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 […]
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 […]
Opinion: What a Difference a Decade Makes
“Distance not only gives nostalgia, but perspective, and maybe objectivity.” —Robert Morgan As we stand here in the still-new 2020s decade and look about us, we can reflect that the ten years that brought us to this moment were some of the most eventful, and even un-anticipated, years that the Permian Basin has known. Distance […]
Opinion Will 2022 Be the Year of Comeuppance?
Oil and gas in the Permian Basin has been put through the shale shaker in this still-new decade of the 2020s. And still, the energy bulls and the ebullient forecasters keep promising that the Big Bounceback is just up ahead. Is that still the case after a 2021 full of commodity price ups and downs? […]
In Retooling Mode: Oilfield Services
With the tidal wave of disruptions over the last two years, the oilfield service sector has had to pivot, reboot, and refocus just like the rest of the industry. Midland-based Forty A&M LLC specializes in shooting fluid levels and well optimization, and California-based Tetra Tech’s Permian business mainly consists of treating and handling produced water. […]
The Art of Control
Most days for a well control company are pretty quiet. They’re helping an E&P plan safety procedures for a new pad or doing well safety training for another client. Generally they’re working to prevent or reduce danger on the well site. But, much like a community’s firefighters and EMTs, when that emergency call does come, […]
The A.I. Factor
Science fiction abounds with stories of robot or computer takeovers, from 2001 A Space Odyssey’s HAL 9000 to Dr. Who’s Cyber Men—along with the flip side, the original Star Trek’s “Spock’s Brain” episode where the bad guys hooked Spock’s brain up to the system that controlled their civilization’s air conditioning and other processes. Whether any […]
87th Legislature Adjourns Sine Die
While COVID-19 cast a shadow over the opening of the 87th Texas Legislature, the dramatics of the closing days thrust Texas into the national spotlight with Gov. Greg Abbott vowing to veto the section of the state budget that funds the legislative branch after the voting restrictions bill failed to pass. Senate Bill 7, a […]
State of Play: Where Are We Going?
We share below the full transcript of James Wicklund’s talk given at the April 1 membership luncheon of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, held at the Midland Petroleum Club. We apologize that in a few spots there was a word or phrase that we were unable to transcribe, and if you will check back in […]
87th Texas Legislature: Capitol Update
During the 2021 Texas Legislative Session, representatives and senators are required by law to pass a balanced budget and address redistricting, the decennial redrawing of maps for the state’s congressional, legislative, and State Board of Education boundaries. The pandemic delayed the release of the updated U.S. Census, meaning redistricting will most likely be handled in […]
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