SPE-GCS Blog

February 1st, 2022

INDUSTRY UPDATE:

At this moment in our industry, the biggest concern is that the world’s economy is yet to fully recover.

Even with the threat of the Delta, Omicron and forthcoming coronavirus variants, the world seems to have moved beyond the fears. A year ago, BP predicted that the world had reached peak demand because of Covid-19, the push for greener energy, and consumer behavior trends like working from home. Less than a year later, we have surpassed pre-Covid demand levels. As such, we’ve accepted that demand is back and poised to grow as the economy continues its recovery.

However, the more significant threat is in the supply part of the curve. To illustrate: Most investment banks expect to see oil reach $100 per barrel this year because the world’s spare capacity is almost exhausted. This implies that even the slightest geopolitical …

January 1st, 2022

Happy New Year! I’m pleased to welcome you to the first edition of the 2022 SPE-GCS newsletter. I want to take this opportunity to wish our members and affiliates a Happy New Year. Reflecting on 2021, we witnessed a promising industry ready to embrace the energy transition while providing energy for the world. This is an exciting moment for the Gulf Coast Section. As the global economy continues to recover, the outlook for 2022 and beyond continues to improve. The industry is much healthier, with a few remarkable mergers and acquisitions that will speed up growth initiatives at a high rate of return. The price of oil rose to a new record level in the last few years and most of our colleagues are happy to return to work.

In section news, I would like to thank John Vozniak. Under his …

January 1st, 2022

JANUARY 2006

Saudi Arabia’s position in the global petrochemical market is predicted to grow substantially during the next five years due to an ongoing and significant growth wave that will add substantial petrochemical capacity.

There have been nine “deepwater” (greater than 1,000 feet) oil and natural gas discoveries announced by operators in the Gulf of Mexico through November 2005, the US Minerals Management Service reported. (That’s nothing compared to today’s 3,000-meter deepwater international wells).

The US Senate kept Congress true to form Dec. 21 when it rejected the latest effort to authorize oil and gas leasing of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain.

JANUARY 2009

China reportedly has large volumes of low-permeability natural gas resources with unique characteristics that could be exploited with appropriate technologies. At present, however, lack of development and management technologies have hindered effective exploitation of …

December 1st, 2021

Adios to 2021, the Membership Taskforce Report and a Scholarship Endowment Fund Update

What an interesting year it’s been. We started the year not knowing how it would end, but things are getting back to normal. There have been trials this year, but overall, it’s been a positive one. It’s a blessing to see most of our colleagues and loved ones who lost their jobs getting back into the workforce and providing for their families. In this month’s edition of the “Chairs Corner,” I will focus on two main things: the report from the membership task force and the Scholarship Endowment Fund (SEF).

One of the key things I mentioned in the August “Chair’s Corner” was creating a task force to review and discuss the decline in membership. I want to thank John Vozniak and the membership task force team for …

December 1st, 2021

DECEMBER 2012

The Canadian government approved two acquisitions by international, state-owned energy companies (Petronas and CNOOC) for Canadian oil sands and shale gas assets, but indicated that approval for future transactions by other state-owned enterprises for petroleum assets would be approved only under exceptional circumstances.

Latest forecasts call for oil and gas companies to spend $28 billion in the South Texas Eagle Ford play during 2013.

Noble Energy Inc. plans to invest $1.7 billion in the Denver- Julesburg basin, primarily in northern Colorado, during 2013, and the company estimates its net reserves in Wattenberg and Niobrara at 2.1 billion boe.

Light sweet crude: $85/bbl

Natural gas: $2.40/MMbtu

DECEMBER 2015

US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee members generally agreed that tougher federal offshore oil and gas well control regulations should be adopted soon, but they disagreed over whether the Obama …

November 1st, 2021

We have one more month until the end of the year, and it’s been an interesting one. We began with a great deal of uncertainty about the pandemic and how it will change the norm. We’ve seen more than half of the workforce return to the office; the surge of the delta variant; and many of our colleagues, friends and family return back to work and school. We’ve also seen oil getting back to encouraging prices and rig counts returning to normal levels. I’m glad things are turning around and I’m looking forward to the New Year. With regard to SPE-GCS, it’s a healthy section, as we are hosting events and sessions to engage our members. In this month's “Chair's Corner,” I’ll review the benefits of SPE membership.

I encourage all SPE members to renew their membership. If you are a current member, …

November 1st, 2021

NOVEMBER 2018

The country boasting the second largest city in South America reports a three-well drilling program spurred by a discovery well that is currently producing 2,000 b/d of heavy crude. PetroTal, based in Calgary and Houston, will be the operator. Without Googling, how many of you can name the second largest city in South America? The answer will be hidden somewhere in the text that follows.

The IEA forecasts oil supply outstripping demand throughout 2019, with US production increasing by 2.1 MMbbl in 2018 and an additional 1.3 MMbbl in 2019, but nevertheless, oil prices should not fall precipitously during this period.

The Ichthys project’s production is forecasted to elevate Australia to top LNG exporter, and its annual production should overtake that of Qatar within a year.

NOVEMBER 2019

The UK government has imposed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing …

October 1st, 2021

The upsurge of the delta variant cases in the United States has slowed the US economic recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic because of the public still being uncomfortable returning to normal operations. According to an article published by the Houston public media, the new strain makes up more than 75% of new covid-19 cases in the Houston area. In Texas, new cases are up 92%, and hospitalization is up 49%. The gulf coast section has done a phenomenal job following the CDC rules and guidelines in all our events. We have adopted a hybrid approach to our events, still delivering high-level technical content to our members. For those not comfortable attending an in-person event, there is always a virtual option present.

As previously discussed, we are going to focus on a few key areas this year. We are first going to take …

October 1st, 2021

OCTOBER 2001

An onshore injection well in Brazil is the site of an all- electronic, multizone intelligent well completion being tested for eventual use by Petrobras in its deepwater Campos basin wells.

The World Renewable Energy Report lists the following as the forecasted order of renewable energy contributions for 2001-10: 43% biomass, 27% wind, 15% solar, 9% small-scale hydro, 4% geothermal and 2% others.

The American Petroleum Institute reports that US jet fuel deliveries fell nearly 10 percent in September due to reduced air travel following terrorist attacks.

Light sweet crude: $22.66/bbl

Natural gas: $2.42/MMbtu

US active rig count: 1,147 

OCTOBER 2011

The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issues an initial round of citations resulting from the Joint Investigation Team's final report on the April 2010 Macondo well blowout and crude oil spill. Fifteen citations are issued Oct. …

September 1st, 2021

We kicked off the 2021-2022 SPE-

GCS year in person and virtually at the Core Laboratories facility. We had the opportunity to thank the outgoing board for their time and for helping us navigate the challenges of the pandemic. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Simeon Eburi, past chair, for his excellent leadership during his term and wish him the best in his new role, Regional Director, North America Region, on the SPE International Board of Directors.

The event at Core Laboratories was also an opportunity to welcome new board members. I had a chance to discuss and engage with them during the kickoff, review the section's financial health and share my section goals for the upcoming year, including:

• Establish a committee to examine and analyze the decline in SPE-GCS membership, and report to the SPE- GCS Board of Directors. …