The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is one of twelve regional Reserve Banks in the U.S. Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank. Its jurisdiction covers Texas and parts of Louisiana and New Mexico, and because of that it has a strong interest in oil and gas activities in the region and their impact on the economy.
Each month the bank publishes its Energy Indicators newsletter. The May 2017 edition details increased production, employment and rig activity, particularly in the Permian Basin.
Nearly 40 percent of rigs operating in the U.S. are now active in the Permian Basin, and as a result, Texas has seen increases in direct and indirect oil and gas employment in each of the last three months. This increased activity is showing up in production numbers with April showing an increase of 61,200 barrels per day (b/d) to 2.36 million b/d in the Permian and an increase of 26,000 b/d to 1.21 million b/d in the Eagle Ford.
As U.S. production continues to grow, all eyes are focused on OPEC and its recent May 25 meeting to determine whether to keep production cuts in place in an effort to maintain oil prices.
An Integrated Approach
But as both OPEC and non-OPEC producers are realizing, the drive for efficiency and lower costs in basins with unconventional resources in the U.S. is a significant influence on global oil markets, and it is going to be a significant focus next month at the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC).
URTeC is a joint conference organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), AAPG, and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), along with nine supporting organizations, representing a broad array of engineering and science disciplines. Accurately described as the premier integrated event for unconventional resources teams, we’re headed to Austin, Texas from July 24-26. What makes URTeC different is our commitment to creating a conference that facilitates multi- and interdisciplinary learning and approaches to solving exploration and production challenges for unconventional resources.
This will be the fifth installment of URTeC and the anecdotal stories we hear back from industry are compelling validation that this approach to conferences is directly meeting a specific need. Speaking to executives at companies active in unconventional plays, the word we receive is that their technical folks want to be at URTeC, rather than at a discipline-specific conference. If geoscientists and engineers are working together as a team to develop an unconventional resource, it stands to reason that attending and presenting together at a conference focused on these issues is attractive.
The technical program committee co-chaired by Tom Blasingame of Texas A&M University, Shawn Maxwell of IMaGE and Doug Valleau of Hess Corporation has developed a stellar program, with more than 200 oral presentations, more than 100 ePaper presentations, four panel sessions, nine topical breakfasts and luncheons and eight short courses. In addition, we have more than 100 exhibitors signed up to attend URTeC this year, showcasing the new technology and services.
The expanding influence of unconventional resources has the world’s attention, and URTeC in Austin is the place to learn the latest on new and emerging plays, new insights and understanding about unconventional resources and to connect you with other professionals. I hope to see you there!
Welcome to the New Executive Committee
A final note: June marks the end of our fiscal year. That obviously means our accounting team is as busy as ever closing the books on the past year. But it also means we say goodbye to outgoing members of our Executive Committee and welcome new members: Denise Cox as incoming president-elect, David Cook as incoming vice president of Regions, and Laura Johnson as incoming secretary.
Please join me in thanking President Paul Britt, Vice President of Regions Peter Lloyd, Secretary Heather LaReau and House of Delegates Chair Jim McGhay for their dedicated service to the Association and its members.
What most members never see is the amount of time and energy that our Executive Committee devotes to guiding and directing AAPG’s path. We owe them a debt of gratitude, and it’s been a privilege to work with each of these dedicated leaders.