MIDLAND, TEXAS—The pop-pop-popping had long since died down and the food and festivities had started up when the news of who-won-what began to circulate. The shooting portion was over but the cooking competition was still in play at the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s annual Clay Shoot and Pit King Challenge, held again at Jake’s Clays. […]
What the Fourth Means
Click here to listen to the Audio verison of this story! With the Fourth of July almost upon us, I’d like to share something about the spirit of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. That spirit was what gave us the great nation we have inherited. And without that spirit, it is unlikely […]
One Hundred Octopi and Counting: Lessons in Online Solids Management
How the development, validation, and large-scale deployment of online solids management systems is saving operators money by releasing flowback equipment sooner, minimizing equipment damage due to solids carry-over, and reducing the need for shutdowns and confined space entry cleanout operations. Pounding Sand Oil and gas wells seldom produce a nice clean stream of hydrocarbons. A […]
Viper’s Royalty Model: Worth a Look
Viper Energy (VNOM) presents a compelling case for investors seeking exposure to the energy sector through a mineral rights business model. The company is about to complete a transformative “Drop Down” transaction with parent company Diamondback Energy (FANG) that promises to significantly reshape Viper’s production profile in 2025. This is a transaction that was discussed at […]
Getting a Line on Wireline
Click here to listen to the Audio verison of this story! Change comes to every sector of the oilfield, working its way through the various niches. Sometimes it comes by technological advance, sometimes by economic realities asserting themselves, sometimes by scarcity—or abundance—of resources. And sometimes it comes from ripple effects of mergers, acquisitions, and […]
Mental Health is Also Health
Welcome and salutations! We may be going into some tough times, not that we as Americans—or as members of the oil and gas community—haven’t had our share already. One topic that is prevalent in our industry and often skirted or glossed over is mental health. It is a given that our industry is a “dog […]
Hitting the Mark: A Father’s Day Tribute
Click here to listen to the Audio verison of this story! This month being the month that holds Father’s Day (June 15), I’m going to share a story of a father. It just happens that the story I know best is the one I know from my own dad, Jess Mullins, Sr. He’s been […]
Financial Maturity or Lack of
My Ethics class interviewed a successful Harvard MBA who also had a law degree from another Tier One university. He worked for many years in the oil and gas industry, including, at one point, working for three Fortune 500 Corporations in Midland, Houston, San Antonio, India, and Abu Dhabi. Our interviewee, who wants to be […]
What’s So Smart About Artificial Intelligence?
Click here to listen to the Audio verison of this story! The boom/bust cycle has challenged the oil industry in many ways over the decades. Since the turn of the millennium, the newest challenge has been how to adopt new technology when there’s the frantic activity of a boom one minute and the layoffs and […]
Permian People June 2026
ExxonMobil announced April 2 that Karen T. McKee, president of ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company, was to retire effective May 1. The Board of Directors appointed Matt Crocker president, ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company and vice president Exxon Mobil Corporation. He succeeded McKee May 1. Crocker, who has been ExxonMobil’s President/Global Business Solutions since 2023, joined the […]