Geophysical companies work to expand opportunities in a challenging economy. By Paul Wiseman Every stratum of the seismic industry is struggling as the explosion of oil and gas production creates low price shock waves for the industry across the globe. The small privately-owned company that interprets and stores data, the publicly-owned geophysical firm and […]
Coming Through in a Pinch
Occidental has just handed Midland the shiniest new jewel in its industrial crown. PBOG was there for the grand opening of Oxy’s state-of-the-art pad: Oxy Permian Plaza. Lana Cunningham With huddle rooms, bright colors, interwoven technology, and yes, a game room with Wii and other television-connected sports games, energy companies are attracting a new […]
Getting Clean
Cleaning up the oil and gas industry is no easy task, but those in the environmental and waste disposal industries are always up for the job. By Shanti Terry Upon approach, the environmental industry may seem simple enough. If a spill happens, they clean it up. If there’s waste present, they get rid of it. […]
Drill Indie
Independent drilling contractors are here to stay. By Chase Beakley Last year we heralded the rise of the independent drilling contractor, noting that 54 percent of active rigs in the Permian Basin were drilled by independent contractors outside of the eight biggest companies. At that time crude was selling for $101.92 a barrel and the boom […]
Diversionary Tactics
by Al Pickett, special contributor Things are never as simple as they seem. And sometimes when you think you understand something, you find that there’s another stage that calls for fresh scrutiny. As Frank Zamora pointed out recently, many in the industry believe that nearly 50 percent of the perforated clusters in hydraulically fractured wells […]
Requiem for a Canadian Pipeline
Industrial and political insiders sound off in response to the killing of the Keystone XL pipeline in November. by Tony Burke, Assistant Editor On Nov. 6, President Obama rejected TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline application. The killing of the much bandied-about pipeline was hardly done in the heat of the moment, but calculated […]
Rental Equipment: Strategies to Save
Jill Tennant When William Shakespeare wrote, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” he was certainly not referring to the modern oil and gas industry. According to a study conducted by market research and consulting company MarketsandMarkets, the global oilfield equipment rental market had an estimated value of $26.8 billion in 2014. Because rental equipment […]
Pipeliners: A Breed Apart
They were known as “the gypsies of the oil patch.” by Bobby Weaver Pipeliners are the most gypsy-like of all oilfield workers. When there is a need for their services they appear like a cloud of locusts and when that need passes they are gone like a puff of smoke. It has been that […]
The Shifting Dynamics of Cyber Security
By Shanti Terry Editor’s Note: We share the following as our “Part 2” coverage on the topic of Cyber Security, continuing the conversation that was begun in the September issue, in the article titled “Navigating the Cyber Security World.” Although gaining more awareness and fully understanding the questions around cyber attacks is vitally important, the […]
Well Disposed
The entity known as a “disposal well” is a vital element in the oil and gas industry, one that is not so well understood as it should be. By Hanaba Munn Welch If oil and gas wells had an official pecking order, saltwater disposal wells would be somewhere at the bottom of the list. […]