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. […]
Keep That Data Secure
By Shanti Terry The digital world is one filled with dangers for all industries, and oil and gas is no exception. Industries that make up our nation’s critical infrastructure, like the energy sector, remain constant targets from entities outside the United States who mean to do as much harm as possible for their own gain. […]
After the Black Gold Rush
Some layoffs, efficiency improvements, and price decreases keep area dirt movers from being buried alive. By Paul Wiseman “This slowdown has been different [from the 2009 downturn] because it has affected a lot more people this time,” said Nick Tomlin, vice president of Big D Companies. With approximately 280 employees, Big D is one of […]