Aera oilman leads Society of Petroleum Engineers International
| Monday, Nov 23 2009 09:33 AM
Last Updated Monday, Nov 23 2009 05:21 PM
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On a recent trip to China, 2010 Society of Petroleum Engineers President Behrooz Fattahi (left) met with Professor Hao Zhou, vice president, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, (a technical university administered by PetroChina Company Limited, a Division of China National Petroleum Corp.). The individual on the right is the university's translator.
2009 SPE President Leo Roodhart, right, passes the gavel to 2010 President Behrooz Fattahi at SPE International's annual convention last October.
Felix Adamo / The Californian Behrooz Fattahi of Aera Energy was recently elected president of the Society of Petroleum Engineers International.
On Oct. 7, Kern County oilman Behrooz Fattahi took the reins of the Society of Petroleum Engineers International, one of the largest and most prominent professional associations in the world. As SPE president, he will lead a technical society of more than 90,000 members in 116 countries.
Fattahi is uniquely positioned to take on this elected SPE office. A 32-year veteran of the oil industry and heavy oil coordinator for Aera Energy LLC, Fattahi has a long history of SPE leadership at the local, regional and international levels. This background will serve him well as he travels the globe interacting with experienced practitioners, up-and-coming younger professionals, petroleum industry leaders and heads of state. His agenda also includes visiting SPE sections and student chapters and serving as keynote speaker for major SPE technical conferences around the world.
"SPE's mission is to advance the exchange of technical knowledge and foster professional development among its members," explains Fattahi.
For almost two decades, he has been at the forefront of each of these areas, serving as executive editor of SPE's Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering Journal, chairing SPE's Continuing Education Committee and participating on the SPE President's Learning Initiatives Task Force. He has also served as SPE vice president-finance.
Fattahi sees technology, from development to application, as a major challenge facing the industry.
"In many parts of the world -- including here in Kern County -- the 'easy molecules' have been developed," he says. "The complexity of existing reservoirs coupled with the still growing demand for petroleum products means we have to shorten the time from technology development to application in the field."
That's where SPE comes in. "SPE has made the dissemination of emerging technology a high priority," he emphasizes.
Another SPE priority is recruiting and developing the next generation of petroleum engineers. With many experienced engineers expected to retire and leave the active workforce in the next five to 10 years, "we need a lot of skilled people and we need them quickly," Fattahi said in a recent interview in SPE's Journal of Petroleum Technology. "We have to redouble our efforts to get people into the industry, train them and get them ready before all the experience and knowledge leaves, so that we can have some interaction and some overlap."
Fattahi is no stranger to mentoring young people as well as promoting volunteerism, another focus of his SPE presidency that also extends to the broader community. As a member of the Leadership Bakersfield class of 2001, Fattahi was a member of the project team that created the Youth Leadership Bakersfield program. Fattahi also participated locally on the Kern County Museum task force that developed the "Black Gold" exhibit.
During Fattahi's yearlong term as SPE president, he will also serve as SPE chairman of the board and as a member of the executive committee of the SPE Foundation board of trustees.
Fattahi earned Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering from Iowa State University. He joined Osco/Shell International in 1977 in Iran and later worked in the United States for various Shell affiliates. Fattahi transferred to Bakersfield in the early 1990s and joined Aera when the company was formed in 1997. He and his wife Farzaneh (Faye) are the parents of two adult children.
-- Susan C. Hersberger is public affairs director of Aera Energy LLC.
