Steven H. Pruett, president and CEO of Midland’s Elevation Resources, has been named board chairman for the 2022-24 term of Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy firm.  Pruett is former chairman of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.  A graduate of University of Texas with an MBA from Harvard Business School, he […]

Count of active drilling rigs in U.S. declined for the first time since October, according to Baker Hughes.  In its weekly report of Dec. 9, Baker Hughes said there were 780 rigs in U.S. – down from 784 the previous week but up from 576 a year ago.  Rig count in Permian Basin was unchanged […]

Because of surging oil and gas production, inflation and wage growth, government officials in New Mexico said Monday an estimated $3.6 billion in “new money” – the difference between forecasted revenue and current spending – will be available for the legislature for the next fiscal year that begins in July 2023.  Economists said about two-thirds […]

Midland-based ProPetro Holding said last week it executed a contract with a leading Permian Basin operator to use its first electric-powered hydraulic fracturing fleet.  ProPetro will provide services for three years following delivery.  The equipment will be deployed primarily to support simul-frac operations.  Initially it will use Tier IV dual-fuel equipment and transition to e-fleet […]

Christi Craddick, 52, Midland native who was first elected to the commission in November 2012, Tuesday was selected to serve again as chair of the Railroad Commission of Texas succeeding Wayne Christian.  A graduate of Midland High School, she has bachelor’s and J.D. degrees from University of Texas.  As an attorney, she specializes in oil […]

Houston-based XRI Holdings said recently it started construction of Evolution pipeline system in Permian Basin to recycle and manage more than 500,000 barrels of produced water per day from operators in Glasscock, Midland, Reagan and Midland counties.  The pipeline system is a large-scale recycling and produced water infrastructure network connecting XRI’s existing pipeline system in […]

Railroad Commission of Texas said Tuesday it is revising its seismicity reduction response plan after a review of data, including injection volumes, following an earthquake of 5.4 magnitude Nov. 16 in Reeves County.  The northern Culberson-Reeves seismic response area (SRA) is being expanded north to the New Mexico border and increased to 2,601 square miles […]

U.S. count of active oil and gas drilling rigs remained flat for the week that ended Dec. 2, according to Baker Hughes, while the counts for Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico declined.  There were 350 rigs in Permian (352 previous week, 283 year ago), 371 in Texas (372 previous week, 271 year ago), 104 […]

Nabors Industries said Nov. 16 it has launched its Canrig red zone robotics (RZR) rig floor module, a modular rig upgrade that automates routine drilling activities.  Nabors retrofitted an existing rig with RZR and successfully drilled multiple horizontal wells for ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy in Permian Basin. In 2021 Nabors and Exxon proved fully automated […]

Texas comptroller Glenn Hegar said Nov. 29 about $7.3 billion in tax revenue from the state’s oil and gas industry has been transferred to the state highway (SHF) and economic stabilization funds (ESF).  Each received about $3.64 billion.  “It is critical that we invest in the infrastructure needed to keep our state fiscally healthy,” Hegar […]