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From Bulletin 1996, Special Edition |
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Until the mid 80's, the SPE's presence in Italy was limited to about ten members of SPE International. There was no section in Italy to co-ordinate their activities and facilitate dialogue between technicians, which is the basis of modern progress. This is despite the fact that Italy was one of the first countries in the world where petroleum exploration was to undergo considerable development. It is enough to consider that the first well drilled by mechanical means was undertaken in Salsomaggiore, in the province of Piacenza, in 1860 and in Tocco Casauria in the province of Pescara in 1863, almost at the same time the historic well drilled by Drake in Pennsylvania, which marked the birth of the upstream oil industry. Even if exploration did not result in any great success for over eighty years, there was always a notable amount of activity in Italy. It was in Italy that the first seismic logs, specifically developed for petroleum exploration, were carried out in Europe (1940). It was in this way that the first big gas reservoir to be discovered in Western Europe was found at Caviaga, near Milan, in 1944. Since then, the Italian upstream petroleum industry has rapidly undergone a continuous and notable growth which has promoted it to a position of prestige in Western Europe. In 1959, in the Sicilian Sea off Gela, the first European offshore well was drilled and the first production platform was installed by Agip. The first offshore gas production in Europe was established in the Adriatic Sea by Agip in 1961, in front of Ravenna. The birth of the Adriatic Section, July 24th, 1986 It was not until the mid 80's that a group of SPE members began to evaluate the possibility of creating an Italian Section, thereby constituting a nucleus of petroleum technicians that could build up a dialogue with technicians from other countries. For this reason 23 SPE members met in Milan on the 3rd of December, 1985 and decided to make a request to the SPE International (based in Richardson, Dallas) to form a section. This was approved within a few months. On the 24th of July, 1986 the SPE Adriatic Section was officially established. Given the participation of some Yugoslavian SPE members from the start, and the possibility of getting Austria to join later (which turned out to be the case), the name "Adriatic Section" was chosen. Historically, the Adriatic represents a common basin for the three countries, even if for Austria this is more true of the past than the present. Among the Yugoslavian members who contributed most to the foundation of the Section, Zvonimir Nadjakovic, who sat on the first Board, should be especially remembered. It is worth noting that the Yugoslavian Subsection was not recognised by the authorities in its own country until 1989. Responsibilities of the first Board and subsequent Chairmen The responsibilities of the first Board of Directors were distributed as follows:
In particular, the efforts of two Service Company representatives are worth noting for the role they played in the development of the SPE Section which was to be subsequently started up: Larry Miller of Halliburton and W. Klopf of Schlumberger. At the start the Chairman's term was established as one year, however, this was immediately changed to two years. After Umberto Sugny, the Chairman in 1986, the chair was subsequently held by:
In May, 1987 Austria joined the Adriatic Section, first of all as the Student Chapter of Leoben. Their representative on the Board in Milan was Brigitte Weinhardt who will be remembered for her considerable work in consolidating the SPE in Austria. The official admission of Austria into the Adriatic Section was formalised in September of that year but the Austrian Subsection was not created until 1989. Then in 1992 Austria left to form their own autonomous Section. The Section Bulletin appeared for the first time in July 1988 and is important as a medium for communicating our activities. Initially 800 copies of this quarterly bulletin were printed and this has now increased to 1100. To date, three Special Issues of the bullettin have been published to celebrate particular occasions: SPE President Orville Gaither's visit to Italy (March 1990), AGIP reaching a production output of one million barrels of oil equivalent per day (February 1995) and the present one (May 1996) for the tenth anniversary of the Section. The Bulletin has been issued in booklet form from the beginning and has not changed due to its success. The contents however have undergone a slow evolution and no longer just reflect the activities of the association but also the upstream hydrocarbon activities in Italy, which serve as a stimulating influence for the entire sector. We should thank the oil and service companies operating in Italy for the continuous and substantial support they give to the Bulletin and remember that it was the idea of Cesare Colamasi, the then chairman of the Adriatic Section, an idea which served to support and make known the SPE in Italy and the Adriatic Section internationally. SPE International Executives' visits to the Section There have been many visits to the Section by internationally important individuals in the petroleum industry. Here we remind you of those visits from the Presidents of SPE International which represent milestones in our activities: Dennis Cregg (September 1986), Noel Rietman (October 1986), Orville Gaither (March 1990), Jacques Bosio (February 1992), Peter Gaffney (January 1995 and March 1996). Another date to remember is the 15th March 1989, the first time board members of the Adriatic Section participated on the Board of Region X, Europe & Africa. Colamasi and Paccaloni as Regional Directors of the SPE Europe & Africa Region Another important event was the nomination of Cesare Colamasi (1992-1995) and then Giovanni Paccaloni (1995-1998), as Regional Director of the SPE Europe & Africa Region which demonstrates the ever increasing importance our section has as part of the SPE. Distinguished Lecturers of the Adriatic Section The Distinguished Lecturer is an important figure in the SPE International. Each year several SPE members who have delivered especially interesting lectures which deserve to be known through out the hydrocarbon world are given this title. During the two years following their nomination these Distinguished Lecturers travel to the different SPE bases presenting their subject which has been chosen by means of a highly critical selection process. Over the past ten years our Section has had the honour of having two Distinguished Lecturers:
A notable success as it gives the Italian Section the full merit it deserves for its activities on an international level. Besides Regional Directors and Distinguished Lecturers the contribution of the Italian Section to the SPE has been considerable. Its members have sat on numerous committees and participated in many seminars and conferences presenting interesting papers. However, this particular part of our activity has been summarised separately. Creation of the Pescara Subsection The Pescara Subsection was formed in August 1990, thanks to the intelligent and determined efforts of the three founding members: Antonio Delle Canne, Sandro Poli and Alves Badini. During its six year existence the subsection has been very active organising seminars, conferences and papers presented at various congresses. This confirms Pescara as a major petroleum centre that plays an important role in the Italian upstream industry. In fact, Pescara is the base for the Central South Adriatic where there is the deep water project, "Aquila", and for Central South Italy where there have been very promising oil discoveries in the Val d'Agri field. The Pescara Subsection has been chaired by the following: Delle Canne, Sclocchi, Ruoppolo and Resparambia who is the current chairman. The Student Chapters of Yugoslavia and Bologna Besides the above mentioned Student Chapter of Leoben there are also the Student Chapters of Yugoslavia (since April 1990) and Bologna (since February 1993) of which more details will be given later, including the awards over the past three years for the best oil industry related theses from Croatian and Italian Universities. Since 1992 our section has sponsored participation in the SPE of 33 Albanian members, mostly students. Change of name to "Italian Section" In June 1995, after the Croatians left to set up their own autonomous section, the Adriatic Section changed its name to the Italian Section to reflect the change in its territorial jurisdiction. There are 472 members of the Italian Section plus another 102 of the Student Chapter. World-wide membership of the SPE is 52,000.
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