As a cash-strapped oil patch wrestles with the competing issues of staffing and funding, more and more companies turn to various forms of automation/artificial intelligence and robotics in order to do more work with fewer people. In that scenario, drones have flown to the forefront as they’ve become more powerful and versatile. Advances in recording […]
PBPA’s Annual Meeting: Charting our Course
With the autumnal shift in our weather and the beginning of fall across the Permian Basin, October brings a new start to the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s year. This year we will kick off our new year as we do every year with our Annual Meeting. This year, at our 58th Annual Meeting, we will […]
Water Midstream Enters a New Phase
“The sub-industry of water handling and water midstream has evolved pretty dramatically over the last three or four years,” said Bill Zartler, CEO of Solaris Midstream Holdings. Solaris designs, owns, and operates water midstream systems in the Permian Basin. Solaris itself has grown exponentially since starting from scratch in 2016. They bought a small company […]
Next Steps in a Topsy Turvy Year
For this month’s article, my co-writer is Michael Crain. Michael’s experience includes owning and operating a restaurant, construction company, and manufacturing facility that interacted with global partners. His background includes engineering in multiple disciplines and lecturing at UTPB, achieving the Teacher of the Year award recognized across all UT campuses. He is a graduate of […]
Hanging by a (Pipe) Thread
. R&D pipe President Ron Underwood and Trident Steel CEO Kevin Beckmann have both seen better times, but neither is certain when those will return, at least for their sector. Casing in particular is tied directly to drilling, Underwood pointed out. Beckmann noted that the rig count is down 73 percent year-over-year from 2019. That […]
Proud to Be an American
Well, at the writing of this article, the Permian Basin, specifically Midland and Odessa, are still abuzz with the excitement of a Presidential visit. From those who lined the Airport perimeter fence to catch a glimpse of Airforce One’s arrival, to those who lined the streets of Odessa to see the impressive motorcade of black […]
Rule-Making Requires Effort, and PBPA Plays a Part
This has certainly been a difficult first half of 2020 for oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent economic destruction that followed, those across the region have seen great economic challenges. However, economic volatility is not new in our industry and I am certain […]
Let the Sun Shine In
Historically, the word “environmental” in the oil patch has had the connotation of inconvenience, hassle, and extra cost. Today, several things are converging to change that narrative—ESG has made it more necessary and technology has made it more user-friendly. A case in point for the user-friendly side is the category of portable solar power for […]
Risk
From the inception of the oilfield, risk has been a part of the business. Most everyone agrees that the first oil well in the world was drilled by Colonel Edwin Drake in Pennsylvania in 1859, a whopping 21 meters in depth, which equals 68’ 10”. However, that is not the case—at least that well was […]
Reducing Water Transfer Costs at Remote Fracking Sites with Open Secure Automation
Fracking uses highly pressurized water, mud and sand to fracture shale until it releases the oil or gas trapped within its layers. Ensuring a continuous supply of the millions of gallons of water needed for this operation is a logistical challenge that is vital to wellsite cost control and profitability. Meeting this challenge has been […]
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