The mad science of drilling the earth with Austin Vernon
Description
Patrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined by Austin Vernon, a petroleum engineer, to discuss the technology and economics of fracking. Austin explains the evolution of drilling technology, the financial ecosystem supporting the oil industry – including the unique "doctor and lawyer money" funding model – and the complex interplay of mineral rights laws and state/local politics in the United States. Patrick and Austin also discuss the cross-pollination of technologies between fracking and emerging fields like geothermal energy extraction.
–
Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/fracking-austin-vernon/
–
Sponsors: Check | WorkOS
Building an enterprise-ready SaaS app? WorkOS has got you covered with easy-to-integrate APIs for SAML, SCIM, and more. Start now at https://bit.ly/WorkOS-Turpentine-Network
Check is the leading payroll infrastructure provider and pioneer of embedded payroll. Check makes it easy for any SaaS platform to build a payroll business, and already powers 60+ popular platforms. Head to checkhq.com/complex and tell them patio11 sent you.
–
Links:
Austin Vernon's Blog: https://austinvernon.site/
–
Twitter:
@patio11
@Vernon3Austin
–
Timestamps:
(00:00 ) Intro
(01:38 ) Fracking technology and horizontal drilling
(05:12 ) The history and development of fracking techniques
(12:26 ) Communication methods in drilling operations, including mud pulse technology
(15:50 ) The economics of drilling operations
(17:28 ) Scale and cost comparisons between different types of drilling projects
(19:30 ) Safety considerations in onshore vs offshore drilling
(20:50 ) Sponsors: WorkOS | Check
(24:04 ) Discussion of small-scale "mom and pop" oil operations
(27:13 ) The impact of oil drilling on local economies
(31:45 ) The lifecycle of fracked wells and their long-term production
(36:15 ) Financing in the oil and gas industry
(39:19 ) Unique aspects of US mineral rights laws and leasing practices
(42:38 ) The process of setting up and funding new drilling operations
(52:55 ) Environmental concerns and groundwater protection measures in fracking
(56:40 ) The physical footprint of drilling operations
(59:12 ) Learning curves in fracking and geothermal energy extraction
(59:56 ) Diamond drill bits are not quite forever
(01:03:59 ) Where fracking goes from here
–
Complex Systems is part of the Turpentine podcast network.
learned another about a topic I hadn't really thought about