Chairperson's message for September 2011
LASPE's Crew Change
This is my last “From the Chair” column. Appropriately, my subject this time is the crew change of the officers and Board of Directors of the LASPE.
Replacing me in the Chair is Dr. Eric Withjack. I have known Eric for a long time, going back to when he joined Unocal Research. Eric is continuing a long and successful career in the oil and gas industry. He is currently Vice President of Technology for PTS Laboratories, Inc. He is based in Santa Fe Springs, but travels worldwide in support of his clients. He provides corporate-wide technical leadership in core analysis methods based on over 30 years of experience in the upstream oil and gas industry.
Eric’s experiences include Cities Service Oil and Gas, ARCO Oil and Gas, and Unocal Corporation, performing reservoir engineering and simulation, core analysis, and laboratory studies to optimize oil recovery. At ARCO, Eric was a pioneer in the application of x-ray computed Tomography (CT) for the oil industry, making a significant new step forward in understanding rock fabric and how to improve oil extraction in reservoir rock. Eric worked for Baker Atlas/Geoscience (Houston) developing new technologies and integrating cross-well seismic data with reservoir characterization. Upon returning to SoCal and prior to joining PTS, he performed consulting for Plains Resources, and reservoir engineering for Breitburn Energy.
Eric holds a B.S. from Norwich Univ., an M.S. from Syracuse Univ., and a Ph.D. from Rutgers (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering). Besides his work for SPE, he also serves as a California Regional Director for the Society of Core Analysts.
Normally, LASPE elects two new Directors each year. This year, due to resignations and other issues, we found ourselves with four vacancies on the Board. Past Chair Vanessa Perez headed a Nominations Committee to identify candidates for those four positions. She invited all the members of LASPE to express their interest and submit their qualifications. The results were a happy surprise: eleven people were interested and enthusiastic enough about LASPE activities to submit resumes.
From those eleven interested people, the Nominations Committee selected four new candidates for the Board of Directors. They are, in alphabetical order:
- Serge Baghdikian, Senior Petroleum Engineer at the City of Long Beach, Gas & Oil Department.
- Dr. Steve Cheung, an independent consultant working in the areas of waterflood management, well stimulation and chemical enhanced oil recovery.
- Baldev Gill, Petroleum Engineer with the City of Long Beach.
- Adi Varma, Reservoir Engineer with Occidental, working in Ranger West at THUMS
At a Board meeting on August 25th, the current Board approved the recommendation of the Nominations Committee to propose these four people as new Board members starting in September. Left unresolved was the matter of which person takes which seat; one of the vacant positions runs through 2012, one through 2013, and two through 2014. That, and the position of Vice Chairman, will be resolved at a later Board meeting.
The other seven people who expressed interest in the Board positions will be encouraged to participate in LASPE activities, including joining some of the committees. We don’t want any of the interest and enthusiasm to go to waste.
So, we expect the membership of the Board of Directors for the coming year to be:
Vanessa Perez Senior Past Chair
Mike Utt Junior Past Chair
Dr. Eric Withjack Chair 2011-2012
Leila Rashedi Vlasko Board Member
Craig Webster Board Member
Serge Baghdikian Board Member
Dr. Steve Cheung Board Member
Baldev Gill Board Member
Adi Varma Board Member
Rick Finken Treasurer
Rachel Spitz Secretary
Completing their terms as Members of the Board are AB Goras and Bob Visser. I know that both of them will continue to be active in their support of LASPE. AB continues to work on SPE Training Courses for LASPE, and Bob will continue in his role as Assistant Treasurer.
I welcome the new Board members, I thank all of our volunteers for their efforts in support of LASPE’s activities, and I look forward to another successful year for all of us.
Hang on!
Mike Utt
LASPE Chairperson 2010-2011
mikeutt@roadrunner.com