Sometime in the midst of the three-day extravaganza known as the Permian Basin International Oil and Gas Show, the question arose, among a small circle of attendees, as to what exhibits or trends were the most impactful or talked-about among the hundreds on display. And while this discussion was entirely informal and non-scientific, the […]
Software Solutions
No more looking at paper maps or driving long distances to check wells. No longer does someone have to guess what is going on down the hole or manually determine what each phase of a well costs. In this advanced age of technology, energy companies cannot operate efficiently (or at all) without the latest advances […]
Pipe Dreams
As production increases in the Permian Basin, there is a second-stage challenge to the push to ensure success in the crude oil boom in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico: takeaway capacity. Producers need to get their crude oil to refiners at the highest possible price with the least expensive transportation costs. Tulsa-based Magellan […]
Major Revival
Oil booms. There was one in the 1950s and another in the late 1970s. People flocked to the towns in West Texas and southeast New Mexico. Companies were started and large ones expanded. Schools, housing, shopping all grew. People worked hard, played hard, and spent a lot of money. These were followed by that […]
Veteran Players
This great nation of ours celebrates Veterans Day this month. On Monday the 12th, federal employees will have a day off from work in recognition of this occasion. (The “legal,” traditional date is the 11th, a Sunday this year.) Whether we are relieved of work or not on that day, we all ought be relieved, […]
From the General Counsel
When JOA’s Pass to Subsequent Purchasers The Joint Operating Agreement—not always the simplest contract to interpret—can spawn additional issues when “heirs, successors, and assigns” enter the picture. In late June of this year, TransTexas Gas Corp. (Sandridge Onshore, LLC, is now TransTexas’ successor in interest) filed a petition for review in the Texas Supreme […]
From the Chairman of the Board
This organization’s influence extends beyond its geographic boundaries, and beyond its day-to-day obligations, as well. You ever jump out of the frying pan into the fire? This being my last article as Chairman of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, I was thinking that in passing the position of Chairman on to Mark Merritt there would […]
From the President
November marks the emergence of two issues requiring close scrutiny: Rule 13 and the Lesser Prairie Chicken Late last month, several PBPA board members and I traveled to Austin to testify on the Railroad Commission’s proposed changes to Rule 13, which addresses new casing, cementing and completion requirements. The Rule has not been updated […]
News Reviews
Plains All-America Pipeline has completed or is completing several new pipeline projects in the Permian Basin designed to help producers in midstream operations. The pipelines serve the Bone Spring, Spraberry, and Wolfberry areas in nine counties at a cost to build of $135 million. “These projects provide additional pipeline gathering capacity in areas with significant […]