The upsurge of the delta variant cases in the United States has slowed the US economic recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic because of the public still being uncomfortable returning to normal operations. According to an article published by the Houston public media, the new strain makes up more than 75% of new covid-19 cases in the Houston area. In Texas, new cases are up 92%, and hospitalization is up 49%. The gulf coast section has done a phenomenal job following the CDC rules and guidelines in all our events. We have adopted a hybrid approach to our events, still delivering high-level technical content to our members. For those not comfortable attending an in-person event, there is always a virtual option present.
As previously discussed, we are going to focus on a few key areas this year. We are first going to take a closer look at our Membership. This review and assessment will help us learn how to engage by understanding the needs of our current and potential members, and hopefully increase the Membership of this great section. The section has established a task force to investigate the drastic drop in membership and how best to boost our membership, create a platform to network, share ideas, and build a technical tool kit. The committee will be led by John Vozniak, an old-time member and friend of the section. The committee will be reporting back to the board of directors with their findings in 90days. One of the key things the committee will do is survey the Gulf Coast members. I plead with you all to take active participation in the survey. This will help the section understand the current issues and discuss how best they can be addressed.
Regarding industry updates and news, referencing an IEA report for September, Global oil demand has been estimated to decline for the past three months due to the resurgence of COVID. Hurricane Ida also contributed by taking 1.7 mb/d of oil production off the market along the US Gulf Coast at the end of August, with potential supply losses from the storm approaching 30MB. According to the article. There is a light at the end of the tunnel with oil prices going into the winter months. Oil prices should see a shift closer to balance this month if OPEC+ continues to unwind production cuts. The introduction of the COVID booster shot should bring some confidence in people to return to normalcy.
Within SPE-GCS, I am pleased to see that the section is getting back to organizing more technical, networking events. All our events will include the new norm of a virtual option. This illustrates that the section embraces the challenges we face and uses technology and creativity to share technical content. This month, I will highlight a few events: Enabling Pressure Transient Analysis in Drawdown, Analytics, and automation to improve drilling performance and the Effect of Surface Data Acquisition Methods on Well Performance Evaluation. You can find more information and registration details in the section events calendar.
I would like to close by recognizing all the hard work behind the scenes in every sector of the Gulf Coast Section. Considering that all volunteers have a day job, it is impressive to see everything accomplished and with such efficiency. Finally, let’s not forget the superb management and guidance provided by Kristin Washam who has kept the boat sailing throughout the Pandemic.
All the best! Until next month,
Nii Ahele Nunoo