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2006 SPE Award Recipients Selected, Honored at Annual Meeting

Honorary Membership

Honorary Membership is conferred on individuals for outstanding service to SPE and/or recognition of distinguished scientific or engineering achievements in fields encompassed in the Society’s technical scope. Honorary Membership is the highest honor the Society bestows on an individual and is limited to 0.1% of the Society’s membership.

Stephen A. Holditch is Head of the Dept. of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M U. and has been on the faculty there since 1976. Holditch was 2002 SPE President and served on the SPE Board of Directors during 1998–2003. He served as a trustee of the American Inst. of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers during 1997–98. Holditch was named a Schlumberger Fellow in 1999 and is a production and reservoir engineering adviser to the top managers in the company. He formed S.A. Holditch & Assocs. Inc. in 1977, which became part of Schlumberger Technology Corp. in 1997. In 1999, that company was combined with other groups in Schlumberger to form Holditch Reservoir Technologies.

Holditch has received numerous awards for his contributions to the Society as well as in recognition of his technical achievements and leadership in the oil and gas industry. In 1995, he was elected to the U.S. Natl. Academy of Engineering and, in 1997, was elected to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. In 1998, Holditch was elected to the Petroleum Engineering Academy of Distinguished Graduates at Texas A&M U. He was named an SPE Distinguished Member in 1989 and received the Society’s Lester C. Uren Award in 1994, the John Franklin Carll Award in 1999, and the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal in 2005. Holditch chaired the 1986 SPE Unconventional Gas Technology Symposium and the 1988 SPE Gas Technology Symposium, and he served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer during 1982–83 and during 1997–98. Holditch earned BS, MS, and PhD degrees, all in petroleum engineering, from Texas A&M U.

Larry W. Lake is a professor in the Dept. of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering and holder of the W.A. (Monty) Moncrief Centennial Endowed Chair in Petroleum Engineering at the U. of Texas at Austin. The former Director of the Center for Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery Research, he served as Chairman of the Dept. of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering during 1989–1997 and held the Shell Distinguished Chair in Petroleum Engineering during 1988–93.

A member of the U.S. Natl. Academy of Engineering since 1997, Lake served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer during 1993–94 and during 2002–03. He is the recipient of the 1996 SPE Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal, the 2003 SPE DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal, the 2000 SPE Distinguished Service Award, the 1990 SPE Reservoir Engineering Award, and the 1981 SPE Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty. Lake has won numerous other awards for his contributions to the industry. He became a Distinguished Member of SPE in 2000 and received the SPE/DOE IOR Symposium Pioneer Award the same year. Lake earned a BS degree from Arizona State U. and a PhD degree from Rice U., both in chemical engineering.

Edward H. Mayer is a consulting petroleum engineer. He was Chief Staff Engineer and Senior Engineering Adviser for THUMS until his retirement in 1993. Mayer also has worked as a petroleum engineer for Chevron, Monterey Oil, Exxon, and Occidental.

Mayer received the SPE Distinguished Service Award in 1967 and was named an SPE Distinguished Member in 1983. He was SPE Western Region Director during 1987–90 and Los Angeles Basin Section Chairperson during 1958–60, 1985–86, and 2002–04. Mayer’s involvement spurred the first SPE Thermal Operations Symposium in 1991 and the SPE International Arctic Technology Conference in 1991. He helped formulate the Standard Symbols for Reservoir Engineering and was among the first advocates of SPE Short Courses. Mayer earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering from Stanford U. and an MS degree in petroleum engineering from the U. of Southern California.

Jim Rike is Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Rike Service and previously worked for Exxon for 22 years. With more than 30 years of service to the Society and to the petroleum industry, he has played a key role in the development of new completion concepts, directional perforators, sand control, coiled-tubing rigs, well control in drilling and workover, concentric-tubing workover/completion operations, and advanced offshore completion practices. As a consultant, Rike has been retained by major and independent producing companies (domestic and foreign), drilling contractors, workover contractors, service companies, universities, and professional organizations in a training/continuing-education capacity.

An SPE Distinguished Member since 1991, Rike was the recipient of the 1990 SPE Production Engineering Award, was a Distinguished Lecturer in 1975, and served on the SPE ATCE Program Committee in 1973. He earned a BS degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M U.

Public Service Award

The SPE Public Service Award honors distinguished service to country, state, community, or the general public through excellence in leadership, service, or humanitarianism.

Kenneth E. Arnold  is Senior Executive Vice President of AMEC Paragon and founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Paragon Engineering Services. Elected to the U.S. Natl. Academy of Engineering in 2005, he has more than 40 years of experience in facilities engineering design and project management for onshore and offshore projects. Arnold has taught facilities engineering at the U. of Houston and serves on the advisory boards of the engineering schools of Tulane U. and Cornell U. The recipient of the 1998 SPE Production Engineering Award and the 2006 SPE Regional Award for Projects, Facilities, and Construction, he is serving as a Gulf Coast Section Director (2005–08) and served as a Distinguished Lecturer during 1994–95 and during 2002–03. Arnold earned a BS degree in civil engineering from Cornell U. and an MS degree in civil engineering from Tulane U.

Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal

The Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal, established in 1936, recognizes achievement in improving the techniques and practice of finding and producing petroleum.

Keith K. Millheim is an SPE Distinguished Member and a Distinguished Adviser at Anadarko Petroleum Corp. After retiring from Amoco Production Co. in 1994, he spent 6 years in academia as the Director of the Drilling, Production, and Economics Dept. at the Mining U. of Leoben, Austria, and then as Director of the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering at the U. of Oklahoma.

A member of the U.S. Natl. Academy of Engineering, Millheim joined Anadarko in 2000 as Manager of Operations–Technology and Planning and later was named a Distinguished Adviser. He received the 1984 SPE Drilling Engineering Award, the 1993 SPE Distinguished Service Award, and the 2005 DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal. Millheim was named to Who’s Who in Engineering in 1982. Actively involved in the Society, he served as Chairperson for the 1996 SPE European Forum on Management of Complex Wellbore Geometries, Chairperson for the 1990 SPE Forum on Wellbore Stability, Chairperson for the 1986 SPE Forum on Computers in Drilling, Chairperson for the 1983 SPE Forum on Directional Drilling, and as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer during 1986–87 and 1992–93. Millheim chaired the SPE North American Steering Committee in 1983, 1986, and 1989; was the 1988 SPE Drilling Conference Program Chairperson; and served as Program Committee Chairperson for the 2004 SPE ATCE. He earned a BS degree in petroleum science from Marietta College, an MS degree in petroleum engineering from the U. of Oklahoma, and a PhD degree in mining engineering from the Mining U. of Leoben.

John Franklin Carll Award

The John Franklin Carll Award honors distinguished achievements that advance either petroleum engineering technology or professionalism.

Nansen G. Saleri is Manager of Reservoir Management for Saudi Aramco. An SPE member since 1979, he has played a pivotal role in managing the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves and production. As Head of the Saudi Aramco Reservoir Management Dept., Saleri oversees reservoir management and strategic reserves planning activities. He has held various positions with the company, including Chairman of the Gas Development Strategy Task Force; Co-Leader, Drilling Re-Engineering Projects; and Member, E&P Technology Steering Committee. He also spearheaded the company’s efforts in maximum reservoir contact and next-generation wells. Saleri is a member of the Advisory Board of Petroleum Engineering at the U. of Houston.

Saleri was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer during 1991–92, chaired the 1996–97 SPE Forum Series, was a keynote speaker at the Fifth and Sixth SPE International Forums on Reservoir Simulation, and was Cochairperson of the 1997 SPE European Forum. He earned a BS degree in chemical engineering from Bosphorus U. in Turkey and MS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from the U. of Virginia.

DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal

The SPE DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal recognizes distinguished and outstanding service to SPE, the professions of engineering and geology, and the petroleum industry.

Nathan Meehan is President of CMG Consulting. Before founding CMG Consulting, he worked for 24 years with Union Pacific Resources, serving in various capacities, and was Vice President of Engineering for Occidental Petroleum. Meehan was appointed to the Texas Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission; served as Director of Pinnacle Technologies, the Computer Modeling Group, Vanyoganeft Oil Co., and the Heriot-Watt U. Horizontal Well Unit; and was a member of the U. of Texas Petroleum Engineering Advisory Board.

Meehan served on the SPE Board of Directors during 1999–2002, was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer during 1991–92, and was 1987–88 President of the Golden Gate Section. An SPE Distinguished Member, he is the recipient of the 1999 SPE Lester C. Uren Award and chaired the 2003–04 SPE Applied Technology Workshop on Novel Reservoir Management. Meehan earned a BS degree in physics from the Georgia Inst. of Technology, an MS degree in petroleum engineering from the U. of Oklahoma, and a PhD degree in petroleum engineering from Stanford U.

Distinguished Service Award

The SPE Distinguished Service Award recognizes exceptional Societywide contributions of time, effort, thought, and action.

Ronald Hinn is the Knowledge Management Lead for Occidental Oil and Gas. He received the 1992 SPE Oustanding Young Member Award and the 1998 SPE Distinguished Member Award. Actively involved in the accreditation of engineering programs across the U.S., Hinn was the first petroleum engineer to serve as Chairperson of the Engineering Accreditation Commission during 2000–01, was a Gulf Coast Section Director during 1986–88 and 1995–96, and chaired the 2003 SPE ATW on Advances in Tight Gas Completions. He was 1994–95 Chairperson of the Gulf Coast Section. Hinn earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering from the
                               U. of Tulsa.

Lester C. Uren Award

The Lester C. Uren Award recognizes distinguished achievement in petroleum engineering technology by a member who made the contribution before the age of 45.

Tom Blasingame is Associate Professor and Assistant Dept. Head for Graduate Programs in the Texas A&M U. Dept. of Petroleum Engineering. An SPE Distinguished Member, his work for SPE has spanned more than 10 years of continuous service on Editorial Review, Technical, ATCE programs, Forum Series, Reprint Series, and Monograph Series committees. Blasingame also has served as a Distinguished Lecturer. He is the recipient of the 1991 Texas A&M U. Burlington Resources Foundation Faculty Achievement Award and the 1994 Texas A&M U. Tenneco Award for Meritorious Teaching of Engineering, and in 1999, he was named the Texas A&M U. Robert L. Whiting Professor in Petroleum Engineering. Blasingame earned BS, MS, and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M U.

Cedric K. Ferguson Medal and Certificate

The SPE Ferguson Medal recognizes significant contributions to the permanent technical literature of the profession written by a member of the Society under age 33.

Hao Cheng is a Reservoir Simulation and Research Engineer for Chevron Energy Technology Co. and receives this medal for his contributions to the article “A Comparison of Travel-Time and Amplitude Matching for Field-Scale Production-Data Integration: Sensitivity, Nonlinearity, and Practical Implications,” published in SPE Journal, March 2005. He earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering from Xi’an Petroleum Inst. and a PhD degree in petroleum engineering from the U. of Petroleum Beijing. Cheng’s coauthors on the paper, Akhil Datta-Gupta and Zhong He, will receive the Ferguson Certificate.

Young Member Outstanding Service Award

The Young Member Outstanding Service Award recognizes contributions to and leadership in the public and the community, as well as SPE, the profession, and the industry, by a member under age 36.

Léon Beugelsdijk is a Petrophysicist with Shell Intl. E&P and is Chairperson of the SPE Young Professionals Coordinating Committee. He earned a PhD degree from Delft U. of Technology, an MS degree in mining engineering from Delft U. of Technology, and a degree in mining engineering/rock mechanics from Imperial College Royal School of Mines in London. Beugelsdijk was named 2006 SPE North Sea Regional Outstanding Young Member and 2005 SPE Netherlands Young Professional of the Year.

Neil Decker is a Reservoir Engineer for BP and earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering with a minor in mathematics from Montana Tech of the U. of Montana. He was named the Montana Tech Petroleum Dept. 2002–03 Most Outstanding Petroleum Engineering Graduate, received the 2006 SPE Gulf Coast Section Service Award, and is currently serving as Chairperson of the 2006 SPE Gulf Coast Section Scholarship and Awards Banquet Committee. Decker is an active participant in regional committees, including the 2004–05 Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) Executive Committee and the ELP Conference Committee.

Chris Lolley is a Production Engineer for ChevronTexaco and received the 2004 SPE Outstanding Technical Editor Award. He has also been honored with the 2001 Texaco Excellence Award and the 2000 Texaco Meritorious Safety Award. Lolley earned BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering from Texas A&M U. and was the President’s Endowed Scholar. He has served as a technical editor on SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering since 1999.

Brian Wolter is an Asset Development Engineer for Chevron U.S.A. Production Co. Serving as a first-year (2004–05) Director of the SPE Evangeline Section, he helped to establish the Evangeline Chapter of the SPE Young E&P Professionals in 2005, was 2005–06 Evangeline Section Activities Chairperson, and is 2006–07 Section Chairperson. Wolter earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M U.

Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty

This award recognizes superior teaching, excellence in research, significant contributions to the petroleum engineering profession, and/or special effectiveness in advising and guiding students.

Anthony Kovscek is an Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Stanford U. and is the recipient of the 2001, 2002, and 2004 SPE Outstanding Technical Editor Award, in addition to the 2005 SPE Western North America Region Technical Achievement Award. He earned a BS degree in chemical engineering from the U. of Washington and a PhD degree in chemical engineering from the U. of California at Berkeley and is widely published. Kovscek served as 1998 Session Chairperson of the SPE/DOE 11th Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery and the 7th U.N. Inst. for Training and Research Conference on Heavy Crude Oil, Technical Program Chairperson of the 2000 SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Session Chairperson of the 2002 SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Steering Committee Chairperson of the 2005–06 SPE Forum on Enhanced Oil Recovery, and Chairperson of the 2006–07 SPE Forum III: Enhanced Oil Recovery.

Drilling and Completions Award

Carl T. Montgomery is an Engineering Fellow in ConocoPhillips’ Production Assurance and Optimization Group. He also served as Chief Completion Engineer and Engineering Fellow for ConocoPhillips and held technical and managerial positions with ConocoPhillips, Phillips, Arco, and Dowell Schlumberger. Montgomery was appointed a Special Member of the Petroleum Engineering Graduate Faculty at the U. of Oklahoma Graduate College during 1993–95. He is the recipient of the 1996 Arco E&P Award of Excellence. Currently serving as Technical Director for SPE Drilling and Completions, Montgomery’s lengthy involvement with the Society includes Director of the SPE Mid-Continent Section during 1984–85, SPE Distinguished Lecturer during 1998–99, and Executive Editor of SPE Production and Facilities during 1993–96. He has been Session Chairperson at several SPE conferences and chaired the first SPE ATW on Applied Multilateral Technology.

Management and Information Award

Richard Startzman holds the L.F. Peterson Professorship in Petroleum Engineering of Texas A&M U. and is the Assistant Head of the Petroleum Engineering Dept. He is Director of the Crisman Inst. for Petroleum Research, is Director of the Center for Russian Petroleum Studies, and was named the 1984–85 Halliburton Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M U. Named an SPE Distinguished Member in 1994, Startzman served as General Chairperson of the 1978 Annual California Regional Meeting, Session Chairperson of the 1991 SPE Forum on Expert Systems, and 1981–82 Chairperson of the SPE Golden Gate Section. He earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering from Marietta College and MS and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M U. Startzman previously worked for Chevron and Standard Oil Co.

Health, Safety, and Environment Award

Thomas Gouldie is Operations Integrity Engineer for Santos Ltd. He has chaired the Australian Onshore Wellsite-Permit-to-Work System Steering Committee since 2001, has managed Santos’ Wellsite Safety Forum since 1999, and is currently involved in improving heat stress management on behalf of the wellsite community. Gouldie earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering from the U. of Texas at Austin and a Professional Certificate in Arbitration and Mediation from the U. of Adelaide. An SPE Distinguished Member, he served as 1993–94 and 1994–95 South Australian Section Chairperson.

Production and Operations Award

Syed A. Ali is a Research Consultant for Chevron Petroleum Technology Co. An SPE Distinguished Member, he is recognized by the industry as an expert in formation-damage control, sandstone acidizing, and production chemistry, and he is a prolific author. Ali holds a BS degree from the U. of Karachi in Pakistan, MS degrees from the U. of Karachi and Ohio State U., and a PhD degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. An SPE Distinguished Lecturer during 2004–05, he served as Chairperson for the 2006 SPE ATW on Deepwater Completions, Cochairperson for the 2006 SPE ATCE Acid Stimulation and Remedial Treatments Session, Cochairperson for the 2006 SPE International Symposium on Formation Damage Control, and Cochairperson for the 2004 SPE ATW on Matrix Acidizing. Ali currently serves as the Executive Editor of SPE Production & Operations.

Projects, Facilities, and Construction Award

Peter Marshall, sole proprietor of MHP Systems Engineering, is a consultant to offshore design firms and oil companies. He worked with Shell for 31 years and retired as its top-ranked civil engineer specializing in offshore structures. In this capacity, Marshall’s design work and criteria development helped improve the reliability of fixed platforms by an order of magnitude, enabled the expansion of offshore development into challenging environments during the oil crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, and extended platform technology through five successive world water-depth records. Upon his retirement from Shell, he became Professor, Chair of Marine Design and Construction, U. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Marshall earned BS and MS degrees in civil engineering from the U. of Florida and a PhD degree in environmental science from Kumamoto U. in Japan.

Formation Evaluation Award

Zaki Bassiouni, Dean of the Louisiana State U. College of Engineering, is also the Dean and Bert Turner Distinguished Professor in the College of Engineering. He was a professor and Chair of the Craft and Hawkins Dept. of Petroleum Engineering during 1983–2004 before becoming Dean. Bassiouni earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering from Cairo U., a diploma in geophysics from the École Nationale Supérieure du Petrole et des Moteurs of Paris, and MS and PhD degrees from the U. of Lille, France. The author of the SPE Textbook Series volume 4, Theory, Measurement, and Interpretation of Well Logs, he has provided technical expertise to the international oil and gas industries and has conducted training in more than 30 countries. Bassiouni received the 1995 SPE Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty and served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer during 2004–05.

Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award

Louis Mattar, President of Fekete Assocs., is known throughout the industry as an authority in well testing and reservoir characterization. He coauthored Theory and Practice of the Testing of Gas Wells, which has been an authoritative text and university textbook and forms the legal basis for well testing in Alberta. Having authored more than 50 technical publications, Mattar also published the “Primary Pressure Derivative,” which differentiates between wellbore and reservoir transients, and “Flowing Material Balance,” which enables determination of the original hydrocarbons in place from production data without having to shut in the well. He earned a BS degree in chemical engineering from the U. of Wales in Swansea and an MS degree in chemical engineering from the U. of Calgary. Mattar served as Chairperson of the 2002 SPE Gas Technology Symposium and was a Distinguished Lecturer during 2002–03.

Distinguished Members

The SPE Distinguished Member classification, created in 1983, recognizes SPE members whose achievements and/or service to the Society are deemed worthy of special recognition. Membership is limited to 1% of the SPE membership.

Ali H. Al-Hassan, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Salil K. Banerjee, Houston
Kamel Bennaceur, Moscow
Ali Ghalambor, Lafayette, Louisiana
Lloyd R. Heinze, Lubbock, Texas
Baohe Liu, Beijing
William R. Rossen, Austin, Texas
Jawaid Saeedi, Houston
Stuart L. Scott, College Station, Texas
Donald L. Whitfill, Houston
Mario Zamora, Houston

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