“People said, ‘We’ve got to do something different.’” The last downturn helped shift people’s mindsets. Weatherford’s latest project in Odessa shows what that change looks like. By Paul Wiseman “We’ve been in the Permian Basin for decades,” said Weatherford International’s Karen David-Green, “and this new facility allows us to consolidate 10 product lines under one […]
Innovators
Wells and technology both get more complex. Companies are applying their best minds, and best thinking, to the task of staying up with the changes. By Paul Wiseman “Sometimes I think—me personally, or WellWorx or the industry—that we’ll run out of ways to innovate or we’ll run out of good ideas,” said Matt Raglin, founder […]
The Art of Control
By Paul Wiseman To be a Basin business and be a mere four years old and have almost 100 employees—this is not the typical track for a Permian startup of recent vintage. But at Van Zandt Controls, Larry Richards and team have focused small to grow big. The news is always full of stories of […]
Vision Shift
Unprecedented growth in the Basin calls for an extensive road plan overhaul. By Julie Anderson As a 37-year resident of Odessa and now Ector County’s chief administrative officer, County Judge Debi Hays is proud of the contribution the Permian Basin makes not only to the Lone Star State, but to the nation. In fact, she […]
Texas, New Mexico Legislatures Underway
PBPA Tracking Industry-Related Issues By Julie Anderson So many issues. So little time. Playing defense here. Coordinating offense there. Monitoring, testifying, convincing. When it comes to the New Mexico and Texas legislative sessions, the game plan is complex partly because the issues are layered, much like the stacked multi-pay zones that permeate the Permian. Wheels […]
Fullest House
The Permian Basin oilfield housing/hospitality sector keeps on building. By Paul Wiseman “There’s no place like home,” was the mantra prescribed to transport Dorothy back to Kansas. For shift-working Permian Basin oilfield workers from Kansas or just elsewhere in Texas, they’re away from home so much they may not know what home is. But there’s […]
Shifting Sands
In less than 10 years, frac sand sourcing has migrated from Wisconsin/Illinois to Brady to local basins, and cut fracturing costs by millions in the process. Meanwhile, expect another sand boom. By Paul Wiseman While hydraulic fracturing traces its roots as far back as 1947 with Stanolind Oil and Gas engineer Floyd Farris’s unsuccessful trial, […]
New Milestones and Fresh Starts
In this month’s assemblage of articles, the idea of “getting pointed in the right direction” could be thought of as a unifying thread. These are the full versions of the “Drilling Deeper” news items that appeared as abbreviated versions in the print edition of PBOG’s January 2019 issue. NatGas Prices to Stay Low Natural gas […]
Maker’s Marks
At places like ADS (Air Drilling Solutions) and Henry Pumps—manufacturing kinds of places—the race is to the swift and the battle is to the strong. If, that is, we think of “swift” as streamlined and “strong” as adaptable. By Paul Wiseman How does a Scottish Highlander end up in Midland, Texas, presiding over a company […]
Oilfield Trash: A Personal Reminiscence
by Bobby Weaver During the 1950s and ’60s I was a part of the hard working, hard drinking group of oilfield of hands in the Permian Basin who were generally referred to as “oilfield trash” by outsiders. In those days Odessa had the reputation as the rough and ready working man’s town while Midland, only […]