O ilman Magazine / Septemb er-Octo be r 2018 / O ilmanMagazine.com

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OILMAN COLUMN

technology and another is making money , reinv esting it

via increases in hiring and production.

About 25 years ago, when I w as at DOE, they did not

understand this . I believe the DOE National Energ y

T echnolog y Lab (NETL), which pro vided oversight

with our program, now do . T hey were good to work

with.

EE: As the quest for hy drocarbons continues , much

of the remaining vast reser ves lie under the ocean

oor, which is still a g reat unkno wn. How do you visu -

alize the next steps to mapping the oceans and building

equipment that will function in the most remote areas

of the ear th?

TW: Exploration in dee pwater has made a lot of ad -

vances . Recent disco veries in the Gulf of Mexico and

elsewhere, internationally , show there is a tremendous

future. The evolution and application of various subsea

systems is evident; new technologies ha ve been applied,

some developed through the RPSEA program. It can

compete with shale.

W e are also blessed with a prog ressiv e offshore regula -

tor who has made a dramatic change in the past 18

months from an agency with poor communication to

one of cooperation. T he culture is still evolving for

the better . T his allows new , improv ed, safer and more

effectiv e technologies to be dev eloped and applied

instead of prohibited.

Inv estments in offshore R&D are highly needed. The

challenge includes a better way of demonstrating new

technologies , so they can be approved and applied.

Being risk adverse is w arranted. W e are cur rently w ork -

ing on a new R&D roadmap with the OESI program,

focused on technologies that will impro ve offshore

safety and environmental performance. This re port will

be done this fall and has been needed for a long time.

Again, this contrasts the difference between a not-for-

prot organization like RPSEA and the gov ernment

who , for a variety of obvious reasons, are not capable

of putting out a credible re port.

EE: Getting bac k on land, how has the unconv en -

tional resources program been developing?

TW: As I noted, our base funding has expired, but

past R&D inv estments are the gift that keeps giving .

T echnologies developed under our program – those

that better characterize uncon ventionals – are no w

being applied and adapted, and they’ re still evolv -

ing . Our re ports are constantly being downloaded,

and references of this work are always being made at

technical conferences lik e the Offshore T echnolog y

Conference (OTC), Society of Petroleum Engineers

(SPE), American Association of Petroleum Geologists

(AAPG) and the Society of Exploration Geologists

(SEG). It is rather remarkable!

EE: In terms of reaching tight oil and gas shales, in

addition to making them economically vital has been a

long process . W hat contributions has RPSEA made to

this eld? What are the next steps to fur ther dev elop

technology and keep the U .S. as a leading producer of

oil and gas?

TW: T he roadmap is clear . W e learned we do not

know enough about the reservoirs or the ways to best

produce the reser ves in the ground. W e know we ha ve

a very low-recov er y factor for oil and g as , but the per -

centage is just a guess. W e do know we must do more

to increase production per well and address the tre -

mendous reser ve in the ground. That [addressing the

reser ves in-situ] does not require m uch more drilling,

but instead improv ed understanding and the develop -

ment of better methods. The easy stuff is g one.

EE: While we can ’ t see into the future, what is y our

prediction for the next ve years in the oil and g as

industr y?

TW: People who predict these things are w ell-paid

analysis – who are almost alwa ys wrong – and weather -

men, who are just wrong half of the time. W e can

maintain our production levels through in vestments in

R&D . Industr y must never lose focus of continuously

inv esting in zero-incidence goals and in being g ood

environmental stew ards . This is a role g ov ernment

co-funding can properly play , onshore and offshore,

and one that will provide a high return on those

inv estments . Momentum can shift on a dime when bad

things happen.

RPSEA is the Researc h Partnership to Secure

Energ y for America, a nonprot corporation es -

tablished in the State of T exas . RPSEA has met the

requirements for a 501(c)(3) corporation and holds a

tax-exempt status with the Internal Rev enue Ser vice.

RPSEA currently consists of consor tium members

representing vir tually all sectors of the natural g as

and oil supply technology value chain.

Electi o ns: Wha t ’ s a t St ake

B y Gifford B riggs

If there ever were a time in U .S. history when

the phrase “elections hav e consequences” w ould

be most accurate, now would be that time . T he

contrast between the past and current United States

President could not be more different. Under

President Obama, we experienced a moratorium on

drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, endless regulations

and negative rhetoric .

Under President T r ump , we hav e seen a

reawak ening of the oil and g as industry across

the nation. Approv al processes hav e become

more streamlined, allowing businesses to go forth

unhindered by big government policies , and a push

is being made for U .S. energy dominance.

Louisiana is heading into another election year , but

this one will be unlike any other our state has ev er

seen. With the installment of ter m limits, we expect

to see an increase in voter acti vity during the 2019

election cycle. Many expect the 2019 elect ion cycle

to be not only one of the most expensive elections ,

but one of the most pivotal elections we ha ve

experienced.

So what all is at stake for the 2019 election year?

Before we get into that, Plaquemines P arish has

their Council and P arish President up for election

in 2018. This parish is g round zero for the coastal

lawsuits . It is impor tant for those inside and out of

Plaquemines P arish to pay close attention to these

elections .

The 2019 election cycle will see one of the most

signicant legislativ e tur nov ers in Louisiana’ s

histor y . Along with the Governor’ s bid for re-

election, 66 legislativ e members are ter m-limited

along with a handful of others who are leaving

ofce seeking other elected ofces or are merely

choosing to end their career in the Capitol.

The implications of this election cannot be

ov erstated. The next round of legislators will not

only be charged with redistricting in 2020 but

possibly 2030 as well. A skilled legislator can impact

House and Senate lines and change the political

landscape of the entire state. National dollars are

pouring into states to shape legislatures to the

political makeup of their choosing . T he thinking is

that if you control the legislature, you control the

lines . If you control the lines , you can inuence

policy for years to come.

F or the oil and

gas industr y , these

elections can be a

turning point. Decades

of abusive lawsuits

driving inv estment out

of South Louisiana

and the highest

severance tax rate

on oil in the nation,

all can be addressed,

inviting inv estment

and jobs back into our

communities that need them. 2019 will also be a

key year for the dev elopment of the Austin Chalk.

As this play comes into prominence , we need to be

sure that the people we elect are supportiv e of the

Chalk’ s development.

The stakes in this election cycle are high, but the

reward can be ev en greater. T o reap that reward,

citizens and business must answ er the call and fulll

their civic duties to participate in the process . If you

don ’t v ote, you don ’t hav e the right to complain.

Gifford Briggs