirty minutes or less, and additional information for the DL committee.^[17] The schedule of DL talks is available online.^[18] Some DL talks are very popular and are made available online as webinars.^[19]

SPE publishes peer-reviewed journals, magazines, and books.^[20] Technical papers presented at SPE conferences or approved for publication in SPE peer-reviewed journals are also published to OnePetro.org.

SPE Journal, a leading publication in oil, petroleum, and natural gas, offers peer-reviewed papers showcasing methods and technology solutions by industry experts. Its first issue was published in 1996.

SPE publishes five online magazines:

• Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT)^[21] is the SPE flagship magazine, providing articles on oil & gas technology advancements, issues, and other exploration and production industry news. The JPT newsletter is sent out weekly on Wednesdays. Anyone may sign up to receive the JPT newsletter, though some content is only accessible to members of SPE. Every SPE member receives a complimentary subscription to JPT.^[22]
• Oil and Gas Facilities (OGF)^[23] is focused on delivering the latest news on project and technology shifts in the industry.
• The Way Ahead (TWA)^[24] is by and for young professional members of SPE. It is the newest SPE magazine. It was first published in 2006 and moved from print to online in 2016.^[25]
• HSE Now^[26] is aimed at covering the changes in health, safety, security, environmental, social responsibility, and regulations that impact the oil and gas industry.
• Data Science and Digital Engineering^[27] presents the evolving landscape of digital technology and data management in the upstream oil and gas industry.^[28]

Launched in March 2007, OnePetro.org is a multi-society library that allows users to search for and access a broad range of technical literature related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry. OnePetro is a multi-association effort that reflects participation of many organizations. The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) operates OnePetro on behalf of the participating organizations.

OnePetro currently contains more than 1.3 million searchable documents from 23 publishing partners. OnePetr users viewed 4.9 million items in 2023.^[29] OnePetro is the first online offering of documents from some organizations, making these materials widely available for the first time.

The SPE Petroleum Engineering Certification program was instituted as a way to certify petroleum engineers by examination and experience. This certification is similar to the Registration of Petroleum Engineers by state in the United States.

Certified professionals use "SPEC" after their name.