“As a geoscientist, it is very rewarding and useful to help shape a conference like IMAGE”, says Daniel Sutton when we catch up at the fringe of the exhibition floor. In his day job, Daniel works in the worldwide exploration team for Occicental Petroleum in Houston, but he has been a volunteer helping build the IMAGE Conference for two years.
“With a packed technical program and so many parallel sessions, it is easy to forget that it is still a matter of trying to identify the right people for talks that are interesting for participants”, Daniel says. “My role was to use my network to approach potential candidates and get in touch with them to see if they are keen to present. Ultimately, a conference like this one needs to offer a variety of topics that suits both the AAPG and SEG membership.”
There is a real buzz about offshore exploration at this year
Then, it is matter of shaping the program, and put the right people in the right place”, Daniel continues. And it does not end once the schedule is in place. “We also digest feedback received throughout the conference as well as after the event. It is important for delegates to feel that their voice is being heard, as conferences of this kind depend on the input of many.”
This year, it is especially the broad international scope of the technical programme that resonates with Daniel. “We host participants from over 200 countries here, which is not only reflected in the broad scope of the technical programme, you also notice this on the exhibition floor”, he adds. It is for a reason that one of the taglines for the conference was “Your passport to global exploration”.
