One of the editors at Permian Basin Oil and Gas Magazine reads some of my stuff occassionally and, believe or not, agrees with a little of it. PBOGM is a terrific, insightful magazine that is, as the name implies, dialed into the Permian Basin and its HZ tight oil play. It also runs good articles on oil history, which I like to read, of course.
So when the editor called a few weeks ago to ask if he could run a piece I wrote on Forum Stuff about all the frac sand that is pumped into a well, then puked right back out during flow back, I flat asked him, "your kidding, right?" It was a piece on flowback procedures, "reservoir" management for the sake of pressure maintenance and recovery rates of oil in place.
Well, he wasn't kidding, he liked it, agreed and thinks his readers need to start thinking about stuff like this. When he offered me money, I said no, of course. So, he wrote it up, sent me the draft, then warned me that the rest of the editorial department was likely going to chunk it, but he was going to make the submittal anyway. It was "meaningful." The magazine didn't chunk it.
This is a BIG deal to me. Not because of my writing or getting something published again; that's nothing. It's a big deal because I think this magazine has guts, something unheard of in today's world of journalism. Good Texans that love West Texas, as I do, that depend on oil and gas for a living, want to still be working in the oilfield decades from now. I am pretty sure not many people want to drain the basin and not have long term job security, all for the sake of exports.
The word, encouraging comes to mind. So I am proud of this editor and proud of the magazine. Not everybody always chooses to swim with the bait ball.
It's a big deal that EUR's in the Permian Basin appear to be declining.
By way, while I've got you, there is this, please....
This IS a really big deal. Almost all of these oil exports the last week of February came from the Permian Basin. This particular Bloomberg writer may think it is an awesome accomplishment to be exporting over a billion barrels of American oil to the world each year; not me.
I think I know what is beginning to occur in the Permian and it's the same thing that has already occurred to the Bakken and Eagle Ford. It happens to ALL resource plays, trends, fields and oil and gas basins. They get old and tired and poop out. Its life, man.
If exporting Permian Basin tight oil is good for America now, it must pass the test of time and prove to have always been good for America.