The Keys to Meeting the World’s Energy Needs in 2023

2023 promises to bring a variety of new regulations to oil and gas producers. New Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules mandating ESG reporting requirements for U.S. companies are effective in the fiscal year 2023. As Rick Garza stated previously, “At a minimum, it requires businesses to disclose Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions.”

With regards to methane mitigation, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes a Methane Emissions Reduction Program (Sec. 60113). It introduces a charge on methane emitted by oil and gas companies that report emissions under the Clean Air Act. The charge applies to facilities that emit over 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year and exceed applicable waste emissions thresholds. It will start at $900 per metric ton of methane reported for the calendar year 2024, increasing to $1,500 for 2026 and thereafter.

In addition to regulators, investors increasingly demand emission reduction strategies that include tangible actions on a regular basis. They also expect emission data to be factored into the overall asset valuation process.

Operators must find ways to prioritize several competing emissions reductions projects. Incorporating emission reduction strategies into existing operations plans is the key to solving this problem.

Solving for Energy Security

Skyrocketing energy prices have been a challenge for many countries, with those in the developing world often bearing the brunt of volatile price swings. The world needs reliable and affordable energy. The United States and Canada have extensive resources, both natural and human, to meet the world’s energy demands.
Europe boosted US LNG imports by more than 137% in the first 11 months of 2022. America, particularly, is home to vast stores of natural gas. To continue meeting rising demand, energy companies have to figure out how to do more with less under increasing scrutiny.

Efficiency Is Everything

With fewer employees and capital than ever, increased efficiency gains have become the lifeblood of energy producers. The Great Crew Change and the COVID-19 pandemic, incidentally when we launched ComboCurve, led to retirements across the industry. Every geologist and engineer who retires represents decades of knowledge and skill that is replaced with professionals who are just beginning their career.

Thankfully, technology has bridged the gaps from losses in seasoned workers. Production is at the same level and efficiency as before despite less capital and people in the workforce. Progress is only accelerating.

Companies that have adopted the latest technologies to analyze faster are realizing tremendous operational efficiencies. With the ability to quickly move data between teams, software, stakeholders and investors, organizations can gain an accurate valuation and forecast hundreds – if not thousands – of wells with minimal effort. Automating manual tasks allows companies to free up valuable personnel resources for more impactful and productive activities.

This is all possible with unified platforms that make it easy to share data, dashboards, and deep insights. Your data is useless if you can’t use it to make decisions.

Quantifying Risks & Opportunities

Investors require vast and ever-increasing amounts of data to make decisions. With increased data comes the risk of subpar analytics due to outdated data management technology. Duplicate and repetitive work must be eliminated with automation wherever possible. Rather than forecasting a single well at a time, the best solutions let you auto-forecast 25,000 in minutes.

Rising to the Occasion

No matter what challenges lie ahead, producers will do what they always do; create innovative solutions to the world’s biggest problems. Despite increased regulations, global energy uncertainty, and a workforce in transition, with increased automation and unified workflows, the energy sector will continue to deliver in 2023 and beyond.