URTeC is next week! Given it’s the industry’s largest tech conference, I’ll cover it this week. Before that, however, I mustache you something about pronunciation. I’ve always heard it pronounced with a soft U sound, like how J-kwon pronounced “Errbody.” I have also heard, especially from my Texas counterparts, the U pronounced long, so it’s pronounced “Yer-tech” like “Your technical conference,” but in Texan. How do you pronounce URTeC?
Given the sound at the start of “unconventional,” I obviously lean the way I say it 😜But I don’t own the English language, so I open the floor to you all! Send us an email at editorial@aapg.org to let us know how you think URTeC should be pronounced.
Sarah Compton
Editor, Enspired
APIs: Do They Bring Problems or Peace of Mind?
Pixels Hunter/Shutterstock.com
Before we can focus on AI, the oil and gas industry has to give some attention to the accessibility and cleanliness of our data. It’s the foundation upon which all analyses are had and the dirty underbelly of the industry’s data world.
But we’re not the only industry in that boat, as this article highlights.
Necessary evil: Geoscientists frequently need and use API to generate well lists for analyses, submit regulatory data, and complete many other tasks associated with well and field analysis. It all starts with an API or a list of APIs.
Breaking it down: An API is a natural key, which means it is a type of unique key in a database formed of attributes that exist and are used in the external world outside of the database.
The first numbers are the state, the second set are usually county or parish, the next few are the well number, and the last set pertain to attributes such as re-entry, pilot hole status, etc.
But there are some problems with APIs…
Too unique: APIs can be 10-, 12-, or 14-digit numbers, which means a single well has at least three sets of “unique" identifiers—too many! This is a problem anyone working in a database will easily call out.
The same but different: APIs can be different for the same well depending on your need. If you’re looking at production data, it might be one number. If you’re looking for just well data, it might be another. This can happen if a well was recompleted but stayed in the same formation, for example.
Lost data: Running with that previous instance, completion data from one frac job might get overwritten, even at the 10-digit API level. This lost data is important to anyone who might be interested in the effectiveness of refracs—hello, geoscientists!
What to do: The article suggests following a hard guideline: always use synthetic keys for databases.
While this can be difficult, it’s clear: a well-thought plan for internal databases is critical to data accessibility and cleanliness. Both of these aspects are required before any reliable number crunching can begin.
A message from AAPG's Sustainable Development Committee
The AAPG Sustainable Development Committee recently announced its Venture Lab program, in support of the 2024 Sustainable Development in Energy Competition, with the mission to empower the next generation of energy innovators and changemakers with social entrepreneurial education.
AAPG and their fellow URTeC member orgs have been hard at work spurring and supporting innovation and technology in the industry. One effort seeks to find ways to connect innovative new products and services to potential new markets and funding sources.
New Technology Showcase: The stated goal of the showcase is to accelerate technology development, field testing, and adoption and to inspire creative new applications for established products.
What it is: Located on the exhibition floor, there will be a stage to spotlight new and emerging tech, where the New Technology Showcase will be held. Presenters get 15 minutes to share their new developments, so people can learn how they might benefit from the innovation.
Who should attend:
Founders and CEOs with new tech to show off, either for funding or general exposure. It’s too late to register to present at this year’s event, but it’s still a good idea to attend and see what, and how, others are presenting.
Investors, mentors, and advisors interested in getting in on the very beginnings of potentially impactful companies.
Industry professionals with problems requiring novel solutions. Have something you’ve been stuck on for a while? Come see what these folks are working on. There may be an idea or a potential solution for you.
How to attend: The showcase runs Monday and Tuesday. Presentations start at 3 pm and end at 5:30 pm both days, with expert panels beginning half an hour earlier at 2:30 pm. Come and go as you wish!
A message from URTeC
Join the AAPG Enspired team at the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC) from 17-19 June at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.
Use the exhibition guest pass below to register for the URTeC exhibition for free, compliments of AAPG's Enspired newsletter.
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