It is indeed a privilege and honor to have been selected to lead such a special group as the CSEG. The CSEG has a long and valued history of contribution to the Canadian energy industry, and I am proud to be a member and a volunteer of this great organization.
This past year has been a challenge for the CSEG, both financially and while adapting to the changing reality of delivering digital content to our members. But I think we have navigated the choppy Covid waters reasonably well, and I would like to personally thank all the volunteers who tirelessly contribute their time to the endeavors of the CSEG. Without them, the society would not exist. I have volunteered in the past on many of the committees the CSEG supports, and the enthusiasm and drive of our volunteers astounds me.
However, our membership is dwindling, and I would like to remind you all to encourage your underemployed, student, or retired friends and colleagues that we have lower fees or no fees to support their memberships, as we know the past year(s) have been challenging for them as well. No one should be prohibited from being a CSEG member due to economic reasons. Please call us at (403) 262-0015 to discuss. Toward this end, I would like to challenge each of you to invite our young geophysicists, geologists, petrophysicists, and engineers to join the society and encourage them to become actively involved and participate in all that the CSEG has to offer. Certainly, our social events have suffered along with the rest of us who long for networking events. We promise to restart in-person events as soon as we can. I personally miss the social interactions, and as we speak the CSEG Symposium committee is working hard to plan for an in-person event in October. We hope you can all join us. GeoConvention will be virtual in September, but we hope to be able to accommodate a networking event in person. As vaccination numbers continue to rise, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel… To further celebrate our volunteers, we are planning a volunteer appreciation in December. Stay tuned as we work on planning these events.
Society is always changing, and we must change along with it. Energy transition is the focus of many headlines and what motivates the population and politicians today. In many ways the energy industry and geoscientists are experiencing one of the more challenging realities today. Many energy companies have shifted from exploration to exploitation, and it does feel like an uphill battle most days to challenge the necessity of the geoscience we all are very passionate about. Some geoscientists may lack confidence in our role for the development of Canada’s resources and struggle daily with future career uncertainty and choices. Add a global pandemic to that shaken confidence and it becomes a perfect storm. The CSEG must navigate through the storm and provide the knowledge, creativity, innovation, and education for our members to be part of the energy transition Canada has embarked upon. It is the CSEG’s responsibility to ensure that geophysics is part of the solution. We have much to offer besides oil and gas exploration, including CO2 storage in depleted reservoirs, energy from geothermal projects or hydrogen, and environmental geophysical methods for groundwater protection and management. Mining geophysics will play a role in the need for batteries for electric vehicles, rare earth, and base minerals essential to support the energy transition.
I invite all of you to share your thoughts of the CSEG’s strategic direction and contribute where you can add value, not just to the CSEG but also to the society and communities we all live in.
To close, I would like to state that I am looking forward to serving as your president during this coming year and meeting the challenge I have outlined to grow and further increase the value provided by this great organization. I would like to once again thank the membership for granting me the opportunity and privilege to serve. I am looking forward to seeing you all at our monthly luncheons and educational and networking events. Until then I will “see” you virtually.
Very best regards,
Nanna Eliuk, CSEG President
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