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 […]
The Art of the Frac
It may seem hard to believe, but in the history of energy production in America we find ourselves but two decades short of the centenary of hydraulic fracturing. This process, commonly referred to as frac’ing, had its origins in the 1940s but has evolved into a major technology used in the oil and gas industry […]
The Ever-Evolving Frac
The oil and gas industry has long reigned as an industry that finds success in innovation. Technological advancement and a pioneering spirit have catapulted the industry forward. Decade by decade, the industry refines itself by seeking new solutions, putting tools and processes to the test in the field, and embracing each fresh advance as the […]
Lifting Well
The concept of the rod pump can be traced back to the Roman Empire. Roman engineers used something that looks amazingly like today’s version to pump water. But other common oilfield lift strategies would not look familiar to Pliny the Elder, who recorded those Roman ideas for posterity. Electric submersible pumps and various gas lift […]
Shifting Sand
As prevalent as a PropX box. While that line, above, is not a commonplace figure of speech in the Basin, it might as well be. The PropX box is everywhere. That’s because sand is everywhere—or at least it is going everywhere. And usually on the road that you are driving on. When God put the […]
Ongoing Research Boosts Refrac Results in the Permian and Elsewhere
Three realities are converging in many basins to encourage more producers to refracture existing wells. One is that, other than in the Permian Basin, the best prospects have been drilled, so that newer wells are costing more to drill while producing less. Another factor is that newer frac technology is releasing much more oil than […]
Fracs: Field Laboratories, Ever in Transition
by Jesse Mullins Maybe the most remarkable observation one could make about hydraulic fracturing is the fact that its sophistication seems to expand at an exponential rate. Not a week goes by that someone does not announce a new service or product or technique that promises to revolutionize some angle or other within the […]
Sand: Delivery is Everything
“In most cases the largest cost component of frac sand for wells is the delivery cost,” said Bud Brigham, executive chairman and CEO of Atlas Energy Solutions, in an email interview. Atlas’s goal is “to get the trucks off the public roads” for safety, efficiency, and the environment. Those are similar to the goals of […]
To Allocate an Asset: Water
by Jesse Mullins MIDLAND, TEXAS—Welcoming the usual full-house crowd to the familiar confines of the Horseshoe Arena in this oil-and-gas-savvy town, the Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference (PBWIEC), in its fifth annual iteration, submerged itself in the depths of the ongoing “water in energy” discussion for two days (March 1-2), hosting a full slate […]
Water’s Place in the Big Scheme of Permian Things
by Jesse Mullins MIDLAND, TEXAS—After a two-year hiatus, due to Covid, the Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference, said by some to be the best conference of its kind anywhere, returned to the Horseshoe Arena in this oil town and picked up right where it left off. Or maybe it picked up just a notch […]