Greetings and salutations! This month’s installment we are going to attempt, rather I am going to attempt, clarification of the hottest topic for the last two years—Covid 19! The topic can only be categorized as a cluster monkey. My goal is to rationally attempt some kind of synthesis of the information out there. It is […]
TCEQ and the Permian Basin
MIDLAND, TEXAS—It was a meeting of the regulator and the regulated when TCEQ Commissioner Emily Lindley addressed the membership of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA) in the Midland Petroleum Club as keynote speaker for its March 17 luncheon. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the environmental agency for the state. TCEQ employs approximately […]
Quality of Life in the Permian Basin
By Paul Wiseman This sequence from the classic movie Casablanca sums up the quality of life in the Permian Basin. Claude Rains played Captain Renault and Humphrey Bogart played club owner Rick Blaine. Captain Renault: Ricky, what in Heaven’s name brought you to Casablanca? Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters. Capt. […]
The Right Stuff
Greetings and salutations—and welcome to this month’s installment of Safety. Hopefully everyone has survived the endless variations of the Covid. Another topic for another day! In any line of business, goals must be clear and precise. Safety is no different. When filling positions for safety or operations, a manager must apply sufficient time and detail […]
Crowning a Lifetime Endeavor
MIDLAND, TEXAS—Amidst well-wishing, applause, and abundant good will, oilman Autry C. Stephens accepted the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s Top Hand Award for 2021 here at a gala ceremony at the Petroleum Club on the evening of Jan. 20. After a career spanning almost 60 years, during which he founded several companies and mentored many individuals […]
Banking on the Basin
It’s clear that the Pandemic has loomed over just about everything since 2020, but even before that the oil patch’s financial model had begun to change. Jeremy Bishop, president of Midland’s First Capital Bank of Texas, noted that equity financiers have changed their model from what he called a “build and flip” to an operate-within-cash-flow […]
Common Sense
Remember, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, 1776: “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.” March 2022: The past is the past. Let it go, for now. Be prepared for the rest of the year and what […]
Oil Tech: What’s New
“I was on the runway at DFW, and from my XSPOC software mobile app I was able to rock start an ESP to get it started and free up a stuck pump—while my airplane was ready to take off.” Shelby Williams of ChampionX loves to tell that story because it illustrates what IT and automation […]
Your Vote Matters
If you are like me, you are a member of the PBPA as a way to strengthen your voice on legislative and regulatory matters that impact not just the oil and gas industry, but the entire Permian Basin. The PBPA is an incredible tool which can accomplish these ends through engagement with our government, communities, […]
On Getting Buy-in
As long as I have been in the oil and gas industry, the largest obstacle to actual compliance, from what I can perceive, is buy-in. It is difficult, if not impossible, to bridge training, the application of policy, procedures, monitoring, and enforcement, especially if there is no buy-in. My reluctance to get into the field […]
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