SPE PREVIEW POST

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional organization whose mission is to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources and related technologies for the public benefit and to provide opportunities for professionals to enhance their technical and professional competence.

SPE provides a worldwide forum for oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) professionals for the exchange of technical knowledge and a professional home for more than 165,000 engineers, scientists, managers, and educators. SPE's technical library contains more than 200,000 technical papers — products of SPE conferences and periodicals, made available to the entire industry. SPE has offices in Dallas, Houston, Calgary, London, Dubai, Moscow and Kuala Lumpur.

History

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.

The first SPE Board of Directors meeting was held 6 October 1957, making 2007 the 50th anniversary year for SPE as a professional society.

OnePetro

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. SPE provides the computers and technology on which OnePetro operates and provides customer service support.

OnePetro currently contains more than 200,000 documents, with more being added frequently. The number of documents is expected to grow as additional organizations choose to make their materials available through OnePetro. OnePetro is the first online offering of documents from some organizations, making these materials widely available for the first time.