The saying about the weather—if you don’t like it, just wait a minute, it’ll change—has become interchangeable with oil prices. Actually, oil prices tend to change even if you do like the current ones. The last two years have pelted the industry with everything from the tornadoes of negative prices to the sunshine of triple […]
HR in a Box: Keep it Simple, Keep it Legal
I recently presented on my favorite Human Resources (HR) topics and was pleasantly surprised that more participants than not answered over half my questions correctly. The same day of the presentation, a client called and asked me a question; I answered that the client had to pay the individual who resigned unless they wanted to […]
Flying High: Drones and Airplanes
The airways over the Permian Basin have long been highways to elsewhere for people traveling for business or pleasure. In recent years the advent of drones hauling cameras and other monitoring equipment has added another dimension to the skies. Oxford, Mississippi-based Nicholas Air’s connection with the Permian Basin began quietly, with just one family, a […]
Document and Verify
For the last three years of writing for this publication, I’ve yet to run out of things to say! Isn’t that a typical safety person? That was a rhetorical question—you don’t have to answer that. As I’ve stated throughout the years, safety has become litigation driven. If it is not documented, it didn’t happen. At […]
Legislative Updates
New Mexico Gavels Out The New Mexico Legislature adjourned sine die on March 18, closing out the 60-day 56th Session during which industry advocates spent most of their time playing defense. “A number of highly troubling bills were introduced that could have greatly impacted oil and natural gas operations in the Land of Enchantment,” reported […]
A Family Man Through and Through
MIDLAND, TEXAS—Feted by friends, family, and well wishers, oilman Don Sparks on Jan. 18 graciously accepted the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s Top Hand Award for 2022 in a gala ceremony at the Petroleum Club. As recipient of this award, which essentially is the PBPA’s lifetime achievement award, Sparks joins a stellar list of oil people […]
IT Helps People Be More Efficient
by Paul Wiseman At the dawn of the digital oilfield age, many staffers worried about being rendered obsolete by the efficiencies inherent in automation. Since the upheaval of COVID-related workplace changes, employees have left the oil patch in droves. For many oil and gas operators, making the remaining workers more efficient by employing automation and […]
Reading Between the Lines
The graphic at right is from the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ online magazine, JPT (Journal of Petroleum Technology), where an article was recently published discussing how much frac sand (a whole lot, it turns out) is actually now being flowed back in the Delaware Basin. (Find the article here: https://tinyurl.com/bdpem99a). From an operational standpoint it is truly amazing they can stuff all that frac […]
The More Things Change…
by Paul Wiseman Like everyone in the industry, the oilfield services sector has ridden waves of change over the last three years. Some companies, like EV Oilfield Services, actually expanded during the Pandemic. Others, like Florida-based Lightning Master, weathered the storm and has grown significantly since then. Pandemic? What Pandemic? EV Oilfield Services, […]
Leadership: Listen and Learn
Listen and learn, or a meltdown may be just around the corner. I pulled out eight or ten books on leadership skills for this article, and I came up with the same conclusion—the best manager skills are to listen and learn. Listen to your employees because they are often not just thinking about themselves. Employees […]
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