Annual OTC Dinner

Navigating Seas of Change

Sunday, 29 April
1800–2200
George Bush Grand Ballroom, 3rd floor,
George R. Brown Convention Center

Attend one of the most talked about events at OTC 2011! This special dinner is the signature event for OTC and its supporters.

The Annual OTC Dinner will recognize the OTC Distinguished Achievement Award recipients, raise funds for Engineers Without Borders USA, and provide an excellent opportunity for industry leaders to network with colleagues from around the world.

Show your support for a worthy cause with an Annual OTC Dinner sponsorship.

2012 Beneficiary

Engineers Without Borders is a nonprofit humanitarian organization established to support community-driven development programs worldwide through partnerships that design and implement sustainable engineering projects.

EWB members, comprised of professional and student engineers or other disciplines, work with local communities and NGOs in over 45 developing countries around the world on projects such as water, renewable energy, sanitation, and more. Members and partners support its core values of integrity, service, collaboration, ingenuity, leadership and safety.

Today, EWB boasts over 12,000 members nationwide and has over 350 projects worldwide. It maintains over 250 dedicated student and professional chapters and has touched the lives of more than two million people. EWB looks forward to partnering with OTC to build a better world, one community at a time.

Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals

Joe Burkhardt

Joe Burkhardt is receiving this award in recognition of his long and distinguished record of excellence in developing subsea and offshore technology advancements and tools, including the development of many unique concepts still in use today.

Joe Burkhardt joined ExxonMobil’s Production Research Division in 1952 after receiving his engineering physics degree from Auburn University. In the late 1950s, he developed a computer program that predicted pressure surges while tripping drillpipe or running casing. Burkhardt won the Rossiter W. Raymond Award in 1962 for his paper on pressure surges in boreholes.

In 1968, Exxon moved Burkhardt with a small group of engineers to Los Angeles to design, build, and test a prototype Submerged Production System (SPS). A group of papers were written and presented at OTC. Exxon received the 1980 Distinguished Achievement Award for Companies for this work.

Special Citation

Charlie Williams, Center for Offshore Safety

OTC will be awarding Charlie Williams a Special Citation for his vital contributions to industry safety and the formation of the Center for Offshore Safety.

C.R. (Charlie) Williams II serves as executive director for the Center for Offshore Safety. He was formerly the task force chair, leading a team in the creation of the center as well as chairman of the governing board.

Williams recently retired from Shell as chief scientist—well engineering and production technology after a 40-year career. There, he became known for post-Macondo industry response involvement, including a stint as advisor to Shell senior management and chairperson of the Joint Industry Task Force—Subsea Well Control and Containment.

Williams often testifies at numerous commissions, including the Presidential Commission and the National Academy Commission. He is a 35-year member of SPE and API, where he serves on the API Executive General Committee on Special Programs and Industry Services and is a member of the curriculum advisory committee for Petroleum Engineering and the University of Texas.

Distinguished Achievement Award for Companies, Organizations, or Institutions

Shell

Shell is receiving this award for Perdido, the deepest oil and gas drilling and production platform in the world.

This world-class project in the Gulf of Mexico pioneered several technological firsts in ultra deepwater development and production and has achieved an exemplary safety record.