American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2019 - 92

ConventionSection: OIPA-OKOGA
and natural gas liquids."
For the state's production growth to
continue, Oklahoma must support the
ongoing build-out of its interstate pipeline
infrastructure, Hutchings asserts. "A lot
of the state's natural gas used to go
north to supply markets in the middle
of the country," he describes. "As market
dynamics have changed, those markets
now are supplied by East Coast or Appalachian plays. Our ability to get our
products to the Texas Gulf Coast has
been critical."
Mullennix points to revolutionary advances in data processing as a key component of oil and gas development in the
coming years, with software processing
thousands of well logs in a matter of
days, replacing evaluation that typically
required months of human analysis. He
cites his involvement as a board member
for NextStream, a joint venture between
Baker Hughes and other investors, as another example of technology driving industry improvements.

"NextStream basically takes technology
off the shelf at Baker Hughes and General
Electric, and monetizes it through field
tests," he says. "There are dozens of
products out there: new separator technology, pumpjack technology and new
bit technologies. There is new equipment,
such as wired pipe-which basically turns
a drillstring into a Wi-Fi network and
sends data up from the bit. That kind of
technology still is in its infancy. Drilling
with lasers now is being tested, which
would be a leap forward. Amazon has
started work with the oil and gas industry
using the cloud."
While commodity prices are insufficient
to support much more field activity, Mullennix points out that improved equipment
and techniques are helping operators survive the squeeze. "We have done such a
good job at creating technical efficiencies,
that if you are drilling good locations,
people still are able to make money on
anything north of $50 a barrel," he says.
Meanwhile, OIPA-OKOGA President

Chad Warmington predicts the new association will further strengthen connections with the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, the industry-funded program that mitigates oil and gas sites,
and promotes energy education. Warmington, who previously led OKOGA, indicates that one of the biggest surprises
of the merger process has been learning
more about OERB.
"A lot of our larger members had kind
of ignored OERB. Most were contributors-there is a voluntary fee on production
that funds it-but our larger companies
had not really been as engaged with the
OERB," he says. "Coming over here, one
of my roles is working directly with
OERB. I see the potential in the work it
is doing, and discovered there is a lot of
misunderstanding from our large companies that were not as engaged."
Hutchings, also a board member at
OERB, notes, "The OIPA-OKOGA team
looks forward to deepening our connections with the OERB mission."
❒

OU's Mewbourne School Reaches 100
By Sarah Warren
NORMAN, OK.-This year marks the
centennial anniversary of petroleum engineering education at the University of

Oklahoma. It is a celebration of a legacy
that touches every facet of the university
and the state of Oklahoma.
In 1919, Oklahoma had been a state
for only 12 short years when Leon Everette

This March 1940 edition of The
Sooner Magazine discusses the
University of Oklahoma's role in
building the oil industry to that
point. As it celebrates its centennial,
the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering is
considering a number of its contributions to the oil and gas industry,
including awarding the country's
first geological engineering degree.
Portions of this article were drawn
from The Sooner Magazine with permission from the publication and
the OU Foundation.

92 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

English walked across the stage at the
University of Oklahoma commencement
and made history as the first person in the
United States to earn a degree in geological
engineering. In the same year, the University expanded its energy curriculum
to include courses in petroleum technology.
The School of Petroleum Engineering
was founded in 1924, and the two schools
later merged to become the School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering.
These early students seized their opportunity to make a mark in energy.
They were the wildcatters, trailblazers
and shoulders on which we still stand
today. The graduates of our school share
a proud tradition and heritage. They
have led multinational corporations and
founded hundreds of successful independent companies.
In 2000, the historic and celebrated
school was renamed the Mewbourne
School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering to honor industry leader and
celebrated alumnus Curtis W. Mewbourne
of Tyler, Tx. His passion for the energy
industry, the University of Oklahoma and
the students of the Mewbourne College
of Earth and Energy ensure that the legacy
started 100 years ago will continue.
The Mewbourne School of Petroleum

American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2019

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