I'm 70 years old and have been in the oilfield my entire life. I have no college degrees; I always thought eating was more important.
I've made more money than I can ever spend and my entire family will be fine, more than fine, when I eat the dirt sandwich in a few years. My employees and their families will be fine when I am gone. Big time. I was smart and while most of you were were sleeping, or going to school to get your degrees, I was working. I was learning the old fashion way. I listened and I watched and I learned from my mistakes.
Does that make me any different, or better than most people?
Hell no. There are lots of us in America that actually work for a living.
I have been an explorationist, and operator, a blowout hand and an oil and gas producer for a half century, risking my own money and taking my fiduciary responsibility to partners that trusted me very, very seriously. I beat back OPEC, the EPA, the entire US shale oil phenomena and seven, dumb US presidents with their bad energy policies. I am still standing.
So why does an old fart guy with a few pesos crawl in this horizontal knockout, 12 feet long with an opening that's only 30 inches in diameter, to shovel and wash formation sand out of the damn thing, at 07:30 on a cold morning in late November? Its horrible in that little sumbitch. I mean, no shit... I could be tarpon fishing in Africa instead. What's THAT all about?
Because it needs to be done, that's why.
Because if there is anything I have learned over the past 50 years of being self employed, of being the boss, is that you NEVER ask one of your people to do something that you won't do yourself. If its nasty, or dangerous, you better, by God, be there.
And, I do it for the kids. I want to leave them the best world, the best chance they can have as they grow up. That is my duty as a responsible adult. And it is my honor.
This is young, Greyson, born in 2021; new life, new hope. We all owe Greyson and other's like him, and his sisters, the best world we can leave them.
If he decides that world is better without hydrocarbons, that's plenty OK with me. But its HIS choice, not ours. I want to leave him...options.
Keep American oil in America, for little fellas like Greyson here, and the rest of our nations children. For their future.