President’s Page- Jerry Chessell

By the time this January Newsletter is published most of us will be back at work after the end of year festivities – and hopefully looking forward to a rewarding new year. For my part I am
particularly excited to be involved in an active exploration and appraisal drilling campaign (in the UK and Dutch offshore theatres) scheduled for the next 18 months. I am also relishing being involved in the whole process of acreage evaluation and the general cut and thrust of the upcoming UKCS 25th Licensing Round process.
2008 will also be a busy and challenging year for the PESGB. Over and above organising the regular evening lecture programmes in London and Aberdeen, generating a choice of seminars
and courses, and maintaining the standard of the monthly Newsletter, this year is also a “Petex Year” with all that entails for the office staff and the volunteers on the Organising and Technical committees that make it happen.
Of course this is not the first PETEX (it’s actually the 7th spread biannually over the last 14 years) and so there is now a body of knowledge on all aspects (commercial, logistical, technical) to be drawn on. Part of my election platform a year ago was “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” – which in part also applies to the running of Petex etc – but the committees are also conscious of adapting to developing trends to appropriately serve the membership and there will be a number of beneficial changes this year.
Whilst on the theme of “If it ain’t broke…” I guess New Year time is as good as any to ask of the PESGB – “Does it need fixing”? I don’t think it does. Certainly we are in a healthy position financially with adequate funds to cushion the Society against the next downturn and with membership figures steady at a very respectable 6000. Discounting the big 2 (AAPG have 30,000 and the SEG 26,000 members) and the SPE (72,000) – who anyway serve a constituency more populated by our Engineering brothers and sisters – and unless I’ve missed somebody (possible and if so I expect a flood of correspondence), a little internet research indicates that this puts us second in size only to the EAGE (8,500) by comparison to other similar societies world wide.
Further, given the (unlikely) assumption that member benefits are standard from one society to another then the PESGB can also claim to be the best value for money. With subs held at
£25 for another year we are easily the cheapest. For comparison the EAGE and the PES Australia are both £35, SEG and AAPG are about £40 and the Canadian SPG £50. The Geological Society of London of course serves the wider Geological Community but current fellowship fees are £166.
Having said all that, the new Council will be constantly looking to adapt and change things as necessary to continue to meet the needs of the Membership. In this respect feel free to contact
myself or any Council member during 2008 with constructive comments or suggestions. Thinking ahead, why not consider volunteering for one of the Directors’ positions due to be contested for 2009.