Let me preface the remainder of this column by saying that we at World Oil have favored, for quite some time, an all-of-the-above approach to energy development, both in the U.S. and globally. This includes oil and gas, renewables (hydro, solar, wind), nuclear and hydrogen, among others. We’ll need all these energy forms to meet the world’s needs while keeping individual countries’ economies in one piece. To accomplish this goal really requires calm deliberation, studied cooperation between governments and energy companies, and copious amounts of planning based on sound technology and common sense.
But that’s not what we, the average citizens of the U.S. and abroad, are getting. Instead, we get long-winded lectures from governmental officials about a critical need to end oil and gas usage ASAP and embracing other energy forms that still have their limitations, never mind that infrastructure for much of this is still sorely lacking. Nevertheless, mandates are imposed, incentives are installed, and policies are pushed down the public’s throat without a thought to whether any of it is workable. And the economic effects on average citizens be damned.
There was quite a bit of this behavior going on at COP 28 in Dubai during late November and early December. And the comments directed at the global oil and gas industry were both poorly thought out and despicable. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol (Fig. 1, right) was unnecessarily scathing in his condemnation of oil and gas companies. “The oil and gas industry is facing a moment of truth,” declared Birol. “With the world suffering the impacts of a worsening climate crisis, continuing with business as usual is neither socially nor environmentally responsible. Producers must choose between contributing to a deepening climate crisis or becoming part of the solution by embracing the shift to clean energy.” Ah, but nowhere did he acknowledge the efforts of the industry to use new technology to produce “clean energy.” Nor did he seem to give credit to the substantial role that natural gas is playing in reducing emissions.
Then there was the buffoon behavior of John Kerry (Fig. 1, center), the so-called United States Presidential Envoy for Climate. At one point during COP 28, Kerry stated that “We have no real evidence that {Chevron} and a lot of others are doing what every company needs to do.” That just isn’t the case. As our editorial advisor, Art Schroeder, writes in his annual article in this issue, “The U.S. has made substantial progress in reducing its net GHG emissions since 2005, almost entirely due to falling energy-related CO2 emissions." And natural gas has been a cornerstone of this effort.
Kerry has been quite the loose cannon/blowhard of late. At COP 28, he said, “There shouldn’t be any more coal power plants permitted anywhere in the world.” Also, during that same set of remarks, Kerry declared that he is “becoming more and more militant” about climate policy, because people are avoiding responsibility. Kerry is emblematic of a particular type of unelected bureaucrats that are running amok in the Biden administration. These ivory tower pinheads were not elected to any positions in the U.S., but they nonetheless are setting energy and environmental policies and driving actions that are not rooted in good business practices or common sense. And they’re contributing to running up the federal budget deficit in the process.
Back to Art Schroeder’s article. He has done a commendable job in analyzing this situation in detail, and this editor urges you to go read his findings. Also, another editorial advisor, Bob Warren, has done some fine work in identifying the political failings and flawed thinking in governmental handling of energy and environmental matters. I urge you to read his article in this issue, as well.
At the end of the day, one has to wonder how much of this governmental posturing is about the environment and how much is about controlling every aspect of people’s lives.
Biden administration sneaky on methane rule. True to past practices, the Biden administration chose to quietly wait to release/unveil its new methane rule until well into the evening of Friday, Dec. 1. Whenever The White House wants to sneak out something that it thinks will be controversial, it tends to do it on Friday afternoons and evenings, when it thinks the national media aren’t paying attention.
So was the case with the methane rule. However, to their credit, API and IPAA obviously were expecting the rule to come out and were keeping watch. This explains why this editor received reaction/statements from both associations on early Saturday morning (Dec. 2) at 2:01 a.m. and 2:31 a.m., respectively. The Energy Workforce & Technology Council also issued a reaction later that morning.
Basically, the final rule will phase in a requirement to eliminate routine flaring of natural gas that is produced by new oil wells; require comprehensive monitoring for leaks of methane from well sites and compressor stations, while giving oil and gas companies flexibility to use low-cost and innovative methane monitoring technologies; and establish standards that require reductions in emissions from high-emitting equipment like controllers, pumps, and storage tanks.” The final rule also includes a “Super Emitter Program” that weaponizes so-called “third-part experts” to detect methane releases from oil and gas wells.
A naturally concerned API stated, “To be truly effective, this rule must balance emissions reductions with the need to continue meeting rising energy demand. We are reviewing the complex rule to ensure it meets that dual objective.” IPAA was more pointed and alarmed in its reaction, noting that “the new source requirements will impose complicated new requirements, and the 2022 proposed existing source requirements have been estimated to lead to the shutdown of 300,000 of the nation's 750,000 low-production wells, wells that are essential to our country’s energy production.”
For its part, Energy Workforce said it opposed the new rule, explaining that “while Energy Workforce shares the Administration’s goal of lowering methane emissions, we believe yesterday’s final rule will serve as a new tax on American energy production at a time when this industry could not be more vital. The implementation of a new tax on the oil and gas industry will directly impact the ability of Americans to obtain energy to fulfill daily needs, increasing the cost of oil and natural gas prices and decreasing domestic energy security.” This situation will continue to evolve over the coming weeks and months, and it will be interesting to see whether anything gets modified.
UN wants less beef eaten but can’t follow own advice. During the middle of COP 28, word leaked out that the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) would soon publish a policy recommendation that calls on residents of developed countries, including the U.S., to cut back on their consumption of meat. Sure enough, the FAO on Dec. 10 laid out a food and agricultural roadmap, which urged that course of action among a number of other recommendations. The premise, of course, is that livestock produce too many emissions of methane, and methane reduction is a priority in the U.N.’s efforts to keep climate impact in line with the 1.5°C warming goal set out in Paris in 2015.
Indeed, to reach that goal, the U.N.’s initiatives include a 25% methane emissions cut from livestock by 2030. To achieve that reduction would require cutting back on the number of livestock raised worldwide, and to do that requires cutting back on meat consumption. Hence, the FAO singles out the richer countries, and the U.S. in particular, saying they eat too much meat. The inference being that their meat consumption is hurting the climate.
Well, this is all fine and dandy, except for the fact that COP 28 couldn’t even adhere to its own admonitions to other people. As reported by various media outlets, the climate summit’s online portal said that its food offerings from several different vendors included “juicy beef,” “slabs of succulent meat,” smoked wagyu burgers, Philly cheesesteaks and “melt-in-your-mouth BBQ.” So much for reducing meat consumption, even at COP 28.
It is this type of hypocritical behavior that infuriates many people in the U.S. and other developed countries and damages the credibility of the U.N. One would think the U.N. would be looking to avoid this type of situation, but it comes off as another example of “okay for me, but not for thee.”
NOMADS golf tournament. On Dec. 8, Houston-based National Oil-equipment Manufacturers and Delegates Society (NOMADS) held its Annual Golf Tournament at the picturesque BlackHorse Golf Club on the far northwest side of the city. Various foursomes from a mix of service/supply companies, drilling contractors and an operator or two competed (Fig. 2) for First through Third Place, as well as individual awards for Closest to Pin and Longest Drive. The money raised from this tournament goes toward the NOMADS Scholarship Fund. Each year, NOMADS awards one or two scholarships (depending on the health of the industry) to deserving students of NOMADS members and/or industry professionals.
Although the morning got off to a wet start, with teams hitting their tee-off times in the rain, the weather soon improved, and the remainder of the tournament was played under partly cloudy-to-sunny conditions. The First Place winners (Fig. 3) were the IADC team, followed in Second Place by a team of participants from Ingersoll Rand, IAT and Core Lifting Products. Third Place was won by a team of players from Centurion Subsea, C-Innovation and NOV. Winner of the Closest to Pin award was Luis Lopez of IADC. The Longest Drive of the day went to Camden Keener of OFI Testing Equipment.
Anyone desiring additional information on NOMADS or the association’s Golf Tournament can contact incoming President Cornelius Jones at Cornelius.Jones@shell.com. Additional contacts are listed on the NOMADS website: https://nomads-international.com/our-association/
Biden’s National Christmas Tree falls over. In what some pundits described as a symbol of a struggling Biden Presidency, the National Christmas Tree in front of the White House fell down (Fig. 4) during high winds at about 1 p.m. on Nov. 28. However, the 40-foot-tall Norway spruce from West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest was hoisted back upright and put in place again by 6 p.m. that evening. The National Park Service (NPS) said the tree fell during a period of heavy wind gusts that reached as high at 46 mph at nearby Reagan National Airport. An NPS spokeswoman told Associated Press that the tree was righted after a “snapped cable” was replaced. The annual lighting of the tree went on, as scheduled, during the evening of Nov. 30. WO
IN THIS ISSUE
Special focus: Well Control & Intervention. Among the three features in our lead theme this month is an article from a Wild Well Control author, which re-examines the complexity of successfully capping an oil or gas well fire. Another article from Cudd authors discusses how the persistent challenges of well control, spanning from drilling to production, highlight the critical need for enhanced preparedness and proactive measures. The integral role of Well Control System Surveys is critical. And in a third feature, a Hunting author explains how a hydraulic latching tool quickly connects a pressure control string to the wellhead.
Well completion technology: Digital completions platform and improved e-frac system. In an article from NOV, two authors discuss an innovative cloud-based digital completions platform. It was developed to align all disparate data sources from a completions site into a unified, contextualized stream for real-time access, analysis and optimized reporting. In a second feature, two Grizzly Manufacturing authors describe how a new e-frac system was launched to solve the problems of high upfront costs for e-frac equipment and ensuring a reliable, consistent power supply.
Industry leaders’ outlook 2024. As occurs every year at this time, our core group of advisors on World Oil’s Editorial Advisory Board has attempted to sort out what has occurred in the global E&P industry over the last 12 months while also doing their best to measure what may happen in the coming year. And while much of what is discussed focuses on ESG and sustainability topics, there is also a discussion on what will become of unconventionals, as well as the noticeable renaissance of offshore and international activity.
EDITORIAL@WORLDOIL.COM