For decades oil and gas producers had a great luxury—they could cheaply dispose of produced water in saltwater disposal wells (SWDs) near the production wells. But the old saying about going to the well once too often is becoming more and more real in the SWD space, necessitating some big changes, with potentially much higher […]
A Delaware Deal, Dissected
Consolidation and asset rationalization continue to change the landscape in the Permian Basin. Among the winners is Permian Resources (PR), which just bought nearly 30k net acres in the Delaware Basin from Occidental Petroleum (OXY) for $817.5 million or just over $27k per acre. Occidental was looking to sell assets in order to pay down […]
Oil’s Well that Ends Well
Most shale wells, regardless of lateral length, produce furiously for the first several months, then start a downward trajectory that’s accompanied by rising levels of gas and sand. This combination means that lift methods must also evolve along the well’s life. To make that happen, three Permian Basin lift companies are advancing some existing technologies. […]
Water Y’all Talking About?
Closely watched litigation regarding the definition and ownership of water has percolated up to the Texas Supreme Court. Interestingly, Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC[i] has received amicus curiae briefs from associations across the state representing farmers, ranchers, land, and mineral owners requesting the Court to uphold one of the fundamental foundations of […]
Bit by Bitcoin
Sometimes at the convergence of two problems there is a solution. The fact that Permian oil wells are getting gassier (setting new production records regularly) and straining gas takeaway capacity is one—and issues with massive grid demands of bitcoin mining and data processing is the other. Increasingly, producers are seeking alternative markets for gas, and […]
The Escalating Cyber Stakes
In just one year—2022-2023—ransomware attacks on operational technology (OT) in the United States increased by 50 percent, according to cyber security experts at Dragos, in their 2023 Year in Review. And cyber security firm Palo Alto Networks reported that 70 percent of industrial firms suffered a cyber attack in 2023 (The State of OT Security […]
Rising to the Occasion
As long as there are oil wells—greenfield and brownfield—there will be a need for downhole tools. That much is unchanging. What is up for grabs is the kind, the number, and the speed at which they’re needed. For Ruger Oil Tools, the times they are a’changin’. For Mesquite Oil Tools, the more things change, the […]
Too Much, Too Fast?
“Go to the ant,” suggested King Solomon, because even without a company man, the ant “stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Retired veteran oilman Mike Shellman admits that he is a contrarian when it comes to how fast and hard to push production from new wells. And he avoids shale […]
Shifting Sand
As prevalent as a PropX box. While that line, above, is not a commonplace figure of speech in the Basin, it might as well be. The PropX box is everywhere. That’s because sand is everywhere—or at least it is going everywhere. And usually on the road that you are driving on. When God put the […]
Where the Water Goes
An oil well produces three things: oil, natural gas and (mostly) water. All three of those things have to have somewhere to go in order for the well to operate, and right now only two of them are profitable. The last is working its way up from being a nuisance to being a useful byproduct, […]
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