As a whole, the oil patch is a tight-knit community, especially in the Permian Basin, where almost everyone is in the business one way or another. And the welding community seems to be particularly close-knit—or more precisely, welded together. Here are stories of two entrepreneuring welders—Daniel Rodriguez of Shadow Welding and Jaron Tuttle of Tuttle’s […]
The Produced Water Challenge
You are probably aware that the water problem in the Permian Basin is dire—it is the desert, after all. But the issue isn’t so seemingly obvious. Of course, as a natural resource, water is scarce in the Permian, and that is an issue that in itself places constraints on growth and development. But that is […]
Let’s Go Hunting!
Throughout the years, numerous policies and procedures have been developed to increase safety awareness and improve workplace safety. Ideas come and go based on needs, studies, and action plans. The action plans seem more reactive as opposed to proactive. The key word, though, is active. Reactive, as the word itself suggests, usually follows an accident, […]
Improving Plugging and Abandonment Procedures
Daily news feeds and internet searches abound with abundant negative images about the oil and gas industry. These images feed the negative messaging that anti-fossil fuel groups are eager to magnify. In response, regulators add regulations—often without industry input. If the industry is going to rehabilitate its image, it must demonstrate its desire to be […]
Office Functions: There is a Better Way
The back office is usually just that in the oil industry—back behind the scenes. It rarely makes headlines for great technological leaps. Nonetheless, it looks radically different than it did 10, even five years ago. Quietly, smartphone apps and the ability of accounting software to mine and analyze data from field monitoring systems have replaced […]
Keep It Fresh, Keep It Relevant
Greetings and salutations again to my fellow safety brethren! Regardless if you are a safety professional, a worker out in the field, or an executive, I appreciate you taking a small part of your day or month to read what’s going on in the field of safety. As I’ve stated numerous times over the last […]
Going Horizontal
Spreading out far and wide—what are the limits of long laterals? In the shale revolution, the vertical sections of wellbores don’t do much for production—they’re a means to an end. So, the longer the laterals connected to each vertical hole, the more of the formation is exposed to production. Meanwhile, an ancillary benefit of […]
Changing of the Guard
Welcome to everyone’s favorite topic in the oilfield: Safety. Said no one ever, lol. It’s easy to make jokes about safety to a non-sensitive safety guy such as myself. However, I have known some safety professionals that had to fill out an incident report for “hurt feelings.” Fortunately, they were all non-recordable. I am going […]
Rigging Up
The oil patch used to be famous for its behind-the-times mantra: “We’ve always done it this way.” But since the Shale Revolution and the increasing demand for speed, accuracy, and length in the drilling rig sector, that phrase is gone. “How can we do it better today than yesterday?” is the question for everyone. For […]
Taking AIM on 2025 and Beyond
MIDLAND, TEXAS—In an industry event that convened a scant two weeks after the momentous general election, oil and gas decision makers and professionals gathered Nov. 21 in the Horseshoe Arena in this oil-minded metropolis, where Hart Energy’s DUG Executive Oil Conference fetched attendees from Texas, New Mexico, and around the nation. No matter what one’s […]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 28
- Next Page »