Oil and Gas Companies are Reaching for the Sky
Drones or UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) have gained popularity over the years recreationally, in business and in industry. In the oil and gas sector, this is no exception. Companies are only really beginning to utilize and explore the vast benefits these aircrafts offer to their bottom line. They can go where humans can’t and they can identify and alert problems…
Reflections from OTC 2019: Interviews with Newpark Drilling Fluids, Parker Hannifin and Brainnwave
This year’s Offshore Technology Conference marks its 50th anniversary. There were many interesting companies and one day is simply not enough to go over them all. I spoke with Newpark Drilling Fluids, Parker Hannifin and Brainwave at this year’s OTC. Everyone was excited about the opportunities in the oil and gas industry. To start, my first interview is with Tim…
Creating Resilient Operations Through Machine Learning
If there is one true constant in oil and gas, it’s that prices never stay the same for long. Analysts have been frantically arguing about the future of oil prices likely for as long as the industry has been around, with no signs of stopping. Does lower for longer, in fact, mean lower forever? Or does it mean an upward…
The Role of Rail Logistics In The Movement Of Oil & Gas Production And Downstream Commodities
Some of the very first barrels of crude oil produced in this country were transported in a system designed to move crude from Western Pennsylvania to markets on the East Coast. Then, as now, more efficient methods of transportation were eventually developed and deployed. However, rail transportation has always played a key role in moving production from newly developed oil…
Addressing Infrastructure Needs in the Permian Basin and Across America
It’s no surprise that with oil production in the Permian region quadrupling over the past eight years, the traffic in the Permian Basin has increased exponentially. According to a study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, there were four times the number of truck loads on the roadway than officials initially estimated. During this same eight-year period, Midland, Texas has…
Energy Exposition Lights Up the Industry in the Rockies
Thousands flocked to the 2019 Energy Exposition this year held in Gillette, Wyoming. The Expo was by all accounts, a high energy successful event attended by passionate professionals wanting to have more purpose in the energy industry. This year’s speakers and presenters offered a diverse range of topics and ideas. There were participants, speakers and attendees from the oil, natural…
In April, the Texas Supreme Court issued a decision—Texas Outfitters v. Nicholson—that addresses the vexing situation in which the owner of the executive rights also owns the surface, but none (or virtually none) of the minerals. What is the duty of the executive rights holder in this situation? Texas Outfitters, the surface owner and also the owner of the executive…
New M&R Software Innovations Keep Fleet Managers in Check
Over the last twelve to twenty-four months, it seems as though topics such as autonomous driving and ELD mandates have flooded the news headlines for the fleet transportation industry. And deservedly so, these are no doubt topical, important issues. However, in running your fleet day-to-day, understanding the evolution of M&R (Maintenance and Repair) issues continues to be right up there…
Oil Ships Which Rule The Waves
On January 8, 2019, a Vietnam-registered oil tanker Aulac Fortune has exploded and caught fire off the coast of Hong Kong’s Lamma Island, killing at least one person and leaving three missing. The largest oil tanker shipping companies in the world facilitate the majority of crude oil trade globally. They ship hundreds of billions of barrels of crude oil each year. An oil (or petroleum) tanker…
Digital Twin Technology Can Drive Greater Efficiency, Support New Business
Oil and gas industry experts are constantly searching for ways to produce energy more efficiently. And they are seeking methods to improve health and safety in their environments. Digital twin technology, which creates digital replicas of physical resources, is here to help. The industry can apply digital twins to high-fidelity equipment. It also can employ digital twin technology at the…
Composite Solution Restores Eroded Petrochemical Plant Line
Scheduled plant turnarounds allow owners to take an entire process unit offstream for maintenance, providing time for damaged and worn equipment and systems to be refurbished or replaced. When maintenance can be scheduled and planned, owners can make smart decisions about how to make repairs and improvements to get the best results at the lowest cost. When inspections turn up…
75th Anniversary of D-Day: Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Legacy and America’s Energy Impact
Seventy-five years ago, June 6th, General Dwight D. Eisenhower led troops into what is known as D-Day. His outward display of confidence with the troops helped propel them to victory. In his book Sleeping Giants, Dr. Nathan Mellor writes, “When General Eisenhower had been named Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, he stressed the importance of morale. He outlawed negativity and…
Feature Podcast: Midstream Technology: Maritime Fuel Transportation
People often refer to owning a boat as the equivalent of having a hole in the water you throw money into, referring to the consensus that boats are money pits. Well what if those boats were massive in size and there were many of them? What if millions of dollars were potentially at stake because the cargo was a vital…
So many components make up a successful oil rig or onshore well structure. It’s hard to place value on which piece of equipment is the most crucial. However, a betting man may say that the bolting system would be the most important mechanism and because of that, it is absolutely necessary to have the most reliable equipment possible to ensure…
Letter from the Publisher (July-August 2019)
Where would the industry be without embracing technology? I’m sure that question is often asked in the executive suite and in the oil field as hard-working individuals go about their daily work contributing to produce the energy we need to run our modern society. Emerging technology such as IoT, machine learning and data analytics, and innovative products are improving productivity…
Has Skynet Taken Over Diving Work in the Oil Industry?
Diving as a profession goes back to very ancient times. The first divers collected a great variety of sea products as organisms that were used as food, sponges, corals and pearls. A Greek historian, Herodotus, wrote the story of a diver named Scyllis, who worked for the Persian king Xerxes, recovering a sunken treasure in the fifth century B.C. On…
