The PetroBowl® competition was founded in 2002, and was created, organized, and administered by the SPE Gulf Coast Section taking place once a year during the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE). As its popularity grew, a two stage pilot program was introduced in 2013 to transition the contest into a truly global event. This included two regional qualifiers taking place in Africa and Asia in 2014, and an expansion to six regional qualifiers in 2015. Following the successful completion of the pilot program, PetroBowl is now recognized as an SPE International global program.