Membership

• If an engineer legally offering engineering services directly to the public, or if employed in an engineering capacity by a firm that legally provides professional engineering services to the public: a license or registration as a professional engineer. Licensure or registration is not required for engineers working exclusively as an employee within a corporate structure that: (1) does not provide engineering services to the public, and (2) does not require that its engineering personnel be licensed or registered as a professional engineer. Licensure or registration is not required for engineers offering services to the public where licensure is not required in the jurisdiction where the engineer practices.
• If a geoscientist, (d) the following conditions must be met unless exempted by section (e): (1) certification as a Certified Petroleum Geologist as designated by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), or (2) certification as a member of the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists (SIPES), or (3) professionally licensed or certified by the applicant’s residence regulations. (e) The requirements of the previous Section (d) may be waived for geoscientist applicants working exclusively as an employee within a corporate structure that: (1) does not provide consulting or professional services to the public, and (2) does not require that its geoscientist personnel be licensed or registered as a professional geoscientist. Licensure or certification is not required for geoscientists offering services to the public where licensure or certification is not required in the jurisdiction where the geoscientist practices.

Associate Membership Requirements

A person may qualify to become an Associate Member who:

1. Meets the requirements of a Full Member as listed above except an Associate Member shall be required to demonstrate at least five years of experience in the evaluation of oil and gas properties (rather than the ten years required for Member status), one half of which time (2-1/2 years) can be satisfied by the substitution of either 2-1/2 years of responsible petroleum engineering practice or 2-1/2 years of teaching petroleum engineering courses in an accredited college or university.
2. The Associate Member application forms and process shall follow the same procedure as a Full Membership application.

An Associate Member may vote for officers and directors and on such matters as may properly come before the membership, but an Associate Member may not act as a sponsor for a Member or Associate Member. An Associate Member may not hold national office.

To upgrade to full membership, the applicant must fill out an application for an Associate Member to change status to Member form. In this process the applicant must have at least one sponsor complete the sponsor form for the period between associate approval and upgrade request. The sponsor must be a member who is familiar with the Associate Member’s work between when they became an Associate and when they apply for Full Membership and may be the same as an original sponsor. When an associate member is originally approved, the month and year of full membership eligibility will be noted by the Qualifications Committee chair on the approval signature page. An Associate Member must apply to change status from Associate Member to Member no later than ten years from admission to the Society as an Associate Member.

Membership Procedure

Every applicant for admission as a Member shall submit an application on a form authorized by the Executive Committee, signed by the applicant and endorsed by not less than three Member sponsors who are in good standing, stating the applicant’s training and experience and such other facts as shall be prescribed from time to time by the Executive Committee. Associate Members may not act as sponsors. The Application, after being screened by the Qualifications Committee, will be forwarded to the Executive Committee. The application must then be approved by the Executive Committee after each Member of that committee has determined that the applicant fulfills the qualifications required under Article III of the SPEE By-Laws. Prior to admission to the Society, the names of the applicant and the applicant’s sponsors shall be presented to the Members of the Society. In the case of applicants admitted under Section 2 of the By-Laws, the applicants’ non-member sponsors will be identified with a footnote identifying that the application for Membership was submitted under Section 2. If no objection is received within thirty (30) days after mailing of the names of the applicant and the applicant’s sponsors to the Society’s members, and after approval of the Executive Committee the applicant shall be notified of acceptance as a Member. If a membership application is received where the applicant does not meet the above qualifications in their entirety, the Board of Directors, by unanimous vote, may consider waiving certain requirements upon petition by the applicant and the applicant’s sponsors. Waivers are rare, and are reserved for the most unique of circumstances.