We are ramping up for a member vote on the AAPG-SPE merger, which will begin in late February. I wanted to take the opportunity to address SPE young professionals and students and discuss why I believe this merger is a positive step towards your future. SPE young professionals and students face different challenges and have different opportunities than my generation faced early in our careers. We are an industry that is at the crossroads of different trajectories for the world's energy future, and in some of the scenarios, losing relevancy. We must be the organization that supports our young professionals in pursuing all opportunities the energy industry has to offer today and tomorrow.

Ayasha Nickie is currently the director of the downstream petroleum management division at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, Trinidad and Tobago. She holds an MBA from the University of Oklahoma, a master's degree in petroleum economics and management from the Institute of French Petroleum (IFP), Paris and a BSc in petroleum engineering from the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Nickie worked in various leadership roles at the SPE Trinidad and Tobago section where she served as chairperson and director. She was later nominated as chair of the SPE Standing Committee on Engineering Professionalism.

Babatunde Anifowose is a university lecturer and researcher with more than 20 years’ work experience in the areas of sustainability and environmental assessment of oil and gas industry value chain. He was course director for the MSc Petroleum & Environmental Technology program at Coventry University, UK. He holds a diploma in data processing (computer science), BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Lagos, Akoka-Nigeria, and a PhD in environmental science from the University of Birmingham, UK. He is a member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Peer Review College. Anifowose was on the board of directors of SPE Sustainable Development Technical Section (2017–2021). He is chair of the Engineering Professionalism Committee (2021–2022).

The SPE Engineering Professionalism Committee (EPC) is charged with integrating SPE's professional activities and practices by engaging in continuous development, internal and external awareness, and updates and reviews of the skills database for worldwide credentialing practices. In line with this charge, the EPC ensures the skills matrices across SPE technical disciplines are contemporary and fit for purpose. This led to the most recent review and update of the SPE Competency Matrices led by Ayasha Nickie, EPC chair for 2020–2021, with inputs from EPC members and other SPE stakeholders. These matrices were approved by the SPE Board at the ATCE21 in Dubai. The essence of this brief note is to introduce the new competency matrices, the implications for young petroleum engineering graduates, academia, training providers, and the oil and gas industry in general.

Natural gas supply worries and elevated prices in Europe this winter could have lingering benefits for LNG suppliers and oil companies considering the development of oil fields in Europe, according to predictions from Wood Mackenzie. There is a lot of overlap in predictions of changes ahead for Europe and the world because dwindling gas in storage there has been the big driver for higher gas prices this winter. The overshadowing variable is the uncertain future of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, whose future is tangled up with fears of armed conflict between Russian and Ukraine. The outlook offered a range of near-term scenarios, from lower prices if there is normal winter weather and clarity regarding when gas will flow through Nord Stream 2, to much higher prices if it is colder and the pipeline startup remains uncertain. For now, the reality is somewhere in between those extremes.

Plant operators and maintenance personnel form a majority of the workforce for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Gas Processing. Ensuring their safety and competency is crucial. Over the past few years, ADNOC Gas Processing has observed that a great deal of resources are spent annually on conventional training methods that are inefficient in terms of time, cost, and knowledge retention. With the advent of many technologies, virtual reality (VR) is gaining ground; however, no clear guidelines exist on how to properly assess and select a one-stop VR option that is sustainable and fit for the future. This paper presents a review of VR in the oil and gas industry through the development of prototypes.

While some countries are blaming and banning crypto mining because the activity often contributes to power outages by stressing local power grids, Costa Rica may have resources to become a crypto mining mecca--hydroelectric power. When the Costa Rican government stopped buying electricity during the pandemic from a $13.5-million hydroelectric power plant along the Poas River, 22 miles outside of the capital of San Jose, crypto miners took over to create a new revenue stream that now keeps the power station in business. After being shut down for 9 months, the private company that ran the plant in Alajuela, Costa Rica, invested $500,000 to create conditions to host digital mining computers, which are powered by the facility's 3-MW generation capacity, according to Reuters. Inaugurated in April 2021, the Data Center CR now hosts 150 customers, all local Costa Ricans, who operate 24/7 from eight containers that have been set up next to the plant, which powers more than 650 machines. At the time of its launch, the center already had 250 computer "mines" operating; it has a capacity for 1,000 units.

Transfer learning is a machine-learning method where the application of knowledge obtained from a model used in one task can be reused as a foundation point for another task. Machine-learning algorithms use historical data as their input to make predictions and produce new output values. They are typically designed to conduct isolated tasks. A source task is a task from which knowledge is transferred to a target task. A target task is where improved learning occurs because of the transfer of knowledge from a source task.

FutureOn, a software company specializing in the energy sector, and consulting and engineering firm Wood have formed a strategic collaboration to provide an enhanced digital service to asset operators. Wood's technical services specializing in early field-development studies for subsea and ocean-based energy systems will integrate with FutureOn's field-design applications. "The collaboration is the perfect fit as we place the same importance on bringing innovation to the fore to solve the most critical challenges, including the improved communication and increased collaboration necessary to achieve the shortest possible path to energy generation, the best returns over the life of any asset, and minimizing the impact on the environment," said Darrell Knight, FutureOn's executive vice president of strategy and partnerships. Wood trialed FutureOn's technology in 2019, and now the latest agreement aims to see Wood provide technical and integration services to operators using FutureOn's software. In addition, the company will offer the software as part of its suite of technical services to new and existing customers.

Some said it couldn't be done. However, a new forecast from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) puts the US on track to produce a record volume of crude oil in 2023. In its latest short-term energy outlook, the EIA sees US oil production averaging 11.8 million B/D this year and 12.4 million B/D in 2023. That means by next year, the US would top the record average of 12.2 million B/D achieved in 2019. "We expect global demand for petroleum products to return to and surpass pre-pandemic levels this year, but crude oil production grows at a faster rate in our forecasts," Steve Nalley, acting EIA administrator, said in a statement.