Creating a Masterpiece in Oil

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Kansas is a great place to learn about the oil industry. I should know. Ten years ago I knew nothing about it. I couldn’t even be considered green, I was just ignorant. However, I found something special here: you — the people in the industry.

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I cannot tell you how many dusty roads I’ve driven down. Driving by fields of grain and pastures of grazing stock so familiar to me from growing up on a farm in Eastern New Mexico. At the end of those roads was the unfamiliar. The derricks, pumping units, workover rigs, pipelines, hydraulic fracturing units and much more that I knew nothing about.

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Also at the end of those roads were some of the greatest people I have ever met. People dressed to get things done. People passionate about the work they had at hand. People who spoke in a language composed of geological terms, acronyms, slang and technical terms that meant nothing to me. People who met me time after time with a smile on their face, a hand extended in friendship and a willingness to make time to teach me.

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Few are the places in our country where you can pull up to a site and be immersed in its operations. I was walked step by step through each aspect of the process. Simply because the people involved had a desire to help me, and others, know what they did and why. It was that “why” that has meant the most to me. Those in the industry have an understanding not just about their job, but also how what they do impacts everything. Their passion is contagious.

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Today, we live in changing times. President Trump’s efforts, the passage of the O-triple-B (“One Big Beautiful Bill”), changes in regulatory practices and environmental shifts are changing the framework in which we operate. Just as the frame on an oil painting marks the bounds of the work, so will the framework currently being manipulated mark the bounds in which we must work. What remains to be seen is the picture that will be created within that frame.

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Oil painting, which I know and practiced much of my life, consists of layer after layer of paint being applied. In the same way the new picture within this changed framework will consist of layer upon layer of changes in many aspects of the industry.

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We, in Kansas, are definitely not “big” oil. Yet, the layer we add to the picture is vital. Stripper wells account for 15% of oil production in the United States. Kansas has more stripper wells than any other state in the United States except Texas. But let’s be honest, Texas has a pretty strong industry without those wells. The industry in Kansas is highly dependent on its stripper wells.

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Without the 15% of oil production which comes from stripper wells, the United States would cease to be the top producing country in the world. Losing that position, would significantly impact the country’s ability to influence the larger industry across the globe. Stripper wells (the vast majority of which are marginal wells) are crucial to the picture being created within this new framework. They are vital to achieve energy independence, national security and affordable, reliable energy for Americans.

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I am certainly glad that Kansas holds such a critical role on this issue. I know the Kansan people in this industry. The people who patiently taught me. The people who are passionate about their work. And I can think of no better people to educate others on the vital role the Kansas industry has in creating our energy future.

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As we begin to see the development of the landscape of our energy future, it is vital we are engaged in the process. Communicating with the public and the powers that be. Educating everyone on the work we do and why. Just as you educated me. One thing I know for sure; we can’t create a masterpiece in that framework unless Kansas plays a vital role.