Billed as “the place where deals happen”,2020 NAPE Summit Week, kicked off Tuesday with a fierce (but friendly) battle among MBA students from 11 of the nation’s top business schools vying for $40,000 in cash prizes at the inaugural NAPE/TCU Energy Innovation Case Competition, sponsored by the AAPL Educational Foundation.
Ehren Burgh, James Fraser, Nick Gibson and Chris Romanczuk of the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business took the top prize of $25,000. Second place honors and $10,000 went to Rico Dominguez, Bryan Karr, Norbert Peyfuss and Brent Toxell of the University of Denver Daniels College of Business. Mark Avioli, Travis Little, Emily Mallon and Morgan Mitchell of SMU’s Cox School of Business won third place and $5,000.
“Each February NAPE Summit welcomes thousands of oil and gas professionals from around the world to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston for a week of dealmaking, networking and professional development — making it the perfect venue to give these future industry leaders the opportunity to put their skills to the test with a current, real-world energy challenge and then present their innovative solutions to our distinguished panel of judges,” said Le’Ann Callihan, director of NAPE.
“First thing I’ll say is wow,” Sean Marshall, president of the AAPL Educational Foundation and an event judge, told the competitors before announcing the winners. “I was completely blown away by the talent, creativity and thoughtfulness by all the teams. It looks like the future of the industry is in good hands.”
Also on Tuesday, attendees took part in a series of educational courses, workshops and seminars hosted by the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).
On Wednesday, attendees heard about emerging trends and issues from leaders across industry at the Global Business Conference.
Scott W. Tinker, director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin, began the morning presentations with “The Myopia of a Carbon-Only Lens.”
“Energy underpins healthy economies. Healthy economies invest in environments,” Tinker said as he walked attendees through recent data.
“Science says a ban on fracking will actually slow CO2 reductions,” he noted. “A ban on frac’ing will have a regressive impact on the poor.”
Tinker invited attendees to access research and resources available at switchon.org. And when attendees are asked about “what they do,” he suggested responding: “I work in the oil and gas industry and I lift the world from poverty. What do you do?”
He added: “Thank you for what you do. We need you.”
Next, Leen Weijers, vice president of engineering at Liberty Oilfield Services, discussed trends in fractivity, sharing how frac’ing has changed over the last decade and how industry has been able to bring down drilling and completion costs. Attendees enjoyed participating in four polls about shale trends via texts from their smartphones during his presentation.
In the “Data and Where It Is Going” panel discussion, moderator Jim Wicklund, managing director at Stephens Inc., led panelists Evan Anderson, co-founder and CEO of Oseberg, Zane Arrott, COO of RSP and Rising Star Energy, and Nate Clark, principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, as they unpacked some of the issues involved with data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Among the fundamental challenges: the cultural barrier to adopting technology. The key to maximizing value from big data is creating a company culture — from the top down — that embraces data.
At the Global Business Conference luncheon, the first place team from the NAPE/TCU Case Competition shared an abbreviated version of their winning case analysis.
The luncheon continued with keynote speaker Matt Gallagher, president and CEO of Parsley Energy. “I do love this industry but there are some challenges,” he told the audience. “We have a massive perception problem. A whole generation looks at us and sees the past.”
In his presentation titled “A Shale New Deal: Resilience and a Green Future,” Gallagher said the Green New Deal is at its core a plan to create a thriving new green future. Unfortunately the plan hurts the ones it’s meant to help the most, he noted.
“But sitting around and criticizing someone’s plan isn’t good enough. … We need to lead,” he said.
The solution: improving perception, pollution and profit.
“Our industry is 160 years old. Throughout the decades we’ve proved we know how to change,” Gallagher said.
The afternoon sessions started with a panel discussion tackling the timing and capacity disconnects between producers and midstream companies. It also addressed environmental concerns and capital constraints. “Beyond the Wellhead — The Missing Links” was moderated by A. Chris Aulds, partner at Pearl Energy Investments, with panelists Jim Finley, CEO and owner of Finley Resources, Brian Frederick, former president of DCP Midstream, and Tom Lloyd, director of marketing and midstream at Marathon Oil.
In “World LNG Forecast and the Effect on the Domestic Gas Market,” J. Corey Grindal, senior vice president of gas supply at Cheniere, covered liquified natural gas demand past and future, pricing and impact on upstream business. “The world needs what we have,” he said.
Maynard Holt, CEO of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., wrapped up the Global Business Conference by discussing important thoughts on investors’ minds.
Also Wednesday afternoon, the 2020 NAPE Summit continued to foster an environment “where deals happen” by bringing together job seekers and employers at the NAPE Job Fair.
“It’s elbow to elbow in there,” said Macey Guthery, a reservoir engineer who recently relocated from Los Angeles to Houston and is attending her first NAPE specifically for the Job Fair. “My father is a landman and he said go.”
She added: “I’m surprised at how many companies are here actually looking for employees. I met some great people and it was wonderful to network with them. It’s such a good turnout here.”
Ryan King, CPL, an independent landman from the Houston area who has attended NAPE a handful of times, attended the Job Fair after being laid off in August. “I was meeting with a couple of people I applied with to just get a face in front of them,” he said. “Now they have a face to go with a résumé, so hopefully it will open a door.”
Wednesday concluded with the always popular Icebreaker networking event.
On Thursday, the NAPE Summit exhibit floor is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We also encourage you to participate in the Domestic and International Prospect Previews throughout the day as well as the Connections & Conversations: Women in Energy program in the afternoon. NAPE would like to thank the speakers, sponsors and attendees who made the NAPE Global Business Conference, Job Fair and Icebreaker such a success. We also thank our premier sponsors: Auburn Energy Management, Brigham Minerals, Cudd Energy Services, EnergyNet, Enertia Software, Enverus, Energy Domain, Holland Services, Longpoint Minerals, Mewbourne Oil Company, Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse, RealX Ventures Inc., Steptoe & Johnson, Talos Energy, Texegy and Triple Crown Energy.
Spread the word. Support the industry. Share the energy.
Follow on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtVimPyUygnwakoQ9swHXNA
Follow on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thecrudelife/
Follow on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-crude-life
Follow on Twitter
https://twitter.com/RealCrudeLife
