On June 28, PESA held a West Texas Regional District Meeting at ValTek industries in Odessa, TX. Featuring keynote speaker Dave Stover, President and CEO, Noble Energy, the meeting provided an opportunity for PESA members to network and discuss the challenges facing service and supply companies in the Permian Basin.
Following opening remarks from Leslie Beyer, President, PESA, and Pat Bond, Co-CEO of Gravity Oilfield Services, Jim Wicklund, Managing Director – Research at Credit Suisse, presented his analysis of present and future energy markets. Wicklund stressed the positive opportunities of the production lull that will soon result from insufficient regional takeaway capacity. This decline, Wicklund assured, comes at a perfect time.
As OPEC and Russia prepare to flood the global market with backlogged resources, their exports will fill the void and steady prices until the Permian reemerges in 2020, just as markets once again necessitate growth. Until then, the region will be able to improve pipeline infrastructure and prepare for the next boom.
[gdlr_quote align=”center” ]“The Permian looks better today than any time in the last 20 years.” — Jim Wicklund, Managing Director – Research, Credit Suisse[/gdlr_quote]
Stover then presented an operator’s perspective on the Permian Basin’s journey since the first Santa Rita boom nearly a century ago. Stover emphasized the market’s resiliency. “How many industries,” he asked, “can say they lost about 50% of their revenue almost overnight and are still in business with a bright outlook and a bright future?”
Stover closed the meeting by sharing strategies for sustaining improvement in the Permian. First, the market’s upcoming stability should be leveraged to court investors back to the area. Second, companies must continue to streamline water use, decrease gas emissions, and highlight their environmental efforts. Third, and most imperatively, addressing regional workforce concerns such as housing and talent retention must be a priority for Permian companies. Oil and gas make up a critical, high-tech, and compassionate industry. Organizations must elevate this message by taking care of their employees, encouraging them to put down roots in the area and share the industry’s good deeds with others. That is the best way to guarantee the Permian’s growth and prosperity for years to come.
West Texas Regional District Meetings create productive group settings to address critical issues and share best practices. For information about future PESA events in the Permian and beyond, please refer to the PESA Event Calendar or contact Molly Determan, Vice President Communications and Member Relations.
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