Recorded on December 18, 2024 and October 3, 2024

Episode 122 of the PetroNerds podcast is your pre-Christmas PetroNerds special. This podcast is the panel discussion Trisha Curtis hosted at the Denver Earth Resources Library with Leen Weijers, VP of Field Engineering at Liberty Energy and Brenton Cheeseman, VP of North America at NCS Multistage.

Trisha spends time talking to Leen and Brenton about growth in US oil production, the role of the US service sector, and the incredible efficiencies made in the past few years. This is a candid conversation covering production, efficiency gains, a sub 600 rig count, horizontal lateral lengths, and the state of the service sector. Trisha asks Leen and Brenton to talk about the efficiencies in drilling and frac, completions, the speed in drilling, the growth in lateral lengths, and refracs. They talk about consolidation, the future, the Rockies, the Bakken, the role of the service sector, and the number of frac fleets.

Trisha introduces this podcast with a fresh market download on oil prices and the macro, the Federal Reserve’s hawkish interest rate cut, and what clients and the industry are asking about in 2025. She spends twenty minutes getting you completely up to speed on the Federal Reserve rate cut and meeting and the mixed messages and confusion the Fed has caused. Trisha explains to listeners the biggest macro factors driving oil and the weakness in the global economy.

She closes the intro telling listeners about her Common Sense Institute Report that has just been released on the state of Colorado energy, rising electricity prices, CO2 emissions, and lack of growth in Colorado oil production. The paper can be found here. https://www.commonsenseinstituteus.org/colorado/research/energy-and-our-environment/key-trends-in-colorados-energy-landscape.

This panel discussion took place at the Rockies Expo at the Denver Earth Resources Library downtown Denver on October 3rd, 2024.

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on December 5, 2024 and November 11, 2024

Episode 121 of the PetroNerds podcast is another PetroNerds special, recorded on November 11th, 2024, with Chris Wright at Liberty Energy’s office in Denver, Colorado. This is right after the election victory of Donald Trump’s second term and days before Chris Wright is officially named Trump’s pick for US Energy Secretary. Jason Isaac, the President of the American Energy Institute, hosts and moderates a panel discussion with Chris Wright and Trisha Curtis, the CEO of PetroNerds and Economist for the American Energy Institute.

Trisha Curtis opens this podcast with a jam-packed intro covering oil price moves, the OPEC Plus cut extension, France’s political chaos, and what Trump means for US energy and global energy. She tries to clarify the opportunity and leverage and levers this new Administration has on energy, from sanctions on Iran to refilling the SPR to lifting the “pause” on permits for new LNG exports.

In the panel discussion, Chris Wright talks about energy sobriety and the importance of energy knowledge, energy policy, and energy security. When speaking about President-elect Trump and energy, Chris said, “He intuitively gets it… Energy is not a sector of the economy; it is the sector of the economy that enables everything else we do. If we get energy wrong, nothing else matters.” He talks about bad energy policies that do not help the environment and hurt people’s lives.

Trisha Curtis talks about the difference between Biden and Trump, the complete change that will be seen in energy and broader policies, high energy prices and lots of regulations under Biden, and the night-and-day policy switch with Trump and the current market euphoria. She gets into the delta between what you are charged for natural gas by utility companies and the actual price of natural gas, a gap of about $20, and she talks about adding more natural gas into the electricity pool, stemming the decommissioning of coal, lowering US electric bills, building out more natural gas infrastructure in the US, and exporting more natural gas.

Chris Wright gets into Trisha’s favorite subjects, China, manufacturing, and coal! Chris talks about building infrastructure in the US for manufacturing and industry and consuming more domestic energy for manufacturing. “We could produce 20 percent more in natural gas.” Trisha talks about China and tariff exposure to China and what Trump intends to do. Trisha and Chris talk about Germany and China and the bad policies in Germany, energy and otherwise.

Jason Isaac brings up the high standards of US air quality. Chris talks about growing up in Denver and the improvement in air quality. Jason asks Trisha to talk about economics and tariffs, and Trisha gets into China and tariffs and explains the need for hawkishness on China and the need for tariffs with a foreign adversary. She gets into Iran and their crude exports to China as well as the cheap China goods coming into the US and the need to make these goods in the US. Trisha comments on “decoupling” with China and the need to be more hawkish and more educated on China. Chris says, “Everything you hold dear relies on energy,” and he says we are definitely going to see a shift toward affordable and secure energy and the need to address the grid and affordable power. “Trajectory and dialogue” first, then the reality will come later.

In the question and answer session, an attendee asks about EPA rules and the ability for the EPA to unwind or roll some of those rules back. Chris Wright explains that this will take some time and this will be tricky, but rolling back some regulations and bold actions for energy sobriety will probably be implemented. Trisha Curtis added to that answer by talking about Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords and the dramatic shifts in what the EPA will be doing and pushing.

Chris talks about Reagan as a reformer and, while he could not shrink the size of the government, he did stop the growth. He expects Trump to implement even greater reforms and seek to reduce the growth and size of the government.

A local senator asks about Colorado politics vs. the US, and Chris Wright talks about how he has pointed out to the Governor of Colorado that shale activity has not returned to Colorado and speaks to the overall top-down regulation and size of the government and policies. Chris also talks about how Liberty built a manufacturing facility in Oklahoma, not in Colorado, because of the regulation. Trisha explains that Colorado is likely to double down on the aggressive energy policies and decarbonization efforts and comments on how anti-business Colorado is becoming.

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on November 15, 2024 and November 13, 2024

Episode 120 of the PetroNerds podcast is a show-stopping 30-minute post-election run down covering everything from U.S. shale to geopolitics. This podcast is Trisha Curtis’ talk and presentation to the Oklahoma Petroleum Alliance in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on November 13th, 2024 with a fresh market intro from Washington, DC. This heavy-hitting and fast-talking podcast gives you a full post election analysis of what a second Trump Presidency means for energy and how radically different this will be from the previous four years.

Trisha also walks her audience and listeners through the US and global economy and the messy and intense state of geopolitics. She talks about the macro, the economic health of the global economy, the spare capacity out of Saudi Arabia, robust production out of Russia, North Korean troops in Russia, and China’s financing of both Iran’s proxy endeavors against Israel and the West as well as China’s funding and support of Russia for the war in Ukraine. She gets into the rising electricity prices in the U.S., wind and solar and coal power, potential growth of natural gas, and the desperate need to embrace U.S. domestic energy to lower energy and power costs for the average American and the average business.

And lastly, Trisha brings this PetroNerds presentation and podcast home by talking about shale production and the whopping 13.4 million barrels per day of oil the U.S. is producing. She talks about election implications and what it means for shale and U.S. energy. This is a podcast you are going to want to listen to, relisten to, and share with your friends and colleagues!

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on November 18, 2024 and September 9, 2021

This is a special reissue podcast with the oil and gas industry’s very own Chris Wright. On Saturday November 16th, 2024 CEO of Liberty Energy, Chris Wright, was announced as President Elect Donald Trump’s pick for the US Secretary of Energy.

I have known Chris Wright since 2017, and I can honestly say there could not be anyone more qualified for this position. Chris is passionate and deeply understands energy issues and costs and cares about the consumer and human lives. Something missed in the media this weekend is Chris Wright’s and Liberty Energy’s foundation, Bettering Human Lives.

This special re-issue podcast in an hour and a half with your new energy secretary. Get to know him, get to know me and PetroNerds, and get excited about America’s energy future and prosperity. This podcast was recorded on September 9th, 2021 in front of a group of folks at Liberty Energy’s office in Denver, Colorado and Chris and I cover everything from CO2 emissions to China to completions and frac sand.

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on October 30, 2024

Episode 119 of the PetroNerds podcast is a US election PetroNerdy special focussed on the impacts to US energy from this consequential Presidential election. Trisha Curtis, CEO of PetroNerds, is joined by Jason Issac from the American Energy Institute and former Texas representative.

This fun election special tries to get into the politics and policies while keeping it relatively entertaining. This podcast is politically focussed but it is not light on passion or data. Trisha does a fliparro where she hands off the moderating and interview to Jason and becomes the guest on her own podcast. Jason asks Trisha a series of questions from her interview with BBC to domestic policy impacts of the US election and foreign policy.

The goal of this podcast was to try and dispel some of the bias Trisha sees on market coverage with regards to energy, the economy, and the election. Trisha and Jason talk about policy impacts to US oil and natural gas as well as electricity prices, Iran and China. They talk about Harris’ flip flopping on fracing, what fracing actually is, and how a Harris Administration will be much harsher on oil and gas than the Biden Administration and how Harris’ domestic energy policies will be a continuation of his policies and much worse.

Trisha gets into inflation, lowering energy costs and electricity bills for the US consumer, and how to make the US consumer and US manufacturing competitive again. They discuss all of this and a lot more!

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on October 23, 2024 and October 2, 2024

Episode 118 of the PetroNerds podcast is part two of the politics, ESG, and climate special with Paul Tice, NYU Stern Professor, investor, and fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics.

Trisha Curtis starts this podcast with a complete rip of the current volatility in US and global markets, oil prices, the US election, comments by Paul Tudor Jones on CNBC on debt and economic crises, the Harris team’s comments on not enabling US oil and gas and fracking, Baker Hughes’ CEO comments on the role of natural gas as a “transition fuel” and a “destination fuel,” and Trisha’s contentious interview with the BBC on their Rare Earth program. Trisha Curtis on BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00244x3

The conversation continues with Paul Tice and Trisha Curtis asks Paul a series of questions on ESG and ESG vs. DEI. Paul talks about companies and climate science and a lack of push back and leadership across the board. They get into regulations, the Paris Climate Accord, SDG rules, and Trisha gets into primary energy consumption in the OECD vs the non OECD. They talk about regulations and politics and fracking bans and the reality of a Harris Administration vs. Trump. Paul says we need to educate the public and use the legal system to push back. Trisha talks about politics, the election, and how the oil and gas industry may not be able to come back from another four years of this. Paul talks about the use of setbacks and other limitations to ban fracking without banning fracking. Paul and Trisha talk about US production, policies against the oil and gas industry, the resiliency of US oil production, and the industry’s need to get real on politics.

Paul says ESG allows the developing world to produce oil and gas while strangling the developed world and the West from producing oil and gas. He talks about the need to challenge the underlying premise of climate. Trisha asks Paul about the proponents of ESG and how it is distorting and impacting business and Paul dispels that ESG is not helpful for financial performance. Paul says oil and gas has to be more outspoken but also more selective in their investors. Paul Tice says “anyone who wants to talk about ESG metrics is not a real investor.”

Paul closes the podcast by saying there are ways to turn the tide with politicians and business leaders getting over the fear factor and pushing back on ESG and climate. There is soo much in this jam packed mic drop podcast you are not going to want to miss it folks. Share this PetroNerdy PetroNerds special with your friends and colleagues.

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on October 2, 2024

Episode 117 of the PetroNerds podcast is part one of a two-part PetroNerds special on the state of ESG policies and climate politics with Paul Tice. Trisha Curtis, CEO of PetroNerds, is joined by guest Paul Tice, author, NYU Stern Professor, and Fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics. If you have been looking for a substantive podcast that gets into the politics of ESG and the current election, this is it. Trisha and Paul cover the gauntlet of issues surrounding investing and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and politics in the energy space, with the thread being Paul’s new book, The Race to Zero: How ESG Investing Will Crater the Global Financial System.

In part one, Trisha and Paul cover the SEC rule on climate, and Paul explains the outsized role of weather and transition risks, along with the increase in lawsuits against oil and gas that the SEC admits will happen. He gets into the incredible pressure on the oil and gas industry and what the 806-page SEC rule on climate actually does and is intended to do. They talk about the Fed, climate, and politics, and Trisha asks Paul where we are in the ESG timeline spectrum or stage. Paul says we are in the end stage or the enforcement stage of the Paris Agreements and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which have not actually been fully ratified by both branches of the U.S. Congress.

Trisha asks Paul to get into manufacturing and utilities and the “transition risk” and the impact of this SEC rule on climate on these industries, their need for energy, and their ability to make things. They talk about the ability of U.S. companies to compete, with Trisha referencing Germany and the fact that half of their auto manufacturing capacity is currently idle. Paul gets into intermittent power, higher prices, less reliable power, outsourcing manufacturing, and companies having to get their own power with an “every man for himself” approach because they cannot rely on the grid.

Paul takes on politics here, explaining that these green climate policies are being pushed through by undemocratic means, largely by the left and the Democratic Party. Trisha and Paul close part one of this two-part PetroNerds special by talking about the themes of the book and whether oil and gas do better under a Democrat or Republican. The old thinking that oil does better under a Democrat needs to be reassessed in the age of aggressive ESG and climate policies.

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on September 18, 2024

Episode 116 of the PetroNerds podcast is a compact heavy hitting PetroNerds special focussed on explaining the role of traditional fuels in the economy and the reality of power generation and CO2 emissions in the US and China. This is Trisha Curtis’ talk at the Dry Fork power plant in Gillette, Wyoming on September 18th, 2024 to state legislators from across the US who were visiting Wyoming’s energy facilities on behalf of the Wyoming Energy Authority.

Trisha walks legislators through the actual data of US oil and gas production, US oil and gas prices, the dramatic rise in electricity prices, the incredible decrease in US CO2 emissions, and the dramatic growth in Chinese CO2 emissions. Trisha explains that China not only has 1/3 of global power generation, they also have more coal fired power generation than the US has total power generation. And Chinese CO2 emissions and global CO2 emissions are rising as the US and states like Colorado look to aggressively decarbonize and decommission reliable baseload power generation from coal and natural gas.

Trisha does this all in 15 minutes. This is a fast paced heavy hitting podcast that you are going to listen to more than once and share with all of your peers. Trisha gave this presentation and talk as the CEO of PetroNerds and the economist for the American Energy Institute. She introduces this podcast with a brief introduction to discuss the decline in oil prices, the interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, and China’s stimulus efforts which are not helping oil prices.

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on September 11, 2024 and July 12, 2024

Episode 115 of the PetroNerds podcast is another jam-packed PetroNerds special you are going to listen to, relisten to, and share. This is the keynote address that Trisha Curtis gave to IPANM, the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico on July 12th, 2024.

This podcast is front-loaded with an energy-dense PetroNerdy market update covering everything from the softness and deterioration in oil prices, the Fed and inflation, weakness in the Chinese economy, lack of attention on geopolitics, and updates on the war in Ukraine, elections in the US, and Chinese power generation stats and CO2 emissions and much more!

In this keynote address and talk Trisha covers the current state of the Biden Administration, global elections, US oil production, the health of the US economy and the consumer, inflation and the non recession, the non-ESG friendly energy transition, whack-a-mole CO2 emissions, the real problems with China, Russia, Iran, the war in the Middle East, Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Chinese CO2 emissions and exports of cheap green tech, the resilience of US shale, and everything in between.

Make sure to check out the article Trisha Curtis published with Real Clear Energy as the Economist for the American Energy Institute: “America’s Energy Success has Nothing to do with the Biden Harris Administration” https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2024/09/03/americas_energy_success_has_nothing_to_do_with_the_biden-harris_administration_1055870.html and the US shale paper Trisha Curtis did for the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies that was published in their September 2024 Forum Journal. The paper is called “US Shale Oil – Relentlessly Resident” https://petronerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/US-Shale-Oil-Resiliency-PetroNerds-Trisha-Curtis-September-2024.pdf

Listen on Itunes

Recorded on August 16, 2024

In episode 114 of the PetroNerds podcast, Trisha Curtis, CEO of PetroNerds, is joined by Chris Brown, VP of Policy and Research at the Common Sense Institute, to discuss the recent report Trisha co-authored on Colorado’s declining energy competitiveness.

Energy is not just a sector of the economy; it is the sector upon which all businesses rely. Colorado, along with the rest of the US, has witnessed a dramatic escalation in electricity and natural gas prices, despite natural gas prices being near all-time lows, below $/mcf, for multiple months this year.

In this podcast, Trisha and Chris discuss the main themes of this report, including the rising electricity and natural gas prices in Colorado, which are making the state less competitive from an energy cost standpoint. They also discuss where electricity is coming from in Colorado and the direct correlation between rising electricity costs and the increase of wind power into the grid.

Finally, they talk about Colorado’s CO2 emissions, which account for less than 0.3 percent of global emissions, and how Colorado shutting down coal-fired power plants is actually enabling higher CO2 emission growth out of China, increasing the cost of electricity and power generation in Colorado, decreasing grid reliability, and reducing the affordability of energy in the state.

The data is damning and alarming, and folks in Colorado need to be reaching out to the PUC, Xcel, and their local representatives, demanding a halt to more wind and solar power being added to the grid at the expense of the Colorado consumer, taxpayer, and household. The report, along with all the detailed charts and analysis, can be found here: https://commonsenseinstituteco.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CSI-Report-CO-Energy-Competitiveness.pdf.

Listen on Itunes