Oil and Gas Upstream

In this episode of Oil and Gas Upstream, host Elena Melchert interviews Matt Elbert and Christan Perkins from Tachyus, a company focused on revolutionizing reservoir management through artificial intelligence and data analytics. They discuss the challenges and innovations in oil recovery, the importance of optimizing production strategies, and the role of technology in addressing environmental […]

In this episode of Oil and Gas Upstream, host Elena Melchert engages with guests Warren Spiwak and Hilde Haviland to discuss the complexities of energy risks and insurance and the intersection of energy, insurance, and financial strategies, emphasizing the importance of understanding risks and the evolving landscape of the industry. They also explore the importance […]

In this conversation, Elena Melchert talks with Dan Naatz, Independent Petroleum Association (IPAA) about the partnership of IPAA with the North American Prospects Expo (NAPE) event, highlighting the importance of independent oil and gas producers in the U.S. He emphasizes the opportunities and risks in the industry, the continuous innovation and technology advancements, and the […]

In this episode, host Elena Melchert talks with Courtney Childress about what happens BEFORE drilling for oil. What is a Landman, and what does he or she do? If you own subsurface minerals such as oil and gas, what do you do to monetize your holdings? Ms. Childers takes us through the process, step by […]

In this episode of Oil and Gas Upstream, host Elena Melchert interviews Jeffrey Thyne, an expert in oil recovery through water chemistry manipulation. They discussed Thyne’s extensive background in the oil and gas industry, the inception of his company ESAL, and the innovative techniques he developed to enhance oil recovery. The conversation delves into the […]

In this episode of Oil and Gas Upstream, host Elena Melchert engages with Sam Norwood, a petroleum engineering student at Texas A&M University. They discuss the evolving landscape of the oil and gas industry, the importance of technology and collaboration, and the role of petroleum engineers in addressing global energy needs. Sam shares insights from […]

Host, Elena Melchert, talks with Dwayne Purvis, Founder and Principal Advisor, Purvis Energy Advisors about integrating petroleum engineering with sustainable energy. Recorded in person at the SPE 2024 Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition. https://www.purvisenergyadvisors.com linkedin.com/in/dpurvispe  Brought to you on OGGN, the largest and most listened-to podcast network for the oil and energy industry. Sign up for […]

In this episode of Oil and Gas Upstream, host Elena Melchert speaks with Deb Ryan, CEO and founder of Swan Mountain Advisory, about the evolving landscape of the oil and gas industry, particularly in relation to carbon management, emissions reduction, and the integration of AI. They discuss the importance of adapting to new technologies and […]

Elena talks with Pierre d’Huart at the SPE/ATCE 2024 conference in New Orleans about the oil and gas industry in Europe as well as SPE in Europe. Pierre is Director of Technology Development at SAIPEM and is the SPE Regional Director for Europe. He shares insights about Europe’s upside potential for producing gas, including Romania […]

Elena talks with Tracy Gray, Former Vice President of Strategy, Marketing and Product Commercialization in Oil and Gas Automation. Tracy is a 2024 awardee of the Houston Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business in Energy” award. With 27 years’ experience in oil and gas leadership, Tracy discusses how a business strategy is the “fabric” that […]

Elena Melchert talks with geochemist Justin Mackey and Tom Tarka both at the at the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) about Critical Minerals.  Critical Minerals are those minerals used in many applications, from cell phones and appliances to electric vehicles and solar panels. Justin is currently studying the resource potential of […]

Ukrainian Petroleum Engineering students (student SPE members) from 5 student chapters of SPE across Ukraine talk with Elena Melchert about their goals and aspirations for careers in Petroleum Engineering and the future Ukrainian oil and gas industry. https://www.spe.org/en/section/250 Brought to you on OGGN, the largest and most listened-to podcast network for the oil and energy industry. […]

Elena talks with Tomas Reyna, Intern with Niche Consultants and student at Albright College in Redding Pa, studying Political Science. Tomas does legislative research among other things at Niche Consultants and is interested in Political Science because he is learning about a lot of different areas. He discussed his 3 take aways from the conference: […]

Host, Elena Melchert, talks with Glen Davis, current Director of Energy for the Virginia Departmet of Energy. Mr. Davis talks about the “all of the above” energy policy in Virginia and  the fact that energy demand is growing in the US and even at a rate of 5% year over year in Virginia. He said […]

In this festive OGGN Christmas Special, the hosts and co-hosts engage in a fun-filled quiz that tests their holiday knowledge. The conversation flows from introductions to a series of light-hearted trivia questions, with plenty of laughter and banter along the way. The episode wraps up with warm holiday wishes and a humorous note about one […]

Host, Elena Melchert, talks with Carlos Torres at the SPE/ATCE 2024 conference in New Orleans about his 24-year career in oil and gas that includes experiences in Asia, Venezuela and the US with SLB before founding his own energy services company. Episode Link https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlosatorres1 Brought to you on OGGN, the largest and most listened-to podcast network […]

Host, Elena Melchert, talks with Dr. Jeremy Boak about his over 40 years’ experience as a geologist in various roles from ARCO to the Department of Energy, the Colorado School of Mines, and currently as Consultant to Teverra where he is working on geothermal energy. Dr. Boak discusses produced water and its effects on the […]

Dr. Hamed Soroush talks with Host, Elena Melchert, about   In this episode of Oil and Gas Upstream, host Elena Melchert speaks with Dr. Hamed Soroush, founder and CEO of Tavera, about the company’s innovative approaches to subsurface technologies, including geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and energy storage solutions. They discuss the rebranding of […]

In this episode, Elena Melchert talks with Derrick Whiting and Yani Araujo of Intertek at the CCUS conference in March 2024. They discuss how CO2 is effectively injected for storage and how Intertek evaluates the rock formation and effects of CO2 injection.  They discuss the long-term effects of C02 injection that must be evaluated to […]

Chris Wright talks with Host, Elena Melchert, about his career in energy, especially oil and gas, and an important timeline of industry contributions to making the USA a net exporter of energy. The Bettering Human Lives report is available for download at www.libertyenergy.com. Requests for the printed report can be made at Liberty’s website, or please contact [email protected]. Bettering Human […]

Host, Elena Melchert talks with Phil Cruver and Bill Bartling about the work they are doing at Geo2Watts to recycle idle or unplugged oil well bores to store thermal energy that can later be converted to electricity. https://www.geo2watts.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-cruver-b24b845 Brought to you on OGGN, the largest and most listened-to podcast network for the oil and energy […]

Host, Elena talks with Kevin Silla, Director, Pristine Energy, about exploring for geologic hydrogen. Kevin began his oil and gas career in coventional oil and gas as Petroleum Landman and learned about discoveries of hydrogen in Africa while drilling for water and learned hydrogen is an abundant source around the world. Extracting H-hydrogen is similar […]

Host, Elena Melchert, talks with both Andy Wang and Russell Whitney about the large amounts of data coming from equipment on drilling rigs and using it to further improve drilling operations both surface equipment and downhole equipment by using Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Episode Link https://www.precisiondrilling.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-whitney-pmp https://www.prescientdevices.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-wang-2005 Brought to you on OGGN, the largest and […]

In this episode, host, Elena Melchert, talks with Simon Seaton, new CEO for Society of Petroleum Engineers.  Listen to Simon as he recounts his career experience, how he came to be the new CEO of SPE, and an overview of the ATCE Opening Panel session, and the future of SPE and the role of SPE […]

Host, Elena Melchert talks with Chris Martin, Sr. Vice President of Wings Travel Group, provides personalized custom travel for oil and gas personnel, from oversees air to transporting offshore crews destined for offshore; facilitating moving tools and equipment also including during time of war and COVID, and for oil and gas travelers with specific country […]

Elena Melchert talks with Travis Windholz, Managing Director of Conduit. Travis has 20+ years of experience in energy and power investing and leadership. Conduit was founded in 2022 as a total power solution, enabling E&P and midstream companies to utilize their own gas for power generation. Travis discussed the work Conduit does to provide natural […]

Elena Melchert talks with Jane Stricker about the Houston Energy Transition Initiave (HETI) which in an initiative of the Greater Houston Partnership. Ms. Stricker discusses how the business environment in Houston is a perfect place to handle all aspects of an Energy Transition because it has the science and  engineering talent as well as the […]

Elena talks with Dana Otillio, SPE Vice President Marketing and Communication, about the publishing and multimedia content now available through SPE available for SPE members and non-members on the SPE website and its own streaming website for content. Episode Links  SPE Energy Stream: https://streaming.spe.org/ The SPE Podcast: https://www.spe.org/en/podcasts/ SPE Website:  https://www.spe.org/en/  Brought to you on OGGN, […]

Lee Hyson is Operations Petrophysical Consultant with Gaia Earth Group, a formation evaluation services company. Lee Hyson began his oil and gas career with Schlumberger as a field wireline operator. He moved to Gaia in 2011. Mr. Hyson presents wireline operations for the beginner and to a subject matter expert level including geothermal opportunities and […]

In this episode, Elena Melchert talks with George Koperna, VP of Advanced Resources International, about the status of CCUS. Mr. Koperna is a Petroleum Engineer who became familiar with CO2 injection in the 1990s as the method was being used in Enhanced Gas Recovery. He now works with government researchers and commercial entities to find […]

Elena Melchert talks with Hani Al Khalifa about how produced water is being managed globally and in the Middle East. The Produced Water Society has grown from just a few hundred to over 8000 members in 2024. Produced Water comes from oil and gas reservoirs with the production. With emerging technologies, new ways of managing Produced […]

Curtis with EAG joins Mark to discuss the business impacts of cyber security to the oil and gas industry, remote work, zero trust, AI and ensuring that you are secure, even though you have a limited budget. Plus, for once Mark doesn’t make fun of the Army!  In this episode, Elena Melchert talks with James […]

In this episode, Elena Melchert talks with Terry Palisch about 100th anniversary of the Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) to be held in New Orleans. ATCE is SPE’s flagship technical conference and will include guest speakers and exhibitions from all over the world.  The theme is “Powering the Future of Energy with a Century of […]

In this episode, host Elena Melchert interviews Eric Burnette, Director of Engineering, AD3 Technologies, about his work as a driller in carbon capture and storage as a “refugee” from the oil and gas sector, and presents a great summary comparing and contrasting oil and gas with carbon storage and the effects of carbon dioxide related to […]

In this episode, U.S. Hydrogen Alliance Founder and Executive Director, Roxana Bekemohammadi, discusses hydrogen as the “Swiss Army Knife” of energy because of its various applications and the commonalities between oil and gas and hydrogen, and the challenges of educating public policy makers. https://www.ushydrogenalliance.org Brought to you on OGGN, the largest and most listened-to podcast network for the oil […]

In this episode, host, Elena Melchert, recording from the Exhibit Hall, discusses with Dr. Autumn Haagsma, the founding of the SPE-AAPG-SEC Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) annual conference, and her new project with the Department of Energy related to advancing CCUS in Michigan where she will focus on the parameters of a competent confining […]

In this episode, Elena Melchert talks with John Durand about XRI Water’s efforts in managing produced water. John previously worked at Pioneer Resources before joining XRI Water. XRI Water, established in 2013, is a full-cycle water management and produced water management midstream company with advanced water treatment technologies and recycling frameworks. John discusses how XRI manages […]

In this episode, the host, Elena Melchert, talks Chuck McConnell, Executive Director of the Center for Carbon Management at the University of Houston. Chuck McConnell was formally Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. McConnell shares work by a consortium on the commercialization of CCUS at the University of Houston […]

In this episode, host, Elena Melchert, talks with Chris Fair, President of Oilfield Data Services. Oilfield Data Services. Founded in 2005, ODSI provides a real-time, integrated well-completion-reservoir monitoring system – Automated Real-Time Surveillance (ARTS) to monitor production and reservoirs. In this podcast, Chris explains how with advanced computer power and physics, his company can get more accurate well […]

In this episode, host, Elena Melchert, talks with Dr. Douglas Wicks who currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E) at DOE. His focus at ARPA-E is on waste-to-energy, critical mineral mining and geologic hydrogen technologies. Wicks joined ARPA-E from Imerys, a French industrial minerals company. https://arpa-e.energy.gov/ Brought to you […]

In this episode, host, Elena Melchert, talks with Dr. Nathan Meehan, Professor at the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University. His research includes energy transition issues, unconventional resources, and hydraulic fracturing. He holds a BSc from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MSc from the University of Oklahoma, and a PhD […]

In this episode, host, Elena Melchert interviews John Durand, John Durand, Vice Chairman and Chief Sustainability Officer, XRI Water. From a time when oil and gas operations depended on freshwater -especially for hydraulic fracturing to a time now when no freshwater is needed. From disposal of brackish water to treatment and reuse of produced water […]

Elena talks with Dr. Susan Nash at the 2024 NAPE Summit about the latest on the Department of the Interior’s work with the States regarding orphaned wells. NAPE hosted a panel dedicated to discussion on orphaned wells, and Dr. Nash, a panelist, shared insights. NAPE Summit https://napeexpo.com/summit TGS https://www.tgs.com/ Department of the Interior Orphaned Wells […]

Elena talks with Lonnie Smith, Co-Founder of Turnco and creator of the B.R.I.T.E and D90 processes. Lonnie and Turnco are leading technical authorities in solving BHA (Bottom Hole Assembly) data analytics challenges for operators and drilling contractors alike. Lonnie has 25 years of experience in bottom-hole assembly applications, and holds an Executive Education Certificate in […]

In this episode, host, Elena Melchert, talks with Matt Kleiman, Co-Founder and CEO of Cumulus Digital Systems. Cumulus is digitizing quality assurance in industrial maintenance and construction. Matt has a B.A. degree from Rutgers and a J.D degree from Duke Law School. After working in aerospace, he began working in oil and gas improving Blow-Out […]

In this episode, host, Elena Melchert, talks with Carl Neuhaus, VP Onshore, TGS, who discusses TGS’ role in making subsurface data, especially 3D seismic data, available to the industry. Also, discusses data architecture and its role in big data, data analytics, and AI. How many zeros are there in a petabyte? This episode was recorded […]

Recorded live at the 2024 Produced Water Society annual meeting, Houston. In this episode, host, Elena Melchert, talks with Steve Coffee about produced water and its role in oil and gas as a resource and his thoughts on produced water as discussed at COP28. Water and technology are critical to development and to optimize the […]

Elena talks with Mark McClure, CEO of ResFrac. ResFrac supplies software which integrates Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Simulation, with applications to oil, gas, and geothermal resources. Mark discusses how ResFrac integrates Hydraulic Fracture and Reservoir Simulation into a complete package, enabling improvements in well design and optimization. Mark also discusses how improved data and industry […]

Elena talks with Huxley Barbee, Security Evangelist at runZero, a cyber asset attack surface management solution that is the first step in cybersecurity risk management. Huxley discusses why and how cybersecurity for operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) including oil and gas upstream is so different from IT, including history, first steps, and […]

Elena talks with Mark Munoz, Reservoir/Simulation Engineering Consultant, about his 46 year career working with reservoir simulation and integrated studies. Mark has worked with various companies, including SSI, ECL/SLB, BP, OXY, Nitec, Conoco and Devon Energy. He has held various positions such as Manager of Latin American Operations, Manager of Integrated Studies, Manager of Simulation, […]