Highlights from the Permian Basin Energy Conference 2024
Insights from a conference a endee
The Permian Basin Energy Conference (PBEC) 2024, held at the Bush Conven on Center in Midland, TX, from October 22-24, 2024, brought together industry leaders and experts to discuss the latest developments, challenges, and innova ons in the energy sector. The conference covered a wide range of topics, including technical advancements, strategic insights, and future outlooks for the Permian Basin. Here are the key takeaways from the event:
Key Themes and Technical Learnings
Secondary Targets: Dean Development in Midland Basin
The trend con nues across the Permian Basin for operators exploring secondary target zones to enhance inventory count and give projects scale outside of primary forma ons. Diamondback is revisi ng Dean development based on learnings from Endeavor, focusing on both shallow and deep targets. They are incorpora ng genera ve AI to iden fy efficiency opportuni es and u lizing geochemical techniques and wellbore pressure monitoring.
U-Shaped Laterals
Matador and Vital Energy are exploring horseshoe wells as a viable op on to improve economics without no ceable degrada on on a per-foot basis. Matador has several U-turn wells in the ground and many more in planning, with the best economics observed in par al turn comple ons. Mul ple operators see this con nued trend progressing, with U-turn wells key to op mizing development in single mile drilling units.
Drilling the Extra Mile: Pushing Extended Lateral Limits
Most operators and presenters expressed the need to push lateral lengths longer to
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CHAIRMAN’S CORNER
take advantage of efficiencies and push down costs. While there are s ll opera onal constraints on both the comple ons and drill-out side, operators are ge ng more efficient and achieving less lateral degrada on than has been seen in the past. Extended laterals of three to four miles will remain popular, especially for operators with con guous acreage that requires less surface use and infrastructure footprint.
Water Injec on
Companies are seeking be er ways to handle water, including interfacing with New Mexico to prevent shipping water to Texas. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will be issuing water reuse permits soon, and Chevron will be making their injec on study data publicly available to further facilitate industry coopera on. Water use, beneficial reuse, and responsible injec on remain priori es for operators.
Infrastructure: Electric Grid, Gas Handling, and Water
The CEO of Civitas, Chris Doyle, and Endeavor’s former CEO, Lance Robertson, iden fied infrastructure as a major future challenge for the industry. Many operators focus on achieving scale to jus fy large up-front costs. Con nued consolida on in the basin will help operators gain the necessary scale and con guous acreage to make these projects feasible.
Emerging Technologies
Novi Labs is advancing from machine learning to predic ve AI, and Chevron and others are implemen ng simul- and trimul-fracs for addi onal cost savings. Chevron also touted the increase use of AI tools for be er produc on forecas ng.
CHAIRMAN’S CORNER
Company Specific Technical Learnings
Chevron
Guest
Columnist
Chris Hill
Staff Reservoir Engineer
ConocoPhillips
Chevron reported that pre-loads for frac hit protec on have not shown posi ve results. The company is transi oning to cube-style, stacked development and employing AI tools to enhance efficiency. These measures, along with improvements in predic ng and mi ga ng parent-child interac on, are op mizing future Chevron developments.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY)
OXY suggests using tracer technology every second or third frac stage for improved s mula on design. Higher fracture conduc vity networks are vital for fluid mobility and boos ng EUR. Tradi onal deple on modeling may not always predict future produc on accurately, as wells closer to parent wells can outperform those in less depleted rock due to be er fracture conduc vity.
Vital Energy
Vital partnered with Petro AI to predict produc on profiles and manage parent/child interac ons. They are op mizing development/comple on ming and other parameters.
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips presented papers on advanced machine learning and data physics for well monitoring and produc on forecas ng. Integrated workflows are also op mizing fracture sequencing in depleted reservoirs.
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CEO Insights
Civitas CEO Talk
CHAIRMAN’S CORNER
Chris Doyle emphasized the importance of innova on and sustainability in the energy sector. He discussed the company's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and inves ng in renewable energy sources. The CEO also highlighted the need for collabora on across the industry to address future challenges.
Lance Robertson - Former Endeavor CEO
Robertson provided a posi ve outlook for the Permian Basin, emphasizing its vital role in mee ng global energy demand despite geopoli cal uncertain es and fluctua ng oil prices. He noted significant produc on growth in the U.S., with the Permian Basin being a key driver. Robertson also discussed the importance of tradi onal fossil fuels in mee ng projected energy demand by 2050 and expressed confidence in the industry's ability to innovate in extrac on techniques.
Conclusion
The PBEC 2024 conference highlighted the ongoing advancements and strategic ini a ves in the Permian Basin. From technical innova ons to strategic insights, the conference underscored the importance of collabora on, innova on, and sustainability in the Permian Basin. The insights shared by industry leaders provide a roadmap for future developments and challenges in the Permian Basin.
30th Annual CO2 Conference (Dec
9-12, 2024)
Midland’s Annual CO2 Conference commi ee and its sponsors are extremely pleased to host a dis nguished group of keynote speakers and a large interna onal set of a endees for its 30th Annual CO2 Conference.
The kickoff of the 3-day event is headlined by the honorable Brad Crabtree, assistant secretary, Department of Energy, Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, with his long background in all energy ma ers and especially his role in formula ng the incen ves for CO2 EOR and carbon capture and storage (CCS). He will speak at lunch a er the morning session which features fellow keynoters, Vello Kuuskraa, a pioneer of CO2 EOR projects and detailed surveys and now CCS along with Chuck McConnell, Execu ve Director of the University of Houston’s Center for Carbon Management in Energy and former director of DOE’s Fossil Energy Office.
The morning will also feature an update on the s rring changes underway in Washington with a dis nguished panel from Hunton, Andrews and Kurth. North Dakota, Louisiana and Wyoming which have come out of the gates this year with very large projects involving CO2 capture and geological storage, will be represented in the PM session on Tuesday.
The carbon management topic con nues on Wednesday and the agenda will work into to the coming challenges of water and CO2 disposal. As we know here in the Permian Basin, we are ground zero for the experience of both shallow and deep disposal.
The Wednesday luncheon keynoters are Drs. Katharine Harrell and Stuart MacDonald from the Business School at UTPB. They will be speaking on how the recent incen ves for CO2 capture are o en outrunning the technology and policy, especially in Texas.
This special day also includes Mike Sloan, CEO at Synerge c Partners, who helped mastermind the build-out of $6.9 billion electrical transmission lines in Texas and how such an inia ve might relate to moving CO2 from surface sources to secure geological storage. Mrs.
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Marcella Burke will be modera ng two a ernoon panels devoted to several of the coming challenges of large volume disposal.
One of the key themes of this Conference in Midland has been to feature the Permian Basin’s 40 plus years of experience in handling the many prac cal challenges of CO2 injec on, recycling, and reservoir management. What will become of the declining horizontal wells will be an undertone of several presenta ons. The experience in the Permian Basin directly relates to the intense planning ac vity underway for carbon capture and storage and what will evolve from a declining set of horizontals.
The Thursday session, featuring CO2 projects best prac ces and CO2 EOR case histories, is all about that wealth of experience. This year some special topical themes are included about the changes underway in flooding projects. The well density and reservoir sweep advantages of horizontal wells for primary recovery is now being extended into the world of flooding in conven onal reservoirs.
The SPE Permian Basin and the Annual CO2 Conference have developed and maintained a strong partnership over the years. A por on of the proceeds from this event have historically been set aside for SPE Permian Basin’s scholarship efforts. The image to the right is a testament of that partnership with of the current Chairman of SPE Permian Basin, Tyler Yancey, and the lead of the conference, Steve Melzer.
More informa on on the conference agenda and registra on ckets are available at www.co2conference.net.
CO2 Conference
TECHNICAL TOUR
Yogashri
Pradhan, Chevron
In the Permian Basin, I believe it’s a running joke that water is the primary phase of produc on. It varies from sub-basin to sub-basin, however. On top of that, there is a wide range of uncertainty on water satura ons calculated in the basin. With con nuous ac vity in the Permian Basin and induced seismicity concerns due to SWD injec on, it’s impera ve to know where our water is coming from when we produce new wells so that we can have a be er idea to handle produced water. To quan fy the magnitude of produce water producon, Figure 1 from Enverus shows how much water the Permian produces compared to other basins:
Figure 1: Water Produc on from Different Basins (DrillingInfo, now Enverus)
This piece is to discuss what tools we have in the engineering and geology toolboxes to help understand where all the water is coming from.
Water Geochemistry Advancements
Chevron has done a significant amount of work and research on produced water geochemistry to characterize water source during produc on. Addi onally, it is a low cost approach to determining the source of water in a variety of developments, even cube development. Wang et al from Chevron demonstrated a variety of applica ons of produced water chemistry among 133 horizontal shale wells from five different geographic
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Technical Tour
areas in the Permian Basin to show how some mes water produc on can be na ve to the forma on (Wang et al 2021). URTEC 5321 goes in depth determining:
· Correla on between ion concentra ons in produced water and its indica ons- a linear correla on between Ca and Mg for produced water for all the 133 horizontal wells which landed at different depths in the same forma on. The Ca/Mg ra o is controlled by forma on mineral (carbonate) diagenesis and chemistry equilibrium under reservoir condi ons.
· Produced water chemistry vs. landing depth - Produced water ion concentra ons (e.g., Cl, Ca, Ba, HCO3, and SO4) from the same forma on in the study can vary significantly with landing depth and geographic loca on. The determined produced water datasets are a quality representa ve of forma on waters across various depths in the targeted forma on in the study, and the ra o between different carbonate minerals may not vary significantly across different depths and geographic areas for this studied forma on. Addi onally, a linear correla on between Na and K concentra ons are observed in individual areas.
· Dissolved H2S in produced water - believed to be thermogenic and can have chemical treatment implicaons when producing to the surface
Addi onal insights include, but not limited to in the paper are that produced water ion concentra on and isotope analysis can be used to differen ate waters from different forma on zones, iden fy/allocate produced water source, provide insights to understand produc on performance and recovery mechanism, and assist well trouble shoo ng. Finally, the study shows no universal correla on between produced water H2S concentra on and TDS or SO4 concentra ons for the horizontal wells in this study; results show wells with 0.5 mg/L or higher H2S in produced water tend to appear in the same localized areas. Wells with negligible H2S in produced water in this study shows rela vely low SO4 levels and high TDS (>100,000 mg/L).
Figure 2: Na vs. K correla ons by area (Chevron)
Technical Tour
TECHNICAL TOUR
Yogashri Pradhan, Chevron
Water can be non-na ve to the forma on
To con nue the conversa on on produced water geochemistry, once a baseline is established as noted in the previous paper, one can use water geochemistry to determine if there are non-na ve water introduced into new comple ons in a development area. For example, during fracture driven interac ons as noted in URTEC 4044520, me-lapse water geochemistry surveillance results indicate non-na ve water migra on into the Avalon fracture network during the Wolfcamp comple on opera ons among 3 of the 4 monitoring Avalon wells (Parizek et al 2024). This non-na ve water migra on into the Avalon could indicate a long term impact in produc on and pressure performance for both Avalon and Wolfcamp wells. Implica ons of this study could indicate that when you have a developed forma on and you plan to develop a shallower bench, chances are the deple on may have already occurred on the shallower forma on as noted in the communica on through water geochemistry.
Conclusion
Water geochemistry is a low cost tool in the subsurface prac oner’s toolbox to determine the source of produced water and establish a baseline for different forma ons. By developing a database of water samples and looking at trends for forma on water data, one can determine if the water is na ve to the forma on or not. The next me you ask where your water is coming from, it may be worth to examine the water you’re producing.
References:
Parizek, Jason, Wang, Wei, Wei, Wei, and Yogashri Pradhan. "Demys fying the Cause of Avalon Water Influx: A Case Study Integra ng Targeted Surveillance Bringing New Perspec ves Around the Role of Overlying Water Injec on; Lea County, New Mexico." Paper presented at the SPE/AAPG/SEG Unconven onal Resources Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, June 2024. doi: h ps://doi.org/10.15530/urtec-2024-4044520
Sharma, Akash, and Ian Thomasset. "Data-driven Approach to Quan fy Oilfield Water Lifecycle and Economics in the Permian Basin." Paper presented at the SPE/AAPG/SEG Unconven onal Resources Technology Conference, Denver, Colorado, USA, July 2019. doi: h ps://doi.org/10.15530/urtec-2019-968
Wang, Wei, Wei, Wei, Saneifar, Mehrnoosh, Liang, Baosheng, Parizek, Jason, Nguyen, Hanh, Menconi, Mauro, Yang, Fei, and Cameron Khalili. "Produced Water Chemistry Surveillance and Applica on in the Permian Basin." Paper presented at the SPE/AAPG/SEG Unconven onal Resources Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, July 2021. doi: h ps://doi.org/10.15530/urtec-2021-5321
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Walter Egbueze
Environmental Engineer, ConocoPhillips
SPE Permian Basin Young Professionals Co-Chair
The successful visit to Texas Tech University Professional members of Society of Petroleum Engineers Permian Basin - SPE PB le posi ve impacts on the students at large.
Five SPE Professionals engaged with the student members and most of the talking points covered were:
- Networking within SPE
- Communica ng areas of interests and challenges faced as professionals
- Guidance from mentors on effec ve communica on
- Securing the right career path and internships
- Graduate school
Climax of the event was the Pertrobowl screening for poten al students looking forward to represen ng Texas Tech. Check out the awesome views inside Jones AT&T Stadium! #Wreck’em Tech!
Mentors shared valuable experiences, highligh ng the importance of being inten onal and consistent in achieving set goals. It was a frui ul session focusing on empowering students for their future endeavors.
Midland College PPDC
PPDC Courses
Midland College PPDC
221 N. Main Street Midland, TX 79701 (432) 683-2832
h ps://mcce.midland.edu > Oil & Gas Training
Oil & Gas Performance Metrics Concepts & Applica ons
Instructor: Jim Tague
December 2, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $400, Out of State: $425
Introduc on to Oil & Gas Reserves
Instructor: Jim Tague
December 3-5, 2024, Tuesday & Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $700, Out of State: $725
Online Division Order Cer ficate Program: Module 3 of 6 - Land and Leasing
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
December 3-31, 2024
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Online Lease Cer ficate Program: Module 3 of 6 - Land & Leasing
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
December 3-31, 2024
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Online PLM Cer ficate Program: Module 3 of 6 - Oil & Gas Lease Interpreta on, Nego a on & Interest Calcula ons
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
December 3-31, 2024
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Well Service and Workover Pressure Control
Instructor: Louie M Cure
December 3, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Cost: $475, Out of State: $500
Python for Oil & Gas Professionals - Beginner Course
Instructor: Bryan McDowell
December 4-5, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Cost: $500, Out of State: $525
Finance for Non-Financial Professionals
Instructor: Pat Lipovski
December 10-11, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $2,100, Out of State: $2,125
Petroleum Engineering for Non-Engineers
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Miskimins
December 16-17, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $695, Out of State: $720
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Online Division Order Cer ficate Program: Module 4 of 6 - Oil & Gas Calcula ons
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
January 7-31, 2025
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Online Lease Cer ficate Program: Module 4 of 6 - Oil and Gas Law and Its Impact on Land Prac ces
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
January 7-31, 2025
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Online PLM Cer ficate Program: Module 4 of 6 - Oil and Gas Law and Its Impact on Land Prac ces
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
January 7-31, 2025
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Waterflooding: Performance Predic ons and Surveillance
Instructor: Dr. Mike Wiggins
January 27-31, 2025, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $3,975, Out of State: $4,000
Oilfield Terminology
Instructor: Tommy Lent
February 4-5, 2025, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $625, Out of State: $650
Online Division Order Cer ficate Program: Module 5 of 6 - Oil & Gas Law
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
February 4-28, 2025
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Online Lease Cer ficate Program: Module 5 of 6 - Oil & Gas Contracts
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
February 4-28, 2025
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Online PLM Cer ficate Program: Module 5 of 6 - Legally Enforceable Oil & Gas Contracts
Instructor: Alyce Hoge
February 4-28, 2025
Cost: $612.50, Out of State: $637.50
Introduc on to SQL
Instructor: Mark Edgar
February 6, 2025, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Cost: $475, Out of State: $500
Petroleum Land Basics – Becoming LandWise
Instructor: Ralph Lea
April 15-17, 2025, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Cost: $895, Out of State: $920
Chair Posi ons
Chairman Tyler Yancey yanceyty@chevron.com
Secretary Ma hew Farris ma hew.farris@corelab.com
Treasurer Paul Brown Paulbrown@chevron.com Chevron
Vice-Chairman Sara Booth sara.f.foster@gmail.com ConocoPhillips
