good review of darn near every oil field in the country
Ha Ha, not even close
.................
Yeah there are a bunch more.
Previously, it didnt matter which company drilled the East Texas field first, because the company that initially drilled and the companies that followed would recover the same resources.
But now, people are recovering vastly different reserves, Gilmer noted.
A company can buy reserves in a play where other companies have found success.
But if they dont know the other company did it, the results can turn out to be wildly different.
Not only is the industry still trying to wrap its head around this difficulty, but the SEC has not recognized the different production results as an issue. Gilmer describes understanding shale plays and how to successfully produce shale hydrocarbons as a difficult onion to peel.
Best practices are also still evolving, with 20 to 30 experiments in production taking place at the same time as the industry seeks to determine the best way to arrange information to get results.
If a company drills a well and it produces 1,000 barrels of oil per day, people will say its because its good rock. Gilmer noted. But thats not it, its something they did.
What must be disclosed has become more complex with recent advances in unconventional E&P. How much of the 'technology' can be patented? To what extent must details like laterals, perforations, mud chemistry, etc. be reported to State authorities like the RR Commission and what of that is public? What does the SEC now view as 'material' and subject to disclosure? How does this affect the tradeoff between a better exchange of trade secrets for the benefit of the industry and the protection of innovators who have risked capital to discover new techniques?