Dick Sivalls’ roots in the oil and gas business run more than a century deep. “My grandfather started a company similar to ours in 1900 in Ohio and then moved to Bartlesville and Oklahoma City, following the oil patch,” he said. “He sold the business, but then my father started the business in 1947 in […]
Needed Reforms
By Doug Robison, Chairman, PBPA. As the Permian fuels far more than its own ends, creating jobs and supplying national energy needs, its own need arises—for relief from federal regulatory overreaching. To make a poor application of Charles Dickens’ immortal line, “It is the best of times, it is the worst of times” in the […]
Workovers
Structurally Speaking… … and just speaking free-form as well. A miscellany of observations that doesn’t stand on ceremony. While presidential politics charge into an election year (and you thought it had been election season for the past year or two!), while regulators and energy producers wrangle over regs, while the world goes spinning on with […]
From the General Counsel
by Angela Staples, General Counsel, Permian Basin Petroleum Association. Texas Supreme Court Update: When does trespass occur below ground? And how actionable would such trespass be? These are questions that still have no clear answers. In the March Issue of PBOG, I discussed a case upon which the Texas Supreme Court would be hearing oral […]
From the President
By Ben Shepperd, President, Permian Basin Petroleum Association. Happy New Year from the PBPA! With gratitude to many, PBPA enters 2012 with a hoped-for and much-needed six-month extension of time to make its case in the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard issue. As I am sure you are already aware, on Thursday, Dec. 1, the U.S. Fish […]
Playing It Safe
By Al Pickett, special contributor. Blowout prevention, already a science, is an art as well, especially in new shale plays such as the Permian Basin. For drilling operations, finding good well service people is the key. Safety has always been a top priority in the oil patch, according to Larry Chapman, but even so, as […]
Greater Knowledge—Greater Service
By Lana Cunningham, special contributor. That’s the motto of the Desk and Derrick Club, an organization whose history draws much upon its Permian Basin contingent. Fishing. Hmmm. Are there lakes with boats and fishing poles on them around here, thought the Dallas native who had never been around the oil patch until […]
Doing It Right
By Lana Cunningham, special contributor. Marking its 60th year, Dawson Geophysical keeps practicing the traits that made it a success. Traits derived direct from its founder, Decker Dawson. First class citizen. The ultimate gentleman. Strong philanthropist. And jokester. Long-time friends and business contacts describe L. Decker Dawson with the same words over and over. […]