News In General

Cont. from page 1

New Board 
Leadership at PTTC

During a March 17 Board meeting in Washington, PTTC elected new leadership for its national Board. Effective immediately, the new leaders are:

Chairman—James Bruning
Bruning Resources LLC, Fort Smith, AR
Vice Chairman—Brook Phifer
NiCo Resources Inc., Littleton, CO

PTTC thanks Immediate Past Chair Clark Southmayd, Jr., Oneok Resources Co., Tulsa for his faithful service to PTTC. Watch for an extended interview with Mr. Bruning in the next issue.

 

Meeting Alerts

Many DOE programs are designed to encourage environmentally responsible domestic production from marginal fields operated primarily by independent producers. Participation in the form of cost share from industry, state budgets and academia provides substantial leverage for these programs. But the reality is that federal budgets are under strain and even programs with attractive benefits are under great scrutiny. 

R&D programs by major producing companies have been significantly downsized. The service sector is shouldering more of the R&D responsibility but stock market investors force companies to focus on short–term results. Investment in the domestic energy sector is severely challenged. All factors combine to create an environment where technologies appropriate for mature U.S. reservoirs receive inadequate resources for development or adaptation. In this environment, there is a role for federal funding.

The federal government balances short-term and long-term objectives in providing reliable and affordable energy to consumers across the country. In the short term, DOE-supported R&D is making an impact in reducing risks for smaller independent operators and many would like that work to continue. These projects would not be possible today without participation from DOE. This is exemplified in the California project (see article page 1) which focuses on improving energy efficiency while dealing with vast amounts of produced water.

The role for government in long-term, high-risk R&D investments is to ensure new technologies directed at more unconventional resources continue to enter the pipeline to commercialization so they are available in the future. These projects have significant potential for leveraging developing technologies in other industries for application in the energy industry. Leveraging extends scarce resources and speeds commercialization. Adequate funding is essential to stimulate the continued flow of technology into the industry. 

Michigan Crew Delivers

Bill and Linda Harrison at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo provide valuable PTTC outreach to Michigan industry, but PTTC is only part of their vision. There is an active campaign to provide a new building for the Michigan Basin Core Research Laboratory (MBCRL). Current space is filled to the walls with core and sample boxes which require a proper storage climate. MBCRL is envisioned as a focal point for bringing together Michigan data from many sources making hard copy data available electronically and housing valuable cores. 

 

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