MIDLAND, TEXAS—The Permian Basin Petroleum Association gathered its faithful in this O&G-centric city Oct. 23-24 and shared its news, views, plans, and projections as 2019 was analyzed and 2020 put in its sights. An enthusiastic membership packed into the new downtown Barbara and George H.W. Bush Convention and Civic Center on Thursday, Oct. 24, in one of that facility’s first big events.
Earlier, on the evening of the 23rd, attendees mixed and mingled at the two-hour-long welcome reception held at Midland’s impressive Petroleum Museum.
On Thursday, it was pure business as a full-day array of speakers and panels unfolded.
Below we share images of the day’s events.
Thursday began with a lavish breakfast that segued into the day’s first keynote speaker, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Wayne Christian.
Christian was followed by New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richards. In introducing herself to the audience, she described herself as New Mexico’s counterpart to George P. Bush (Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office). Garcia made a point of saying, to the roomful of O&G executives and influencers, that “New Mexico is open for business.”
PBPA President Ben Shepperd moderated the first panel of the day—always a highlight—the Legislative Panel. The panelists were
the Honorable Tom Craddick, Chair of the Texas House of Representatives’ Land and Resources Management Committee; the Honorable Brian Birdwell, Chair of the Texas Senate’s Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee; and the Honorable Chris Paddie, Chair of the House’s Energy Resources Committee.
Rounding out the morning’s activities was the panel discussion on Energy and the Environment. PBPA Chairman Kyle McGraw (President of Trinidad Energy LLC) moderated the discussion. Panelists were Commissioner Emily Lindley, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; Secretary James Kenney, New Mexico Environment Department; and Administrator Ken McQueen, Region 6, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Continuing the tradition of bringing in notable forecasters and analysts for lunchtime keynote speakers, the PBPA welcomed as its midday keynote Mark P. Mills, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Mills’ well-researched and challenging presentation built a case for a long and stable future for the oil and gas industry. Mills is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and he is the co-author of The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy. Mills has appeared as a guest on CNN, Fox, NBC, PBS, and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. For more on Mill’s talk, see Chairman McGraw’s column on page tktktktktk of this issue.
The afternoon sessions began with a panel discussion on sustainability. This proved to be one of the more remarked-upon conversations of the day. Tommy Taylor, Director of Oil and Gas Development, Fasken Oil and Ranch, moderated. Panelists included Katherine McAden, Corporate Communications Manager, Parsley Energy; Richard Brantley, Senior Vice President, Operations, University Lands; and David Schulte, Director of Commercial Development and Technology, Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation. For more on this panel, see President Ben Shepperd’s column on page 6 of this issue.
Next came the panel on Takeaway Issues (“takeaway” being the capacity—or incapacity—of pipeline infrastructure to “take away” the oil and gas produced at the wellhead and deliver it to processing facilities, and on to the downstream sector). Moderator was Kirk Edwards, President and CEO of Latigo Petroleum. Panelists were Scott Potter, Managing Partner of Business Development, RBN Energy; Clay Bretches, CEO of Altus Midstream and Senior Vice President/U.S. Midstream Operations of Apache Corporation; Roy Patton, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Howard Energy Partners; and Matt Teegarden, Vice President Commercial Development, Crestwood.
Coming next in a busy afternoon of panels was the discussion on Energy and Endangered Species. Moderator was Ben Shepperd, President of the PBPA. Panelists were Karen Sinard, Environmental Lead, Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation; Ron Schindler, Vice President Legal, Chief Compliance Officer, Pioneer Natural Resources; and Margaret Byfield, Executive Director, American Stewards of Liberty.
The last panel of the day was devoted to discussion of Water Use. Moderator was Tyler Hussey, Water Resources Engineer, Apache Corporation. Panelists were Ben Warden, Water Management Supervisor, Diamondback Energy; William Andy Adams, Director, Select Energy Services; and Kelly Bennett, co-founder and President, B3.
The coming year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Permian Basin. Ben Shepperd remarked on this milestone during the proceedings, and indicated that the Association (and its magazine) will observe that anniverary throughout the coming year. Watch for historical highlights and sidelights in these pages as the year progresses.
SPONSORS
Platinum Sponsors
Concho Resources
Fasken Oil and Ranch
Occidental Petroleum Corporation
PDC Energy
All Events Sponsors
Apache Corporation
Chevron USA Inc.
Oncor Electric Delivery Company
PESCO Process Equipment and Service Company Inc.
Redfern & Grover Resources LLC
West Texas National Bank
Black Gold Sponsors
Crownquest Operating LLC
Diamondback E&P LLC
Epic Permian
Frost Bank
Henry Resources LLC
J&W Services and Equipment
OMI LP
Plains Marketing LP
Sivalls Inc.
Weaver Assurance, Tax, and Advisory Firm
Reception Sponsors
Caballo Loco Midstream LLC
Century Link
Crestwood Midstream
FlyHobbs
Lea County Economic Development
Pioneer Natural Resources
The Petroleum Museum of Midland
Priority Power Management
Breakfast Sponsors
Conoco Phillips
EnerVest Operating LLC
Halff Associates
Latigo Petroleum LLC
Tax Advisors Group Inc.
Luncheon Sponsors
Catocio Resource Management LP
Colgate Energy Partners
Cudd Energy Services
Eckel Manufacturing Co. Inc.
Elevation Resources
Freedom Propane LLC
Gulf Coast Authority
Hodges Oil Company Inc.
Kojote Power Partners LLC
Lonestar State Bank
Lucky Services Inc.
Metrohm USA
Seawolf Water Resources
Tetra Tech
Liberty Oilfield Services
Texas Energy Lobby LLC
Technical Session Sponsors
The Eastland Oil Company
Encana Oil and Gas (USA)
Sport Environmental Services PLLC
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By Jesse Mullins