Curtis Shuck, Chairman of the Board, Well Done Foundation.

Living the Crude Life – September/October 2021

RMI Supply

“The Biden administration has taken us in the wrong direction on energy, including by issuing a moratorium on oil and gas leases, while at the same time, calling on OPEC to increase [its] oil production. It makes no sense to increase our reliance on less stable parts of the world, when we should be harnessing our abundant energy resources here at home with better environmental stewardship.”

– U.S. Senator John Hoeven to Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau.


“It is hard to watch the chaos unfold in the Middle East and think President Biden’s energy plan is a good idea. By undermining American energy production and shifting our reliance to foreign adversaries in volatile parts of the world, the President is putting our energy, economic and national security at risk. After finally becoming energy independent, it is incomprehensible the United States would call on OPEC to bail us out while freezing North Dakota and the nation’s natural resources. This backward logic enriches our adversaries and competitors, harms American workers and increases emissions by boosting the production of dirtier energy. I thank Deputy Secretary Beaudreau for listening, and I hope we were able to arm him with the right information to help him steer the Administration’s energy policies in a direction that works for our state and the nation.”

– U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer to Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau.

U.S. senators hosted Beaudreau in the Bakken for a roundtable listening session.
U.S. senators hosted Beaudreau in the Bakken for a roundtable listening session.

“This is a dark bi-product of our industry. It’s not the industry. We are one of the number one places in the nation for sex trafficking of women and minors. When things ramp again like they are doing already, you can get on a Southwest plane and it’s a plane coming back from Las Vegas. It’s paid-for workers, if you know what I mean.”

– Midland, Texas, Mayor Patrick Payton.

Midland, Texas, Mayor Patrick Payton interviewed by Jason Spiess and Maira Vargas at the Shale Energy Resources Tradeshow and Conference in Midland, Texas.
Midland, Texas, Mayor Patrick Payton interviewed by Jason Spiess and Maira Vargas at the Shale Energy Resources Tradeshow and Conference in Midland, Texas.

“When we talk to drivers or energy workers, we are really focused on where they might see this crime during the course of their everyday jobs. What victims might look like and what they might not look like. Also what kind of people would be targeted, like those that are food insecure or without shelter.”

– Ashley Smith, Truckers Against Trafficking.

Ashley Smith, Truckers Against Trafficking, interviewed by Jason Spiess and Shawn Forbes at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.
Ashley Smith, Truckers Against Trafficking, interviewed by Jason Spiess and Shawn Forbes at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.

“IOGCC and our member states are excited the Senate has passed the REGROW Act of 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This legislation will have a swift and lasting effect by creating jobs and expediting orphan well plugging. We appreciate the steadfast efforts of Senators Luján and Cramer to advance this legislation and encourage the House to act quickly so it becomes law and this important work can begin.”

– IOGCC Executive Director Lori Wrotenbery.


“One in five women and one in 38 men have experienced completed or attempted rape in their lifetime. What’s worse is that so many of them are further traumatized by our broken criminal justice system, which puts the burden on victims rather than perpetrators. This isn’t just a horrific violent crime, it’s an insidious public health issue that demands national outrage and attention.”

– U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA).


“Every 73 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. We are so grateful that Congress is working together in a bipartisan way to support survivors across the country.”

– Amanda Nguyen, founder and CEO of Rise.

Amanda Nguyen, founder and CEO of Rise.


“[Sustainable leadership] is a major topic and I do not think it is going away anytime soon, especially with all the recent consolidation that has happened. It is going to be critical for leaders to communicate in a way that doesn’t, you know, screw themselves over, screw the company over, doesn’t screw the stakeholders over because it is so, so easy to do these days.”

– Joe Sinnott, Witting Partners.


“You plug an abandoned well and that’s awesome, right? Well, what we are talking about [are] methane volumes. One thing that we found is that it is very unique and very individual on a well-by-well basis. That data can only be collected at the wellhead, period.”

– Curtis Shuck, Chairman of the Board, Well Done Foundation.

Curtis Shuck, Chairman of the Board, Well Done Foundation.

Author Profile

Jason Spiess is a multimedia journalist, entrepreneur and content consultant. Spiess has over 25 years of media experience in broadcasting, journalism, reporting and principal ownership in media companies.  (Over 30 years experience if you count his adolescent years as a newspaper delivery boy learning the importance and logistics of daily distribution and monthly door-to-door bill collecting.) Spiess has worked in the areas of oil and gas, UAS and precision agriculture, health care, cannabis, agriculture, real estate, government affairs and economic development. Spiess is the host of two radio programs, Building the Bakken and Coffee & Capitalism, and three specialty programs, MonDak OilField Review, Corporate Ink and UnStuck, that carry a radio network that spans five states and two countries. Spiess is a North Dakota native and graduated from North Dakota State University.

3 Ways Technology is Going to Shape the Oil and Gas Industry Free to Download Today

Oil and gas operations are commonly found in remote locations far from company headquarters. Now, it's possible to monitor pump operations, collate and analyze seismic data, and track employees around the world from almost anywhere. Whether employees are in the office or in the field, the internet and related applications enable a greater multidirectional flow of information – and control – than ever before.

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