On the Texas side of the Permian Basin the state government is generally supportive of its oil and gas industry, known for setting up mostly reasonable laws and environmental rules. It’s one reason the region has repeatedly set production records in recent years. In New Mexico, about two-thirds of legislators are hostile to an industry […]
After Sand
The Permian never really needed sand. It needed fractures that stayed open, hydrocarbons that could move, and an economic reason to keep doing it. As completions become more specialized and mature wells get a second look, the question is changing: What happens when the industry stops assuming sand is the answer? Increasingly, we’re asking: What […]
Giving It the Gas
In 1920, when Frank T. Pickrell and Haymon Krupp drilled Santa Rita Number 1, oil was the only thing on their minds. Any natural gas it produced was purely flaring fodder. That attitude continued for almost a hundred years. But now, with LNG, data centers, and other worldwide energy revolutions, natural gas is coming into […]
Where the Basin Convenes
The 64th Annual Meeting of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association will give all those in attendance the chance to listen to and ask questions of a variety of experts who will present on the top issues confronting the industry. Attendees will also benefit from projections on our industry moving forward from those in the know. The […]
Once You Get the Job
Once you get the job, remember this: getting hired is only the beginning. Landing a good position takes effort. Keeping it—and building a reputation that lasts—takes even more. Many human resources and business communication textbooks devote plenty of discussion to résumés, interviews, and job searches, but far less on what to do after the offer […]
Doing It with IT
It wasn’t that long ago that the number of data points for rigs and oilfield equipment could be counted on the fingers of one hand: Is it on, is it leaking, does it sound like it’s working right? All could only be gathered in person—and that last one could be up for discussion. Even a […]
Little Midland: Why the Permian Basin Looms So Large in Houston
Call Houston “Little Midland” and some residents of Midland, Texas, may smile at the irony. Midland sits in the heart of the Permian Basin, where oil wells, pump jacks, drilling rigs, and service yards dominate the landscape. Houston, by contrast, is more than 300 miles away and is one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. […]
12 Hours of Money: A Permian Basin Finance Story
Part 1: One Friday morning in August Part 2: Epilogue, The Many Versions of Risk After a long 12 hours on this particular Friday, everyone was exhausted. Carla was managing payroll. Ted was trying to save a company. Linda was deciding what to do with family land. Mark was studying an acquisition. Gary and Manolo […]
The Basin is the Best
Life in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas is better than life anywhere else. That’s true on any scale or metric—social, cultural, socio-cultural, socio-political, geographic, geologic, anthropogenic, or attitudinal. It’s true in terms of liveability, attractiveness, intelligence, neighborliness, common-sensible-ness, relative humidity, sanity, graciousness, godliness, opportunity, rationality, magnificence, unspuriousness, psychometrics, ebullience, health, uncrowdedness, and positivity. Everyone […]
Business Communication, Part I: The Job Interview
I am going to pretend we are preparing for a face-to-face interview. Generally speaking, you may find that you will have been screened by a bot, a phone, or a web interview before the first face-to-face meeting. Of course, if you get past this first, in-person interview, you’ll need to be prepared to interview with […]
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