President’s Page- Chris Flavell

No sooner back at my desk after New Year and it’s time for my 2nd editorial!! Anyway, what a great method of wishing everyone a Happy New Year!
As usual , it was interesting to see the annual training directory accompanying the January Newsletter. Flicking through the pages of the directory, I was struck by the all-encompassing nature of the available courses, spanning the obvious detailed technical topics as well as a range of subsidiary topics such as economics , management, HSE, data management, business process and geostatistics. Further to my January note, with the clear signs that the industry is making up for lost time in its recruitment of more junior explorationists , it is critical that we ensure training requirements are individually recognised and implemented. Let’s not forget us older bodies either. As the various sciences keep evolving, this is a great way of keeping current with our particular niche topics or those on which we seek a greater understanding.
Still on training, a particular hobby-horse of mine (as my colleagues at Tullow must be sick of hearing by now) is the desire to conduct at least one week per year in the field. Classroom courses can be excellent and informative, but in my view do not compare to ‘getting your hands dirty’ …… literally!! !! Combining the genuine benefit of seeing the rocks in true geological context with the team building element , one has the recipe for a really successful and enjoyable course.
PESGB activity in 2005 culminated with the PESGB/DTI Prospect Fair at the Business Design Centre and the President’s Evening at Somerset House. Having attended all the previous Prospect Fairs, I thought the recent conference was particularly successful , with a genuine buzz of excitement. Indeed, I’m aware that some deals were actually done at the conference, which will hopefully lead to exploration wells this year or next.
Planning for PETEX this November is progressing well, with Dirk Smit from Shell heading up the technical committee. Online submission of abstracts for consideration is now available through the PESGB website.
The January Newsletter also included a Call for Papers for the 2006 Devex Conference, scheduled for 17th and 18th May in Aberdeen. Clearly with a focus more on development and production
issues, we very much hope for a repeat of the very successful 2005 Devex. 2006 is clearly going to be a frenetic year for UK exploration, as we all strive to drill our best prospects in a time frame that could see development at these current high prices. Let’s hope that the recent short-sightedness of the Chancellor does not have too much of a negative impact on the activity levels; let’s also hope for lots of exploration success, thereby confirming the durability of the UK as a place to be exploring.
Not much sporting comment this month; cricket can only improve, and 6 Nations about to kick off. What odds a second successive Grand Slam for the Welsh …… dream on!!!