American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017 - 82

ConventionSection: Illinois Oil & Gas Association

Illinois Producers Await
Increased Activity
By Dan Holder
CARMI, IL.-The uncertainties of a
new presidential administration arise with
every change in White House occupancy,
but the results of the 2016 election offer
reasons for optimism, insists Bryan Dicus,
president of the Illinois Oil & Gas Association.

Assessing the state of the Illinois industry in advance of IOGA's 71st Annual
Trade Show and Convention, to be held
March 2-3 at Old National Events Plaza
in Evansville, In., Dicus cites positive
commodity news coming from international markets. He notes the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries' decision
to limit oil output already has bumped

IOGA Annual Meeting - Evansville, In.
Wednesday, March 1
8 a.m.-5 p.m. PTTC Preconvention Workshop, Old National Events Plaza Ballroom
Separate Registration Required
Speakers: Joan Crockett, PTTC; John
Rupp and Rich Lahann, Indiana Geological Survey; Jeffrey Hoy and Alan
Henigman, Geologists; Yinghui Wu,
Weatherford; Bryan Huff, Illinois State
Geological Survey
3 p.m. Exhibit Hall Set-up, Exhibit Hall A
5-6 p.m. Social Hour for Workshop Attendees

Thursday, March 2
7:30 a.m. Coffee and Doughnut Bar, Exhibit
Hall
Sponsored by Illinois Department of Natural
Resources, Office of Oil & Gas Resource
Management
8:30 a.m. Registration, Exhibit Hall Foyer
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open, Exhibit
Hall A
10 a.m. Tri-State Professional Landman's
Association Meeting, Locust Room
10 a.m. IOGA Annual Meeting, Ballroom
Board of Directors Meeting Immediately
Follows
11:30 a.m. Deli Buffet Lunch, Exhibit Hall
12:15 p.m. General Interest Session, Ballroom
"Introduction to Microseismic and its Application to the Illinois Basin," Yinghui
Wu, Weatherford; Sam Barbee, Chairman
2:30 p.m. Engineering Committee Session,
Ballroom
"NW Owensville Unit-A Salem Waterflood
Case Study and Performance to Date,"
Tom Nichols, Nichols Operating LLC;
"www.shaleprofile.com-A Powerful Tool
to Quantify the Marginal Cost of Oil,"
Jim Brooker, Brookston Resources; Bryan
Dicus, Chairman
82 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

4 p.m. Geologic Committee Session, Ballroom
"Improved Oil Recovery in the Cypress
Using an Unconventional Approach,"
Nathan Webb, Illinois State Geological
Survey; "The ISGS New Petroleum Geologic Section," Hannas Leetaru, ISGS;
"Nanofluidity-Exploration and Production," Monte Swan, Revelant; "Making
Money in Mature Fields," Brett Edwards,
Revelant; Brad Richards, Chairman
5-6 p.m. Social Hour, Exhibit Hall
Hosted Bar Compliments of Meeting Sponsors
6 p.m. Evening Banquet, Exhibit Hall B
Entertainment to Follow

Friday, March 3
7:30 a.m. Coffee and Doughnut Bar, Exhibit
Hall
Sponsored by Illinois Oil & Gas Association
8:30-11:30 a.m. Exhibit Hall Open
9:45 a.m. Legal and Legislative Committee
Session, Ballroom
Dan Reitz, IOGA Consultant and Lobbyist;
"Recent Federal Regulations Affecting
Basin Operations," Charles Venditti,
Countrymark Energy Resources LLC;
Mike Mankowski, Office of Oil and Gas
Resource Management and Doug Shutt,
Plugging and Restoration Fund; Craig
Hedin, Chairman
Noon: Wildcatter Luncheon, Exhibit Hall
B
Bryan Dicus Presiding
Keynote Address, "State of Oil and Gas
Markets-Industry Outlook: Art Berman,
Annual Awards Program: Petroleum Professional of the Year; Petroleum Professional Woman of the Year; Service Person
of the Year; Lifetime Achievement; Wildcatter of the Year

up Illinois Basin oil prices, and says
many expect that good news to continue,
albeit modestly.
"I don't see an immediate rush back
to the drill bit in the basin, although a
few companies will drill some wells and
continue to work," assesses Dicus, a consulting petroleum engineer with BJ Dicus
& Associates LLC in Carmi. "For the
most part, I see companies concentrating
on the bread and butter: clean-outs,
workovers, waterflood enhancements-
the old standby stuff on which the Illinois
Basin has lived forever. While there is
some cautious optimism, I think operators
will stick their toes in the water pretty
slowly."
Incoming IOGA President Craig Hedin
predicts the Trump administration will
provide a major benefit by easing the
federal regulatory squeeze choking the
oil and gas industry.
"How the industry transitions from
the Obama regulatory climate that has
been increasing in intensity for the past
year is the challenge over the next six
months," says Hedin, vice president and
general counsel at Gesell's Pump Sales
& Service Inc. in Whittington, Il. "Of
course, commodity prices always are
looming, and there is a question of what
they will do in 2017. That will determine
whether we can sustain what we have
now."
Responding To Prices
The Illinois Basin's infrastructure and
service industries are ready to respond to
an uptick in activity if the price rebound
continues, Hedin and Dicus say. According
to Hedin, many regional service companies
managed to ride out the oil price drop
without significant changes, and now are
poised to tackle an era of increased field
activity.
"They have been able to hang on, and
now those companies have to get back
employees who maybe had been let go,
or hire new employees. That always is
an issue: the effort to find good, competent
oil field workers," he observes.
Hedin adds that many oil producers
used the two-year price downturn to

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017

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