Industry Optimistic, Ready For Change After NAPE 2020

Resilience and innovation. Excitement and high energy. Can-do attitudes. These were the vibes at the 2020 NAPE Summit, when over 11,000 oil and gas professionals from around the globe and close to 700 exhibitors packed the George R. Brown Convention Center to connect, reconnect, learn and make deals happen.

NAPE Summit concluded Friday with the Capital and Service Provider Previews, Government Affairs Talk, Sweepstakes Drawing for a 2020 Ford Mustang and more networking and dealmaking.

“It’s been phenomenal. We’ve had a lot of traction. Every time I look over, the guys are doing demos,” said exhibitor Ryan Vinson, CEO of MineralWare, a tech-enabled asset management platform, and Energy Domain, a tech-enabled platform for minerals and royalties. “NAPE is kind of a soft launch for Energy Domain. We’re not officially launching until summer but we’re just trying to get our name out.”

“Overall attendance has been solid. It has certainly been a very productive couple of days. We’ve got a lot of follow-up to do next week,” said Jeff Bush, president of CSI Recruiting. “We were the first recruiting firm to ever do a booth at NAPE. We’ve been an exhibitor for 15 years. It’s always been a great event for us.”

Bush also was among the presenters in the Capital and Service Provider Previews in the NAPE Theater. Friday’s presentations covered pipeline and mineral data, E&P hiring trends, production lending, emerging technologies and more.

“The preview is helpful because it allows me to summarize what we’re seeing in the marketplace. It’s a great platform for delivering a lot of information in a short period of time,” he said.

Also on Friday, the Government Affairs Talk featured David Porter, former Texas railroad commissioner and chairman. “We are entering another massive sea change in the oil and gas industry. This change is a new generation of regulations and laws that hamper the sale of hydrocarbons,” he told attendees.

It’s much easier to change a regulation or bill before it is passed and adopted, Porter noted. “That’s why it’s so important for you to stay informed.” He invited attendees to visit the website of the 98th Meridian Foundation (98thmeridianfoundation.org), a nonprofit he founded.

2020 NAPE Summit Week concluded with the Sweepstakes Drawing for a new Ford Mustang. When the winning name was called, the excited crowd heard a “hallelujah” shout from Gregory Yund of Dawson Geophysical Co.

“I’m stunned. I’m speechless,” said Yund, who was all smiles and graciously posed for photos with attendees who wanted a selfie with the winner.

“The overall feel has been great this year at NAPE,” said NAPE Operators Committee Chairman John Lodge.

“I’ve heard good discussions between the attendees and exhibitors at NAPE. One of the guys I was just speaking with told me they had an exploration deal that they were trying to sell and their booth has been full of people looking at it,” Lodge said. “We’re in a little bit of a downturn in our industry this year, but the crowd size has been phenomenal and there have been lots of good discussions — NAPE is where deals happen.”