American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2024 - 16

discharge dredged or fill material. DNR
says the conditions it has imposed in the
state permit serve as a determination
that the project as proposed will meet
Wisconsin water quality certification. ❒
EIA: Tight-Oil Plays Boost
Natural Gas Production
In Three Large U.S. Plays
WASHINGTON-Natural gas
produced from the three largest tight
oil-producing plays in the United States
has increased in the past decade, the
U.S. Energy Information Agency says.
WASHINGTON-The
Independent Petroleum Association of
America presented David Kimbell Jr.
with its 2024 Chief Roughneck Award
during the 95th IPAA Annual Meeting,
held Oct. 28-29 at the Boca Raton
Resort in Boca Raton, Fl. Kimbell is
president and chief executive officer of
Burk Royalty Co. Ltd. in Wichita
Falls, Tx.
IPAA indicates the Chief
Roughneck Award recognizes one
individual whose accomplishments
and character represent the highest
ideals of the U.S. oil and natural gas
industry. During the presentation,
IPAA President and CEO Jeff
Eshelman deemed it an honor to
present the award to Kimbell.
" David's company was born the
same year as our association in 1929,
and we are immensely grateful to have
It reports that gas now comprises 40%
of total production from the Bakken,
Eagle Ford and Permian regions,
compared with 29% in 2014.
Combined crude oil and natural gas
production from these plays more than
doubled during the decade as hydraulic
fracturing and horizontal drilling have
allowed producers to access and extract
more hydrocarbons from tight
formations, EIA details, with associated
natural gas production increasing more
rapidly in the three basins. Gas
production in those tight oil plays more
than tripled-an increase of 22 billion
cubic feet a day, while crude oil output
IPAA Honors Kimbell As Chief Roughneck
had him and his family active in IPAA
and our advocacy throughout the
decades, " Eshelman stated. " David and
the Kimbell family are the embodiment
of this award, and we wish them and
Burk Royalty Co. success for many
more years and generations. "
Kimbell thanked IPAA members
for being part of a great organization.
" My grandfather and dad set the stage
for my brothers and I to be in this
position, " he recounted. " I am grateful
for the legacy they passed down to us,
and we hope to leave the same for our
children. Since the early 1940s, Burk
Royalty has been active in IPAA and
this organization remains very
important to us and to the mission it
serves in our industry. As I look back
at this award, it is so clear how kind
God has been to me and my family
and to Burk Royalty. "
According to IPAA, Kimbell's
Pausing after accepting IPAA's Chief
Roughneck Award is Burk Royalty Co.
Ltd. President and Chief Executive Officer
David Kimbell Jr.
16 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
family has actively owned and
managed Burk Royalty since its
founding. In 1929, George Kimbell
(David Jr.'s grandfather) and two
partners formed Burk Royalty Co. as a
partnership in Burkburnett, Tx. Today,
Burk Royalty has 165 employees and
operates oil and gas wells in North
Texas, East Texas, West Texas,
Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming.
Kimbell also is chairman of the
board of managers of Viva Energy
Services, an affiliated well servicing
and plugging company based in
Odessa, Tx. Viva operates more than
30 well servicing rigs, as well as
divisions for trucking, downhole and
fishing, and plugging. He is an active
member of IPAA and sponsor of
IPAA's annual prayer breakfast, and is
a past board member of the Texas
Alliance of Energy Producers. ❒
doubled, jumping 4 million barrels a day.
According to the agency, oil wells
are defined as having a gas-to-oil ratio
(GOR) of less than or equal to 6.0 Mcf
per barrel of oil produced. Wells above
that threshold are classified as natural
gas wells.
Historically, oil wells have dominated
in the Permian, Bakken and Eagle Ford
plays, EIA observes. " As more oil and
natural gas are released within a well,
the GOR tends to progressively increase,
increasing the volume of associated
natural gas produced per every barrel of
oil, " the agency describes. " Pressure
within the reservoir declines as more oil
is brought to the surface, which allows
more natural gas to be released from the
geologic formation. The pressure will
also decrease as more wells are
concentrated within an area. "
In the Permian play, the share of
natural gas produced relative to crude
oil has remained relatively stable, EIA
says, although it notes the GOR has
risen from 3.1 Mcf/b (34% of total
production) to 4.0 Mcf/d (40%) in 2024.
Permian gas production increased
eightfold in 2024 through September
compared with 2014, and crude oil
output rose sixfold, the agency adds.
The GOR in the Bakken play has
been relatively low historically, EIA
reports, averaging only 1.2 Mcf/b (16%
of total production) in 2014. However,
the agency says, the basin's GOR
increased to 2.9 Mcf/b (33%) in 2024.
Average gross gas production jumped
186% during the decade, compared with
oil production's 14% increase.
GOR in the Eagle Ford play
remained the highest among the three
plays, increasing from 3.5 Mcf/b (37%
of total production in 2014) to 5.6
Mcf/b (48%). The increased ratio
reflects a 14% increase in average gas
production and a 28% jump in crude oil
output in 2024 through September
compared with 2014, EIA says. ❒
IPAA Taps Hillebrand
As New Top Officer
WASHINGTON-The Independent
Petroleum Association of America is
reporting several new appointments to its
Board of Directors, and notes that
Pennsylvania Regional Director Michael
Hillebrand will be the new chairman,
effective Jan. 1. Hillebrand is president
and chief executive officer of Huntley &
Huntley LLC; founder, principal and
business office manager of Olympus
Energy; and chairman of the Pennsylvania
Independent Oil & Gas Association.
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2024

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