The Drilldown: in-depth answers to oilfield questions | w/ Richard & John Spears

One question we’ve been asked is: “If breakeven prices average ~$40/bbl and oil prices are $65/bbl doesn’t this imply tremendous profitability for the industry and mean that upstream investment should grow enormously?” In this podcast we discuss the importance of breakeven price in an operator’s investment decision.

This episode we discuss the development of offshore drilling and development. Other topics include: Offshore production as a percent of global oil output Cannons and offshore territorial limits AC/DC Episode produced by Charlie Spears.

Production testing services is a little-followed segment of the oilfield services industry. In this podcast we discuss the reasons for conducting production tests and describe the different types of production testing services and the factors that drive this market. We also look at early production facilities (EPFs) and the production facility construction market.

Over the past decade directional drilling services have moved from primarily being a non-US, offshore- oriented market to one that is predominately focused on the US onshore. In this podcast we discuss the use of conventional systems versus rotary-steerable technology, as well as developments in signal transmission technology.

Saudi Arabia recently disclosed it is in discussions with Russia about replacing their short-term production agreement with a long-term alliance so as to stabilize the oil market. In this episode we discuss what this implies about their assessment of future shale oil production growth both in the US and abroad and operators’ capital discipline. What are the Russian and Saudi objectives? Why is an alliance needed now? Would Russia need to invest in spare capacity? How would an alliance impact the upcoming Aramco IPO? Produced by Charlie Spears

The Permian market has switched to box-type sand delivery Personnel turnover and how far workers are commuting to their jobs in the Permian Will drilling practices lead to production problems? The best indicator of good times in the Oil Patch   Produced by Charlie Spears

“Why doesn’t fracking cause earthquakes?” Well, they cause about as much as Michael Bennett does. Wastewater- and subsidence-induced earthquakes. What does a frac job register on the Richter scale? What is a newton-meter? The US Geological Survey has found that wastewater disposal is the primary cause of earthquakes in our home state of Oklahoma and that fracking is directly responsible for only 1-2% of induced earthquakes.

The Day the Oilfield Changed is a series reviewing technical breakthroughs or commercial developments which fundamentally altered the nature of the upstream petroleum industry. In this episode we discuss how a 1970 agreement between Occidental Petroleum, led by Dr. Armand Hammer, and the government of Libya, led by Muammar Gaddafi, set OPEC on course to become a force in the world oil market. Additionally: If OPEC emerged in response to a certain set of conditions in the oil market what factors might lead to OPEC’s demise? Episode produced by Charlie Spears.

US shale well initial productivity (IP) more than doubled from the start of 2014 through the end of 2016, but has fallen about 10% over the past year. In this podcast John and Richard discuss the factors that increased IP from 2014 to 2016 but which caused IP to decline in 2017. We also chat about: Will US shale well IP continue to decline going forward and will the rate of decline increase? What impact does shale well productivity have on the outlook for US oil production, drilling activity and oil prices? Episode produced by Charlie Spears

Another episode where we review a lot of the questions we get about drillbits. What are the different types of drill bits and when do you use them? Are drill bits rented or sold? What is the share of the bit market in terms of revenues? John also tells a riveting story about Spindletop and the origin of the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company. Episode produced by Charlie Spears