Talking Energy Show

I managed to keep Renee Miller Helmer sitting still long enough talking about family, faith, Parkinson's, directional drilling, the Permian, Cajun cooking, whiskey, entrepreneurship, the Gulf Coast and why the strongest relationships in oil and gas need more people face to face. Her story did not start with an executive title. In 1994, Renee was teaching eighth grade religion at Our Lady of Fatima School in Lafayette when she entered oilfield sales. She later met Richard Helmer of Helmer Directional Drilling, became a wife and stepmother on the same day, and spent the next eighteen years raising their family. Richard's Parkinson's diagnosis in 2016 changed their lives, and by 2018 Renee was back inside Helmer Directional in an executive and business role, learning mud motors, MWD, well planning, BHAs, torque and angle building so she could represent the company credibly. From there, in her words, she “drove my happy ass to Midland by myself.” West Texas added another layer to her education. Technical knowledge mattered, but so did mentors, meals, rig cookouts, showing up repeatedly and earning the right to have a conversation. Renee talks about building her own table in the Permian and using that table to explain why Helmer's directional drilling experience in Louisiana and the Gulf could have value in West Texas. That work grew from surface opportunities into intermediate work and three full well pads. COVID forced another reinvention. Renee built Helmer OPS, a business development consulting firm focused on new technology, rebranding companies and helping startups get grounded in real customer relationships. She also launched What Will Renee Say Today?, a podcast born from a season when she did not need another person telling her how strong she was. She needed empathy, understanding and somewhere honest to talk about what life had become. That honesty is why this conversation is worth watching. Renee says “the oil field will humble you,” and that it can make you “drill deep within yourself to find your black gold.” She is talking about family, grief, caregiving, faith, leadership, rebuilding and finding abilities you did not know you had until life required them. On September 23 at 5:00 PM, Renee is bringing Mrs. Helmer's Whiskey Wednesday to Brenner's on the Bayou in Houston, where she plans to launch her speaking work around the same relationship philosophy she has practiced for years. Brenner's is creating a specialty drink for the evening called Black Gold, with whiskey, activated charcoal, gold flakes and a few surprises. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mrs-helmers-whiskey-wednesday-tickets-1998249096840 Watch the full Talking Energy / Oilfield Tailgate conversation, then find What Will Renee Say Today? and follow what Renee is building next. ReneeHelmer.com #OilfieldTailgate #TalkingEnergy #ReneeHelmer #OilGas #Energy

God breathes life into creation while great leaders breathe knowledge, courage, opportunity, and human flourishing into our people and industry. For 64 years, Marvin Meshack has not merely witness the history of oil and gas and energy, helped write it and improved our success. I'm extremely honored to sit with Marvin, Ryan Sanders, and Josh McCollom for this conversation with a living legend. Marvin began working in the Halliburton laboratories in Duncan, Oklahoma, in 1962. He spent 36 years studying, testing, and improving the chemistry field crews depended upon. Before computers, digital frac vans, or one person controlled an entire spread from a screen, calculations were done by hand. Men stood at pumps in brutal weather, shifting gears, throttling engines, and operating equipment in the open. Guar and cellulose gels could lump enough to require screens. Early crosslinked systems improved through pressure, patience, problems, and the occasional batch that looked more like Braum's shakes than frac fluid. Marvin watched horsepower multiply, chemistry mature, acidizing advance, horizontal drilling unlock formations once considered uneconomic, and an industry repeatedly predicted to disappear keep finding new ways to produce energy. Yet the most powerful chemistry in the room was not mixed in a blender. The margarita chemistry came later. The real chemistry was the bond between experience, humility, friendship, faithfulness, and honor. Ryan and Josh shared how they called Marvin when a fluid system would not cooperate. Within minutes, he could ask the right questions, isolate the issue, and help a crew finish the job. Marvin never guarded what he knew. He shared his research, wisdom, and field experience so others could succeed. Nearly 89, still working, and married for 67 years, Marvin never claimed the credit alone. He pointed to the mentors, chemists, engineers, field crews, friends, and family who carried the work with him. One sentence captured his character and perhaps the culture our industry needs most: “If you have a problem, we all have a problem.” That may be the most important formula he shared. This episode explores chemistry, completions, energy, mentorship, marriage, and the future of oil and gas. But it is more than a technical conversation. It is an archive, a classroom, a thank you, and a reminder that progress has parents. Few conversations have made me feel the weight of our industry's history quite like this one. Thanks to all who helped build our industry we're fortunate enough to inherit. Share this! Understand where our knowledge came from! oilfieldtailgate.com #OilAndGas #Oilfield #Energy #Frac #Chemistry #Mentor #History #Faith #OilGas #Frac #Upstream #Completions #Education #Training #Petroleum #Technology #Leadership #Community #Humor #Hydrocarbon #Podcast #Vlog #Entertainment #Engineering #Power #Networking #Electricity #Data #Science #Freedom #Liberty #USA #HumanFlourishing

Hot topic conversation with impressive team Darien G. O'Brien, P.E., MBA and Luke Frash during Geothermal Rising gathering! We'll see a lot of well bores drilled for additional #energy​ demands thanks to forward thinking, disruptive, novel idea makers, and leaders. Hope to see a lot of heated debate on these topics but my take away was that there is a lot of funds available to make it seemingly like our own shale revolution. There was a lot of talk about needing twice the rigs we are using for #oilgas​ and also how most of the same people, contractors, services, and skill sets are needed right away. Fascinating #fossilfuelfriday​ forum. #geothermal​ #drilling​ #power​ #electricity​ #environment​ #upstream​ Stay safe and God bless. Praying you are thriving, healthy, and successful.

Kent J. Williamson - American Heat Engine: Hydrocarbons and the Power of the United States - Coal. Oil. Natural gas. This is the incredible story of how hydrocarbons have energized the United States and its people. Hydrocarbons, naturally occurring combinations of mostly hydrogen and carbon atoms with almost limitless uses, are much more than simply “fossil fuels”; they are the lifeblood of modern human civilization. They are central to economic and geopolitical power, even determining the fate of nations and empires. They have played a critical role in U.S. history, and they will be no less important to its future. In American Heat Engine: Hydrocarbons and the Power of the United States, join Kent J. Williamson on an epic journey through American hydrocarbon history, weaving together the amazing pasts of coal, oil, and natural gas in America, from the country's earliest days all the way to today and beyond. You will see how a now-almost-forgotten form of coal sparked the American Industrial Revolution, witness the birth of the American oil industry and its production of everything from lamp fuel to jet fuel, and follow natural gas as it transforms from an unwanted byproduct to a fuel and feedstock so ubiquitous that there are now millions of miles of pipelines carrying it across America! You'll also discover how the United States strategically employed its hydrocarbon resources to defeat totalitarianism and help usher in a period of unprecedented global prosperity. Kent J. Williamson grew up in Littleton, Colorado, not far from Coal Mine Road. He now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Oil Capital of the World, in a home with several natural gas-fueled appliances and a propane grill out back.

I continually hope to amplify #Energy​ education even within my own family to ensure the next generation is armed with tools to thrive and attempt to aspire to be successful. I use these opportunities for improving young people's understanding or at the very least questions to engage and spark their curiosity. Simple here with my cousins visit to Oklahoma seeing the podcast studio and wanting to be recorded. Little feral free range lad of course is my own fault and proud he has no fear nor never met a stranger. They entertained me and hope they do the same here for you too. Stay safe and God bless. Sign up to be contacted by Oilfield Tailgate. The fundraising for the parties is about to start. We will gather our industry together in Norman Oklahoma every football home game. Maybe it's time to grow the platform to other teams and sports? oilfieldtailgate.com #OilfieldTailgate​ I need some volunteers from the sponsors to move the needle on the event planning. Reach out to me any time. I'm easy to find. #oilfield​ #oilandgas​ #oilgas​