Hart Energy Podcast

WPX Energy has added 1,500 gross drillable  locations on 58,000 net acres of oily, overpressured Delaware Basin in  one of the Permian's largest deals. Hear details of the combined WPX  portfolio, DSU achievements and plans. Moderator: Richard Mason, Chief Technical Director, Hart Energy Speaker: Clay Gaspar, President & Chief Operating Officer, WPX Energy Inc.

Curtailing some 225,000 bbl/d of production  in the second quarter, 65% of it from the Lower 48, ConocoPhillips  began returning some wells to sales in July. During the gap, its strong  balance sheet still net shareholder value. Here’s a look into this  leading operator’s plans for going forward. Moderator: Steve Toon, Editor-in-Chief, Oil and Gas Investor Speaker: Matt Fox, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, ConocoPhillips

Having picked up both the Alta Mesa and Kingfisher portfolios,  Mach Resources, in partnership with Bayou City Energy, has grown to  58,000 boe/d with interests in more than 5,700 wells and some 500,000  net Midcontinent acres. Here are the details. MODERATOR: Nissa Darbonne, Editor-at-Large, Oil and Gas Investor SPEAKER: Tom Ward, Founder & CEO, Mach Resources LLC

Continental Resources Inc.’s founder is buying through the  downturn, adding 4.7 million shares to his holding in the  1.7-million-net-acre U.S. unconventional-resource power player. He plans  to add even more. Here’s his take on 2020 events and his outlook for  American oil’s leading role at the global supply table. MODERATOR: Nissa Darbonne, Editor-at-Large, Oil and Gas Investor SPEAKER: Harold Hamm, Founder & Executive Chairman, Continental Resources Inc.

Sandy Esslemont had the unenviable task of  taking the reins of Parker Drilling just as the world was shutting down  from the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to destruction in demand and a  historic oil market crash. Good thing he has 37 years of experience and an optimistic attitude to rely on. “We have some pretty lofty goals at Parker over the next five years,”  Esslemont told Hart Energy Editorial Director Len Vermillion. “They may  be in a holding pattern in 2021 but I see the ability for us to  reorganize into a much more nimble organization to take advantage of  what we think is going to be an upturn in 2022 and thereafter.” Esslemont was named as president and CEO of the international  provider of drilling services and rental tools to the energy industry on  March 23 after an extensive search for the replacement to the recently  retired Gary Rich. He recently paid a visit to Hart Energy’s  headquarters in Houston to discuss his new role plus the path forward  for Parker Drilling and the oil and gas industry as whole. Jump to a topic: Reason behind joining Parker Drilling (0:35) Strategy following COVID-19 (1:25) Industry optimism (3:39) Building Parker Drilling’s niche (4:30) International markets (5:55) Technology and innovation (6:38) Data analytics (9:07) Workforce solutions (9:37) Outlook for OFS opportunities (10:14) ESG and climate change (11:34) Oil and gas in the future energy mix (13:04)

Digital technologies are helping to  transform the landscape for oil and gas operators as well as increase  efficiency in a time when the industry is increasingly expected to “do  more with less.” Hege Skryseth, president of Kongsberg Digital AS—a company at the  forefront of bringing digital twin technology, in particular, to the oil  and gas industry—recently sat down with Hart Energy to  discuss leveraging digital technologies, including the benefits and  roadblocks. “Technology is the fundamental building block to actually drive  change,” said Skryseth, who also discussed Kongsberg Digital’s recent  partnership with supermajor Royal Dutch Shell Plc that includes its new Kognitwin Energy dynamic digital twin service platform. Jump to a topic: Remote operations and automation (0:35) Steps for successful digital adoption integration (1:50) Roadblocks in the digital transformation process (2:49) Kognitwin Energy digital twin software (3:46) Advancing mature assets (6:08) Future of AI, remote sensing & big data (7:19) Industry’s path forward (8:57) Kongsberg Digital promo (9:30)

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) is celebrating its  90th year with its first-ever all-virtual annual meeting and  international exhibition from Oct. 11-16. Bill Abriel, former president of SEG who will chair the Business of  Applied (BAG) sessions at the event, joined Hart Energy’s Faiza Rizvi to  discuss this year’s key topics including CO₂ storage and the business  climate of the oil and gas service sector. Particularly, Abriel, an industry veteran with over four decades of  international experience with Chevron Corp., also spoke about the  importance of geophysics on the business side of the industry. “Geophysics is the eyes and ears of what you can’t see in the  subsurface…we provide this direct measured information about what’s  going on in the subsurface,” he said. “BAG sessions have more to do with  the commercial forces at work…what are the business forces that make a  difference. It isn’t taught in universities, you get this experience  when you are in the industry. These are not tech sessions but they are  interesting and important questions about what we’re trying to  accomplish for the business and applied geophysics.” As for how to navigate the current challenges of the industry, Abriel  also explained how companies can undertake measures like cost-cutting,  adopting new technologies and consolidation. The BAG sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 13 and run until Oct. 14. For more information visit SEG.org/AM/2020/event/detail/bag-sessions. The full conference agenda can be found at SEG.org/AM/2020/event/all. Jump to: SEG 2020 Annual Meeting (0:26) BAG sessions (3:36) Changing business climate (7:13) New technologies in geophysics (10:09) Future of exploration (13:47) Path forward (16:12)

Range Resources Corp. recently put itself on the forefront of the  growing discussion around ESG after the Fort Worth, Texas-based  independent E&P company became one of the first shale producers to set a net-zero emissions target. A natural gas and NGL producer with operations focused in the  Appalachian Basin, Range said it is already a leader in emissions  reductions among its peers. However, in late August, the company  announced plans to further those emissions reductions by targeting  net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Following the announcement, K. Scott Roy, senior vice president of  Range Resources, joined Hart Energy Editorial Director Len Vermillion to  discuss the U.S. shale producer’s net-zero ambitions and why Range  believes natural gas will be an important part of the mix in the energy  transition. “Rather than the theory that suggests that the only way to address  the environmental issues of the day is to exclude fossil fuels as part  of the mix,” Roy said, “we think that the facts bear out that increased  use of responsibly produced natural gas has actually improved the  environment while continuing to offer sustainable, low-cost energy  option.” Jump to a topic: Why now set the net-zero target? (0:30) Taking the lead among U.S. shale producers (3:05) Range Resources’ plan (4:05) Sustainability achievements so far (6:30) Future technology investments (9:45) ESG’s  importance going forward (11:25)

Jasper Ventures Inc. has seen its fair share of downturns, according to President Brent Japser. The Texas-based midstream services provider and its affiliates’  history dates back to 1992 when Jon Jasper formed its predecessor  company, Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC). The Jasper  family of companies currently includes Veritas Gas Processing, Vulcan  Field Construction, Vanguard Processing Solutions and Viking Dew Point  Conditioning. “We are 100% family-owned with no financial partners—that definitely  helps our financial position,” Jasper told Hart Energy’s Jessica Morales  in a recent interview. “Then we get to make all of the decisions that  are important for company survival in times like this.” As part of an effort to provide its customers in the midstream  business more comprehensive services, EPC was restructured in 2016 into  the current Jasper Ventures family of companies. “Jasper Ventures has been involved primarily in installing gas  processing facilities and we do that through two of our main operating  companies,” Jasper said. “We also have plant operating services and then  we have a fleet of MRUs (mechanical refrigeration units) that we  lease.” As for the dual shock in 2020 of COVID-19 and a price collapse,  Jasper said the company has been able to maintain a strong balance sheet  so far this year. “From a cash flow standpoint, the first half of the year was not  terrible,” he said. “We were completing a back-log of projects through  the first and second quarters that we had built up in 2019.” “The second half of the year is going to be much tougher for us than  the first, as it is for a lot of companies,” he continued. “In early  March, most of our prospects were indefinitely placed on hold and we had  quite a few things on the horizon at the time. So, our business really  literally changed overnight.” Jump to a topic: Jasper Ventures history (0:42) Strong balance sheet (2:23) 2020 downturn (3:26) Traditional calling card (4:40) Gas versus oil (6:52) Industry’s path forward (8:35)

Adapting quickly to the “new normal” from  the coronavirus pandemic, Honeywell Process Solutions has rolled out  several new technologies centered on remote operations for oil and gas  companies. Embracing new technologies is no longer an option for oil and gas  operators, but rather a necessity, according to Jason Urso, CTO of  Honeywell Process Solutions, who explained this has accelerated the  digital transformation within corporations across the upstream industry. “With the onset of the crisis, we found our customers asking some  very fundamental questions: How can we operate safely with less  proximity to one another? How can we continue moving capital projects  without having people travel? How can we service existing equipment in  operation while minimizing people coming on site? This triggered a new  set of introductions for Honeywell, oriented around remote project  execution, remote operations and remote services,” Urso told Hart  Energy’s Jessica Morales and Faiza Rizvi. Data analytics, in particular, plays a very fundamental part in the  next inflection point of the industry, which he said oil and gas  producers need to recognize. “The power of data when interpreted, analyzed and then acted upon in  different ways can allow us to genuinely see a new step-change  improvement, both in terms of getting better process performance as well  as significant improvement in reliability,” he said. Jump to a topic: Remote technologies during downturn (0:40) Upstream adapting to the “new normal” (2:06) Data analytics in a post-pandemic world (4:06) Recent trends in technology (8:25) Path forward (15:12)

Leaders from the “Big Four” accounting firms—Deloitte, EY, KPMG and  PwC—joined Hart Energy for a deep discussion on the ongoing energy  transition and the different approaches to ESG within the oil and gas  industry plus how COVID-19 is accelerating the digital transformation.

Leaders from the “Big Four” accounting firms—Deloitte, EY, KPMG and  PwC—joined Hart Energy for a deep dive on the oil and gas industry’s  changing landscape following such an unprecedented first half of 2020. Speakers in this wide-ranging discussion include: Katie Pavlovsky, Global Energy, Resources and Industrials Industry Leader, Deloitte; Deborah Byers, Partner and Americas Industry Leader, EY; Regina Mayor, Global and U.S. Head of Energy and Natural Resources, KPMG; and Niloufar Molavi, Global Energy Leader, Partner, PwC.

A deep decarbonization of the world’s energy system  is still 15 years away, DNV GL said in its recently released 2020  Energy Transition Outlook, with carbon emissions set to remain high  until the mid-2030s. Liv Hovem, CEO, DNV GL – Oil & Gas, discussed the conclusions of the 2020 Energy Transition  Outlook with Hart Energy, explaining that energy transitions will occur  at different rates in different parts of the world. “The share of renewables will increase from 26% in  2018 to 63% in 2050, which is a big shift,” Hovem said. Most of that  increase will come will solar and wind power as global demand for  electricity doubles from current levels.

Dr. Yousef Alshammari, CEO and head of Oil Research at CMarkits based in Saudi Arabia, joined Hart Energy’s Jessica Morales and Faiza Rizvi to explain the impact the oil industry’s downturn has had on crude-dependent economies of the Middle East.

David Preng, founder, president and CEO of Houston-based Preng & Associates, says letting your network know immediately is key for those who have lost their job amid the oil market crash.