Yesterday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in an open letter to clients and CEOs that the investment firm has decided to vote with its trillions of dollars worth of shares in support of climate resolutions, sustainability, ESG, etc.
BlackRock is the world’s largest money manager, with $7 trillion dollars in assets under management.
Money talks. And when this much money talks, it’s earsplitting loud. The echo will be long lasting and far reaching.
Because of BlackRock’s size, this is a watershed moment in the finance world that is going to have a massive, long-run impact on corporate governance and how all industries interact with the environment.
If you thought the term “ESG” was trendy before this week… well, it’s really going to go viral now.
What does it mean for O&G? Here’s one positive. BlackRock’s top boss acknowledged in his letter that there is no replacement for today’s many “essential uses of hydrocarbon.” Thank you Larry! He went on to say: “everyone needs to be mindful of the economic, scientific and social realities of the energy transition.”
And here’s another positive. The projects that readers of this newsletter work on fit very nicely into this Wall Street strategy shift. What we see happening at the cutting edge of oilfield water management evolution is helping to make the O&G industry more sustainable and more environmentally friendly. This is desirable to ESG-focused investors who understand that O&G isn’t going away, as BlackRock clearly does.
As BlackRock’s trillions of dollars begin to flow around new ESG criteria, other institutional investors will follow. ESG fund flows will only increase from here, adding to their surge in recent years. As a result, we believe new funding windows will open to firms in water midstream, produced water recycling technology, and other aspects of oilfield water management.
The echo of BlackRock’s investing strategy shift will reverberate in the O&G industry for many years to come. And these echos will be a tailwind for many folks reading this newsletter – for the oilfield water management sector is the leading environmental bright spot in the modern oilpatch.
And now, here is your oilfield water business news digest for the past seven days…
News Digest
BlackRock Vows Focus On Climate Change
CEO Larry Fink, in his annual open letter, writes that climate is a "defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects" and that "we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance."
Texas Oil & Gas Industry Paid $16.3bn In Taxes And State Royalties In 2019, Most in Texas History
Billions in oil and gas taxes and royalties directly support Texas schools, teachers, roads, infrastructure and healthcare facilities...
Water Midstream CEO's Case For Water Midstream As A Great ESG Investment Is Timely In Light Of The BlackRock News
Jim Summers, CEO H2O Midstream, says: "Outlined in the article below are some of my thoughts on how the emerging Water Midstream sector is transforming the oil and gas industry in a positive way..."
One Of Best Permian Investments Doesn’t Produce Oil, Stifel Says
Texas Pacific Land Trust, a land bank that doesn’t produce oil, is one of the best ways for investors to gain exposure to the world’s largest shale field, according to Stifel Financial Corp...
Permian Oilfield Partners Beaks Ground On Lea County SWD
CEO Sean Puryear said: "pleased to announce we broke ground on our Cyclone Federal SWD #1 in Lea County NM this week. Expecting to go live early Q2 - 2020..."
RDS Ranch Brine & Water Company Is Opening A New Facility South Of Midland
CEO Russell Subia made the announcement this week...
The Curious Case Of Reeves County’s Fall From Grace
At its 2018 peak, Reeves County alone accounted for 36% of Delaware Basin drilling activity, 20% of Permian activity, and 8% of total US drilling activity. This juggernaut was the single busiest county in the entire Lower 48. That's no longer the case...
Permian Shale Water Management: The Hidden Costs
Many recycling facilities struggle to maintain treatment goals when large incoming produced water quality upsets occur. Equipment becomes overwhelmed with oil and solids carryover and throughput is either reduced or the system is shut down for maintenance...
Oilfield Labs Debuts Expansion That Doubles Midland Footprint
“Our company opened its doors 4 1/2 years ago, and we never anticipated the opportunities available to us, not just in the Permian Basin but in several regions,” Amanda North, the Houston-based firm’s director of lab operations told the MRT...
NM Produced Water Research Consortium Convenes In Albuquerque
A research scientist presented a talk on how produced water can be reused outside the O&G industry...
UTPB College Of Engineering Researching Ways To Clean Up Produced Water
They are researching and creating technology that can purify, distill and sterilize produced water...
First Permit Issued For Re-Purposing Produced Water For Ag And Conservation
A permit has been issued by the Wyoming DEQ to land-apply industrial by-product/produced water for agricultural and conservation use...
Aqua Pulsar Tests Treated Produced Water Brine With Conventional Friction Reducer
Aqua Pulsar currently working with operators to recycle and reuse high TDS produced water with high level of iron. Hydration tests of treated brine with conventional FR shows desired results on Viscosity and shear rate at various ratio of treated brine allowing operator to use higher % of produced water during their Frac....
Haymaker Minerals & Royalties III Launches In Search Of Large-Scale Opportunities
Haymaker III was formed to work with owners of large-scale mineral and royalty portfolios greater than $100 Million in value. “Haymaker specializes in working with public E&P companies to optimize non-core mineral and royalty assets” says Managing Partner Karl Brensike...
Railroad Commission Candidate Wants More Regulation
Railroad commission candidate, Chrysta Castaneda hopes to win one of Texas’ top races in 2020. Castaneda says West Texas experiences so much pollution because of flaring and it’s a detriment to people’s health.
Trump Cuts Environmental Review for Infrastructure, Pipelines
Environmental reviews for new pipelines, highways and other infrastructure projects would be reduced under a proposal released by the Trump administration Thursday...
Tallgrass Energy CFO Resigns
Tallgrass Energy announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Gary Brauchle has informed the Board of Directors of his intent to resign as Chief Financial Officer..
Western Midstream Announces Pricing Of $3.5 Billion Of Senior Notes
Net proceeds from the offering are expected to be used to repay and terminate WES Operating's $3.0 billion term loan credit facility...
TROUBLE IN SHALE: US Shale Oil Productivity Growth Expected To Slow In Some Basins
The dramatic jump in productivity seen in the early days of the US shale oil boom may be waning, but is likely not over, according to analysts, who expect efficiencies, at least for some plays, to edge higher in 2020...
TROUBLE IN SHALE: Apache Closing San Antonio Office, Cutting Nearly 300 Jobs
Apache Corp. is closing its San Antonio office and eliminating more than 270 jobs as part of a reorganization designed to cut costs. The Houston-based company...
Who Plans To Drill On Federal Lands Soon… And Where [Map & Charts Of The Day]
The US presidential election will begin to dominate mainstream newsflow as 2020 moves forward. That will again call into question the risks of some sort of moratorium or delay in drilling activity on Federal Lands. Here is analysis of the operators permitting new wells on Federal Lands, and where they are planning to drill..
Produced Water Pipeline Leaks Oilfield Wastewater Near Canadian Border
A pipeline spill of oilfield wastewater has affected cropland in northwestern North Dakota.
iPIPE Welcomes New Consortium Member
The Intelligent Pipeline Integrity Program (iPIPE), a consortium that includes Goodnight Midstream, announced the addition of Energy Transfer to its list of participating members. iPIPE is an industry-led partnership whose focus is to advance new technologies to prevent and detect pipeline leaks...
Faulty Valve Blamed For Bakken Produced Water Spill
The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality said the 12,180-gallon (46,000 liters) produced water spill happened on Saturday at a well pad about 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) east of Watford City. Minot-based Landtech Enterprises notified regulators of the spill on Monday....
Surge In Demand For Data Science Set To Continue Into The New Decade
One challenge that can be addressed by machine learning and data science involves controlling the levels of oil in produced water during oil and gas production...
And Finally, In Other News.... Water From Air? A Startup Claiming To Do So Wins CES Award
Recognition is for Watergen’s GENNY water system for homes and office use; it generates water from air and cuts down on use of plastic water bottles...
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