TIGs
Technical Interest Groups

Enjoy all the TIGs you want FREE!

http://www.spe.org/spe/jsp/basic/0,2396,1104_1603_0,00.html

SPE has just expanded your member benefits! Enjoy all the TIGs you want FREE!

As an SPE member, you can now join as many of the 26 SPE Technical Interest Groups (TIGs) as you'd like at no additional cost. Get involved in TIG communities to exchange the latest ideas and network with E&P professionals around the world.

What are TIGs and how will they benefit you?

Have questions?... Get answers ... TIGs are your electronic forums for sharing experience and knowledge with others in the upstream community. Interact with colleagues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through Listserver technology that allows you to participate in online discussions at your convenience. All postings to the TIGs are stored in online, searchable archives.

How do you participate in TIGs?

As a benefit of your SPE membership, you can view the archives and Web sites of all 26 TIGs at www.SPE.org. To join and participate in on-going discussions, simply go to www.SPE.org and click on Technical Interest Groups.

Visit www.SPE.org or call +1.972.952.9393 to start participating today!

TIG History and Program Development
The TIG program has seen continual growth in enrollment and increased activity since its inception in 1997. Fifty-two TIGs, each with its own chairman, were formed in September 1997 to enable an entirely new level of SPE activity while retaining the strong underpinnings of the Society's traditional structure and functions. 

As a further refinement to the program, TIGs with similar discussions and overlapping topics were consolidated into the current 26 TIGs.  To stay relevant and current, TIGs address a wide range of upstream oil and gas technology or management issues, including topics such as drilling; environment, health, and safety; coiled-tubing applications; completions and workovers; and reservoir management.

TIGs have their own Web sites, and more are planning to create sites enhancements where members can access industry-specific resources such as technical papers, feature articles, and publications; technology patent lists to inform membership about state-of-the-art developments; and dictionaries of technical terminology.

List Server Technology and TIG Discussion Groups
Throughout the TIG program's growth period, many exciting changes have taken place to ensure better member service. Among the most recent and ultimately the most important, is the change from the original "threaded discussion" software to the current List Server technology to facilitate TIG discussions.

In the past, members accessed TIG discussions by signing onto the TIG section of the SPE Web site. Through the new List Server, members can receive discussion updates through customized e-mail, when and how it is convenient for them, as well as attach longer documents to messages.

Based on a member's criteria for content and delivery time preference, messages can be delivered instantly when new information is posted to a TIG list or in a summary at the end of the day. Members can also choose to turn off their e-mail and view discussion archives on the SPE Web site at their leisure.

The List Server gives TIG members the ability to disseminate information quickly to other members by providing a mechanism for ongoing member discussions.

TIG Enrollment
SPE is pleased to announce the members will be able to join any of the 26 TIGs they are in interested participating in. This SPE Board of Directors approved change will affect the following:

TIGs will become a benefit of SPE membership. In order to participate in TIGs, view the archives, and access TIG websites, individuals will need to be a member of SPE. Currently we have 3 TIG members who are non-SPE members. We are contacting them on an individual basis and extending an offer to join SPE. If they do not wish to join, we will issue a full refund for the $30 per TIG they were charged. Refunds will also be issued for individuals who have paid for more than 4 TIGs in 2002.

Since TIGs will be a benefit of SPE membership, the "Technical Interest Group" section will be moved to the SPE Members Only section, requiring a SPE member login. Each TIG will have a web area under the "Technical Interest Group" section of the website. We do not anticipate that this will adversely affect any of our current TIG members, however members will have to login to access TIG websites.

TIG archives will also be located in the SPE Members Only section of the website. Once a member has logged into SPE.org with his or her member password, he or she will be able to view the TIG archives without requiring a separate TIG password. TIG archives will also be viewable without being subscribed to the TIG, however only members subscribed to the TIG will be able to post and receive emails from the TIG list. Our hope is that this will make the archives easier to access and use by SPE members.

SPE members will be able to subscribe/unsubscribe themselves to any of the 26 TIGs they are interested in participating in. There will no longer be a delay while an application is sent to SPE's Customer Service Department for processing. Members will also be able to subscribe to the list with emails that are different from the one they have listed on the main SPE database. This will offer our members greater flexibility in how they receive emails from the TIG list.

SPE staff is currently preparing a notice that will be mailed to all TIG members notifying them of the changes in the TIG program effective 1 May 2002. There will also be an article in the April 2002 JPT talking about the opening of all TIGs to SPE members.

If you have any questions regarding this change in format, please contact me at wbnelson@aol.com or Rebekah Priebe, TIG Coordinator at rpriebe@spe.org.

 For a complete listing of SPE TIGs, please visit the SPE Web site at www.spe.org

As Chairman of the TIG Coordinating Committee, formed in August 2000 to oversee the TIG Program, I encourage industry professionals who are not yet TIG members to join those TIGs that apply to their industry specialty and enjoy the benefits of networking with other professionals. Through participation, a TIG can be a tremendous resource for its members.

To learn more about TIGs, please visit SPE's Web site. Direct inquiries can be made to Rebekah Priebe, TIG Coordinator, at phone 1-972-952-9366, fax 1-972-952-9435, or e-mail rpriebe@spe.org

For Information on the Trans-Pecos SPE Section;    

Please call or email  Prentice Creel

Society of Petroleum Engineers
Trans-Pecos Section
Odessa, TX
August, 2002 - May 2003
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