American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015 - 133

ConventionSection: Tennessee Oil & Gas Association
East and Northeast Tennessee are the most
active and productive regions. "The
drilling activity and sites we are seeing are
consistent with all the upturns and downturns of the past two years," he reflects.
Tennessee mostly hosts vertical, conventional wells, but Goodwin states there
have been a few horizontal tests of Mississippian targets, and they have been successful. "When the price comes back, more
horizontal wells will be drilled in Tennessee," he adds.
TOGA's membership remains steady,
and members still are participating in the
association as actively as they were previously. For the most part, the state has
smaller companies that are "tightening
their belts" rather than laying off personnel, Goodwin notes.
"I am proud to say that everyone is pretty much staying the course," he attests.
"Our operations in Tennessee already
were fairly lean. They had to be, by way
of economics. The industry here is small,
but it's entrenched.
"Most of our production in the state is
stripper well production," he continues.
"But with our enhancement techniques and
our long-term market outlook, (TOGA
members) have been able to maintain the
majority of their operations, stay active,
and explore new areas for oil and natural
gas."
Reiley says there is a visible impact in
the decline of permitting over the past
months, and how many companies have
cut back. "TOGA is comprised of experienced professionals, and many of them
have weathered these price cycles before,"
she comments. "So, we really haven't seen
any change in membership numbers or
participation."

Annual Convention
According to Reiley, TOGA is expecting more than 150 attendees at its annual meeting and convention. The association will host the event May 20-22 in the
heart of eastern Tennessee's Smoky
Mountains in Gatlinburg for the second
year in a row.
Reiley says the meeting's theme, "A
Taste of Tennessee," will be incorporated in the various food, drinks, and activities throughout the conference.
"We will kick off the convention
Wednesday, May 20, with our yearly golf
tournament, followed by a night of fun and
festivities at Loco Burro, Gatlinburg's
premiere Mexican cantina," Reiley states.
Thursday, May 21 will feature techni-

TOGA Annual Meeting
Gatlinburg, Tn.
Wednesday, May 20

8 a.m. Golf Tournament, Gatlinburg Golf
Course
4-6 p.m. Convention Registration, Park
Vista Hotel
5-6 p.m. Welcome Reception
6 p.m. Loco Burro Dinner
Transportation Provided

Thursday, May 21

7:15 a.m.-4 p.m. Convention Registration,
Park Vista Hotel
7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast Buffet
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Technical Sessions
Noon Keynote & Awards Luncheon
Sam Venable, Humorist, "You Can't
Make This Stuff Up"
6 p.m. "Taste of Tennessee" Dinner & Auction with Live Music

Friday, May 22

8:30-10:30 a.m. TOGA Board and Membership Meetings
2015-2016 Board of Directors Election

cal sessions, an awards luncheon and the
"Taste of Tennessee" dinner and auction.
On Friday, May 22, the association will
hold its annual membership and Board of
Directors meetings.
Reiley adds the technical sessions will
feature a variety of speakers and topics, including, but not limited to, TDEC representatives on injection well primacy, an update on federal issues from the American
Petroleum Institute, market forecasting,

"shop talk" about aerial location for
drilling, and making existing wells more
efficient.
"At the awards luncheon on Thursday,
we will present our inaugural Muddy
Boot Award, which will go to the best
overall contributor to the Tennessee oil and
gas industry," Reiley announces. "The
award can go to anyone in any part of the
industry, for any contribution, whether industry-, social- or community-related."
This year's scholarship program and recipients also will be recognized at the
luncheon, Reiley says. The TOGA Board
voted to rename the scholarships in honor of past-Chairman Vicki Griffith, whom
Reiley says initiated the program and was
greatly dedicated to its success. Griffith
died of cancer in October 2014.
In February, state Representatives
John Mark Windle, D-Livingston, and
Kelly Keisling, R-Byrdstown, presented
a memorial proclamation to the Griffith
family and TOGA representatives. The
proclamation commemorated and honored
Griffith for her "work on behalf of the oil
and gas industry, and on behalf of the oil
field community," the association reports.
"Vicki was very invested in the scholarship program and in helping as many students through their college education as
she could," Reiley comments. "We
thought renaming the program in her
honor would be a small way to pay tribute and thank her for her contributions to
TOGA, the industry, and the scholarship
program in general. We are very excited
to continue that tradition of giving at this
year's meeting."
Ì

Texas Oil Output Hits 2.3 MMbbl/d In February
AUSTIN, TX.-The Texas Railroad
Commission says it issued 924 original
drilling permits in February, compared
with 1,682 in February 2014. The February total included 827 permits to drill new
oil and gas wells, seven to re-enter wellbores, and 90 for recompletions.
The permits issued were 206 oil, 62
gas, 625 oil and gas, 20 injection, and 11
other permits, it details.
Preliminary production numbers for
January showed 2.23 million barrels of oil
a day as are produced in Texas, the commission says, an increase from the 1.93 MMbbl/d reported in January 2014. The preliminary Texas crude oil production for January is 68.95 million barrels, up from 59.77
MMbbl reported during January 2014.

The state's wells produced 607.63 billion cubic feet of gas based on preliminary
production figures for January, the commission says, adding that is up from the
January 2014 preliminary total of 589.54
Bcf. Preliminary January total gas production averaged 19.6 million cubic feet a day,
with the state's production coming from
167,203 oil wells and 91,150 gas wells.
In February, RRC says operators reported 1,521 oil, 210 natural gas, 245 injection and three other completions, compared with 2,768 oil, 232 gas, 131 injection and 11 other completions in February 2014. Total well completions for
2015 year to date are 3,976, down from
6,749 recorded during the same period in
2014, the commission says.
r
MAY 2015 133

American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015