As the oil market continues to decide where it wants to be priced, most of our effort becomes tactical – what cash is available to drill and hold the sweet spots, what assets are most important, what decisions can be deferred until we see some stability, how do we remain optimistic for contango, but maintain a practical realism about today.
Tactics like these have been learned from previous cycles in the market. Most of us recall $30 oil back in 2008, but how many of us remember 1973 and 1986? The experiences of those markets provide us tactics to weather the confusion.
The big crew change
Outside of the technology, geology and business experience that is at stake in the big crew change, we are in danger of losing the stories behind the numbers, and that is data that it will be a shame to lose. It’s possible to learn a lot from a textbook, but you’ll act a lot quicker if you have learned from experience.We live in a data age, and it is great. My phone tells me how many miles I’ve walked this past week; Netflix remembers where I was on the last episode of Mythbusters that I was watching, and furthermore can tell me what I’d be most interested in watching instead; Drillinginfo can tell you where and how to drill for hydrocarbons and what to expect downhole.
And in spite of all the news and analysis available nobody can tell you for certain where the bottom of the market is this go around, or how steep of a recovery there might be. That’s where the speculation starts to fail us, and reinforces yet again a large part of what we are in danger of losing in the big crew change: the wit and wisdom of the oil field from cycles gone by, and the gut decisions on how and when to act for yourself and your family.
Our great friend Bill Roth has put together this infographic highlighting some of the statistics behind the big crew change. Please enjoy, and share, share, share!
[sc:bigcrewchange]
Your Turn
What do you think? Leave a comment below.
Eric Roach
Latest posts by Eric Roach (see all)
- The STACK, The SCOOP and Oklahoma Oil & Gas - April 11, 2017
- BP’s Road Forward: US Onshore Activity - August 4, 2016
- Midland Basin Update: The Permian’s Older and Wiser Half - July 28, 2016
I greatly appreciate these informative blogs from someone who is currently
employed in the heart of the “oil patch”! Having been close to the latest info
for many years as the wife of an enthusiastic geologist-geophysicist, I have
missed keeping up with the dynamic thinking that generates the new ideas
that initiate the evolution of one of the most interesting , exciting, and vital
components of our World economy! I love what you are doing here, Eric!
Thank you!
I greatly appreciate these informative blogs from someone who is currently
employed in the heart of the “oil patch”! Having been close to the latest info
for many years as the wife of an enthusiastic geologist-geophysicist, I have
missed keeping up with the dynamic thinking that generates the new ideas
that initiate the evolution of one of the most interesting , exciting, and vital
components of our World economy! I love what you are doing here, Eric!
Thank you!
Great method to translate information that gets the key point over very well indeed.
Great post.
Great method to translate information that gets the key point over very well indeed.
Great post.
I work in the industry and am excited about having a career in it but am having a hard time figuring out what training to get and even where to get it. I’m currently working in solids control and would love to do something more challenging but despite putting in lots of applications over the last few years have not had luck getting on somewhere else. Ideally I would love to earn a engineering degree while I’m working but have not found any programs that will accommodate or schedule. Anyways, thanks for the article!
I work in the industry and am excited about having a career in it but am having a hard time figuring out what training to get and even where to get it. I’m currently working in solids control and would love to do something more challenging but despite putting in lots of applications over the last few years have not had luck getting on somewhere else. Ideally I would love to earn a engineering degree while I’m working but have not found any programs that will accommodate or schedule. Anyways, thanks for the article!