The newly constituted Petroleum Technology Transfer Council is off and running with up to 76 workshops planned this year through September.
Initiated in 1994 and funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy with funds matched by the states and industry, PTTC has been a recognized force for transferring exploration and production technology to the domestic U.S. producer.
PTTC was geared for industry funding at the rate of US $2-4 million per year; however, industry funding did not materialize due to low product prices, so the DOE continued funding until recent cuts.
Recognizing the value of PTTC activities to the industry and profession, AAPG assumed management responsibilities in October 2007.
In early February, the first full PTTC board meeting was held, the new bylaws were approved and the board installed.
Voting members are:
- Gene Ames III, independent, San Antonio, AAPG member.
- Ames, current general chair of the AAPG Annual Convention in San Antonio and a past PTTC chairman, agreed to continue in the role of PTTC chairman.
- Fletcher Lewis, consultant/producer, Oklahoma City, SPE and AAPG member, and chairman of the PTTC Mid-Continent Producer Advisory Group (PAG).
- Tom Williams, retired from Noble Drilling as vice president-technology, and Texas Gulf Coast member of Texas PAG; SPE member.
- Chris Hall, producer, Torrance, Calif. Hall has been longtime active in PTTC and is currently chair of the West Coast Region PAG for PTTC; SPE member.
- Terry Hollrah, independent, Oklahoma City; AAPG member.
- Barry H. (Nick) Tew, Alabama state geologist and oil and gas supervisor; AAPG member.
- Randi S. Martinsen, University of Wyoming and current AAPG treasurer.
A non-voting board member is Rick Fritz, AAPG executive director, Tulsa.
Lance Cole, who has been with PTTC since 1996, was appointed PTTC operations manager; David Lange, AAPG business director, was named treasurer; and Kathy Chapman, of the PTTC staff, was named secretary.
“Budgets were approved for both headquarters and, more importantly, for the Regional Lead Organizations (RLO) to operate for the remainder of this fiscal year,” said AAPG Geosciences Director Jim Blankenship, who has piloted the formation of the new AAPG/PTTC relationship.
“This is operating for the most part under DOE transition funds,” he said. “However, new fundraising efforts will continue.”
The 76 workshops that will receive funding will be managed by the RLOs, which develop the sessions and are managed through universities and state surveys or bureaus.
Each RLO is advised by a regional Producer Advisory Group, comprising local producers and others involved in the E&P industry.
The board also approved funding for a new RLO in California.
Meanwhile, the board also received favorable results of some recent workshops, including a well-attended course on “The Role of Fractures in Devonian Gas Shale Plays” in West Virginia and a Rocky Mountain workshop on “Putting It All Together, Optimizing Fracture Design.”