March 2022 - Ernie LaFlure

ETGS Member,

Well, I think very few, if any of us would have expected oil prices to be exceeding $110/BO at this point.  Sadly, it is at the expense of the freedom and safety of the Ukrainian people.  Hopefully, it can be a wakeup call to the importance of energy security.  With the pandemic in retreat and the industry accelerating, it is a great time to get reconnected at the ETGS Tech and Prospect Expo on March 29, 2022 at the Tyler Rose Center.  Please note the pre-registration deadline is March 11, 2022 and you can sign up at our website.

Our morning “technical session” will be made up of two BEG speakers from their STARR program. Lorena Moscardelli that leads the program will kick it off with “State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery Program – Overview and Future Directions”. Then Dr. Ian Duncan will discuss new refrac and secondary recovery research.  Karr Ingham, the Consulting Petroleum Economist with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, will discuss the “State of the Industry” from an economics viewpoint in the afternoon session.  Please consider being an exhibitor or sponsor for this great event.  In addition to the exhibitor area and great networking lunch, we will be having a Icebreaker at 5 PM on the evening before at Texas Music City, 5424 Old Jacksonville Hwy.  In light of our Expo, there will be no other ETGS meeting in March.

For our April 20 meeting we will have David Allen from Schlumberger is presenting “Challenges and Solutions of Low Resistivity Pay”. On April 22 the SFA Geology Department has invited ETGS members to their IBA Team Celebration at the Fredonia Brewery at 5 pm (see website for details).  Also, later in the month, we have our 10th annual ETGS SKEET SHOOT at ROSE CITY FLYING CLAYS: Tyler, Texas on SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2022, please sign up at our website for this always-great event.   

Many members have been concerned or inquiring about the potential merger of AAPG and SPE.  The AAPG Executive Committee announced in the past week that the proposed vote on the merger has been suspended for the time being.  A number of members, including myself, have requested that the merger plan be reviewed and voted on by the House of Delegates before being brought forward for a member vote.  This vote may still take place in the future and if you wish to participate in that vote, you must have your AAPG dues paid and be in good standing.  If you wish to learn more on this issue, I am providing links to the official AAPG / SPE website here: https://www.aapg-spe-merger.org/ and some of the concerns being presented at this and other affiliated societies here.

We have a busy spring with great events at ETGS!

Ernie LaFlure

March 3, 2022