Powerful forces are now at work in Italy! We have an Italian SPE President for the first time in history. On the back of this it is our intention to show that the Italian SPE has something to contribute to the Global SPE organisation, not only in terms of pure technical capability in the disciplines, but in the field of Management and Information.

HOW?

This is a subject with enormous potential; for example, acceptance of New Technology, R&D sponsorship, sustainability and the environment, application of a "real" technical ladder within organisations and sharing IT advances, to mention but a few.

Within Italy, a major area of influence for Management would be demonstration of our companies' committment to the environment, with a view to accelerating authorisation times. Italy still has significant frontier exploration potential which needs to be unlocked. We all value our European lifestyles, but few people outside the "industry" in Europe stop to think how much we rely on cheap and easily available energy.

Indeed if Europe is to maintain steady economic growth over the next decades, confronted with increasing far Eastern and American productivity, we must have cheap energy to remain competitive.

Another key area of interest is Research and Development (R&D). There are several key areas here, firstly, maintaining the competitiveness and standard of Italian universities and other seats of learning, and secondly competition for funding. The latter is especially significant when dealing with massive private sector support to the  seven major US universities. It is not surprising therefore that the route of choice for bright post-graduates leads to the USA.

A common area of heated debate worldwide in our industry is the "Technical Ladder". This means management using leadership to enable talented individuals to be motivated and progress within an organisation purely on technical ability. I do not need to remind everyone of the alternative...."If I want to succeed I need to be a manager". Examples of successful technical ladders do exist, why? What management committment has been made?

Continuing on this theme, our industry has real problems in attracting new graduates. The outside impression gained over the years of the oil business is one of oil spills, explosions, and generally profit before people/planet. We as SPE members , and especially management must turn this perception around to ensure the future health of our industry.

Within the Information discipline, it is equally as important to ensure that all the latest advances in technology are disseminated quickly and efficiently. There needs to be a forum to ensure advances in IT are implemented , for example creating an environment  where people (especially with young families) can contribute from offsite locations.

Your SPE Board in Italy is trying to make a difference, but clearly we cannot succeed together without your help and contribution. The intent will be to pick topics of interest and spend 2 hours discussing in a workshop. The small list of topics above is a guide, there are many more!!!

But first anyone reading this who is in Management or Academia who feels they have a point to make, and would like to be "part" of this discipline, please Email me (in Italiano o Inglese) charlie.nieto@shell.com  or my colleagues Marco Cercato (marco.cercato@esitaly.com ) or Franco Reynaldi (franco.reynaldi@halliburton.com).