Don Duttlinger, executive director of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council, says his organization could help small producers compensate for the expertise their staffs lost in the last industry downturn.
OGJ Online Managing Editor Patrick Crow recently interviewed Don Duttlinger, executive director of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council, Houston, about his group's achievements and challenges.
OGJ Online: What is your mission?
Duttlinger: We benefit the nation by helping independent oil and natural gas producers make timely, informed technology decisions. We were formed in 1994 by the oil and gas industry. We are producer-industry driven. We are there to help identify and clarify independent producers' problems and through our workshops we try to help educate the operators. And then we help them make connections with solution providers, using our resource centers at our ten regional offices, their ten web sites, and our national web page. We also issue a number of technical publications. We have a staff of 25, including two persons at each of the regional centers.
OGJ Online: How are you funded?
Duttlinger: We have a grant of $2.4 million/year from the US Department of Energy. That amount is matched by states and producers.
OGJ Online: How do you disseminate technology?
Duttlinger: We use the internet, workshops, and our publications. We're still getting explosive growth on our national website and our ten regional sites. We are getting a lot of hits. We are putting all of our documents, technical writings, and case studies�which are very popular�on the web so people can download those directly. We're recording 1,000 to 15,000 user sessions/month on the pages for the 10 regions. And for our headquarters web page, we're around 10,000/month.
OGJ Online: And the workshops?
Duttlinger: They've been growing. We held almost 150 workshops last year throughout our 10 regions. We have established a reputation with industry and we're getting a lot of repeat attendees at the workshops as well as a lot of new ones, so that lets us know we are relevant and doing something the industry finds valuable. We charge a nominal fee in the $50-75 range, so it's quite affordable for a lot of the smaller producers.
OGJ Online: What are the most popular workshops?
Duttlinger: Horizontal drilling is getting quite a lot of interest at our workshops. Other popular ones are coalbed methane, downhole fracturing, 3D seismic techniques, slimhole drilling, coiled tubing operations, and artificial lift.
OGJ Online: What about your publications?
Duttlinger: The Petroleum Technology Digest is issued twice a year. Then we have a quarterly newsletter called Network News. And periodically we publish Solutions from the Field, which are compilations of our case studies. We also post those on our web site and a lot of people download them.
OGJ Online: You became PTTC's executive director last July and soon moved your headquarters from Washington, DC, to Houston. Why?
Duttlinger: When PTTC was set up, there was good reason for us to be in the Washington, DC area. We needed to establish good contacts and communications channels there with not only the Department of Energy folks but also with members of Congress. Now that we have that recognition, we wanted to be closer to where the oil industry's technology decisions are made. We looked for a more centralized location in the nation, and after examining a number of sites, Houston emerged to the top. There are many technology decision makers located here, and we think it will give us better access to independents and solution providers both.
OGJ Online: How else has the direction of PTTC shifted under your leadership?
Duttlinger: With all the changes in the industry, all the mergers and acquisitions, and price fluctuations, I'd like to bring PTTC closer to operators. We're trying to tune in more to their changing needs so we can react efficiently and quickly to fill those needs.
OGJ Online: How have their needs changed from a year ago?
Duttlinger: Due to the oil price fluctuations, we've seen an exodus from the industry's labor force. We've found our workshops have been especially relevant in helping smaller oil companies get some of their younger staff up to speed with the technologies and operating procedures of today. That is one of the main things that industry needs right now. We're also forming new alliances to see if we can help in other ways also. Sometimes we not only brief them on the new technologies but also regarding some those that have been on the shelf for some time and people may not be aware they're an option. When you lose as many qualified or experienced staff like the oil industry has in the last few years, quite a bit of knowledge goes out the door with them.
OGJ Online: You mostly serve independents. When you hold your workshops, are there employees of major oil companies in the audience too?
Duttlinger: The service sector also is there. The majors do send some people to the workshops. We'd like to pull more of them into the programs, and I think that is coming. But our industry segment is primarily small to medium-sized independents. I think we need to look carefully and closely at doing more for the larger-sized independents as well.
OGJ Online: What are your main challenges today?
Duttlinger: Producers are making a huge push to make up for the times that prices were lean. It's going to be a challenge for us to pull their employees away from work into our workshops because those employees are so busy. And the companies are trying to do more with less out there, personnel-wise. But we're really enthusiastic about our opportunities to connect with a lot more people as we spread our program base out a little more.
OGJ Online: What is your background?
Duttlinger: I graduated from Purdue University with an engineering degree in 1981 and went immediately to the Far East with Schlumberger Technical Services Co. After 8 years I returned to the US to get a masters in business administration, focusing in international business. I then spent 3 years in West Africa with Mobil Oil Co./Baker Energy Co. Then I started my own company involved in international technology transfer. I joined PTTC July 1 of last year. In my career, I've had the chance to work with all types of operators: large, medium, and small.