March 2007 Meeting of the SNAME Texas Section
By Xiaozhi (Christina) Wang

On Tuesday March 13, about 55 local Houston area SNAME members attended the SNAME Texas Section monthly luncheon seminar on "Regulatory Issues for Drilling in Severe Environments: Canada's East Coast and Northern Frontier", given by Mr. Joe Rousseau, Manager of Offshore Engineering at ABS in Houston. Mr. Rousseau pointed out that to date, only a handful of offshore drilling rigs have worked in the Canadian offshore since the implementation of new regulations in the 1990s.  ABS as a recognized Certifying Authority has granted Certificates of Fitness to offshore drilling units in all three of Canada's regulatory jurisdictions: Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Federal waters.  Mr. Rousseau addressed the Canadian approach to offshore regulation as it relates to the design, construction, and operation of offshore drilling units proposed to work in these harsh areas, and discussed relevant lessons learned. The presentation was well received and many members spent time after the presentation to further discuss the issues related to this topic.

Joe Rousseau (right) with Section Chair, Donald Burris, following the presentation

Prior to the presentation, Dr. Bob Randall from Texas A&M University announced the Joint SNAME-MTS Student Meeting on the TAMU campus in College Station on March 30^th.  This all-day meeting will include presentation from Dr. Randall’s senior design class students, as well as presentation from members from industry.

Dr. Bob Randall (standing near back) and Donald Burris, Section Chair, addressing the crowd.

The Texas Section also held the annual elections for Executive Committee officers.  The new officers starting their terms in September 2007 are:

Harry Ren, Diamond Offshore – Section Chair
Xiaozhi (Christina) Wang, ABS – Section Vice-Chair
Ray Jacques, Friede & Goldman – Section Secretary/Treasurer
Eldon Robison, Exmar – Member-at-large

New Section Officers (left to right): Eldon Robison, Xiaozhi (Christina) Wang, Harry Ren and Ray Jacques