Can’t-miss Houston energy event: Roughneck Camp 2023

where to be

ExxonMobil's spring campus will host this must-attend young professionals event this week. Photo via ExxonMobil.com

Calling all future of energy leaders — the Society of Petroleum Engineers Gulf Coast Section is hosting a full-day event dedicated to networking, education, and thought leadership.

When: Friday, July 14, from 8 am to 5 pm.

Where: ExxonMobil Spring Campus, 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway

Price: $90 for non-SPE members, $70 for members, and $50 for students

Who: Young professionals working in the energy industry

Learn more and register.

The Roughneck Camp 2023 hosted by SPE's Young Professionals organization is a one-day conference for young professionals in the energy industry that includes networking, a 5 pm happy hour at Cottonwood, and over seven different panels, keynotes, and fireside chats.

See below for the full agenda.

Onshore upstream meets greener pastures in the city where the earth meets the sky at URTeC 2023 in Denver. Photo via Shuttersock.

Can't miss: Unconventional Resources Technology Conference

ROAD TRIP

June 13-15 | Unconvetional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC)

Take a trip to higher ground and cooler temperatures next week at URTeC 2023 in Denver, Colorado. This technically focused event, hosted annually by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and Society of Exploration Geophysicists, features the best and brightest minds in onshore oil and gas sharing novel applications of science and technology in pursuit of a more sustainable upstream energy base.

The event kicks off with almost two hours of discussion amongst industry leaders like Clay Gaspar, executive vice president and COO of Devon Energy, Amy Henry, CEO of Eunike Ventures, Robert E. Fast, CTO of Hess Corporation, and Neil McMahon, managing partner of Kimmeridge. The plenary panel will address the role of unconventionals in a lower carbon energy world, from tackling emissions to making advances in CCUS.

Chevron puts safety in the spotlight with a two-part session devoted to cleaner, more efficient engineering methodologies deployed to support corporate objectives while safely delivering higher returns and lower carbon. Hear from Vice President of the Rockies business unit, Kim McHugh, Johannes Alvarez, EOR and CO2 advisor for the Mid-Continent business unit, Vanessa Ryan, methane reduction manager of strategy and sustainability, and more leaders across Chevron building a new future for upstream energy.

Before the event wraps, be sure to catch an engaging discussion late Thursday morning with Christine Ehlig-Economides, professor and Hugh Roy & Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Chair at the University of Houston, on decarbonizing tight oil and shale gas, re-use opportunities for wastewater, and repurposed operations through closed-loop geothermal.

Registration currently remains open, with one- and three-day event options, as well as an exhibit hall-only option. The event usually draws over 3,000 attendees, so don’t wait to sign up.

For a complete list of upcoming energy events, visit the Events tab right here on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

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Oxy subsidiary granted landmark EPA permits for carbon capture facility

making progress

Houston’s Occidental Petroleum Corp., or Oxy, and its subsidiary 1PointFive announced that the U.S Environmental Protection Agency approved its Class VI permits to sequester carbon dioxide captured from its STRATOS Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility near Odessa. These are the first such permits issued for a DAC project, according to a news release.

The $1.3 billion STRATOS project, which 1PointFive is developing through a joint venture with investment manager BlackRock, is designed to capture up to 500,000 metric tons of CO2 annually and is expected to begin commercial operations this year. DAC technology pulls CO2 from the air at any location, not just where carbon dioxide is emitted. Major companies, such as Microsoft and AT&T, have secured carbon removal credit agreements through the project.

The permits are issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act's Underground Injection Control program. The captured CO2 will be stored in geologic formations more than a mile underground, meeting the EPA’s review standards.

“This is a significant milestone for the company as we are continuing to develop vital infrastructure that will help the United States achieve energy security,” Vicki Hollub, Oxy president and CEO, said in a news release.“The permits are a catalyst to unlock value from carbon dioxide and advance Direct Air Capture technology as a solution to help organizations address their emissions or produce vital resources and fuels.”

Additionally, Oxy and 1PointFive announced the signing of a 25-year offtake agreement for 2.3 million metric tons of CO2 per year from CF Industries’ upcoming Bluepoint low-carbon ammonia facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana.

The captured CO2 will be transported to and stored at 1PointFive’s Pelican Sequestration Hub, which is currently under development. Eventually, 1PointFive’s Pelican hub in Louisiana will include infrastructure to safely and economically sequester industrial emissions in underground geologic formations, similar to the STRATOS project.

“CF Industries’ and its partners' confidence in our Pelican Sequestration Hub is a validation of our expertise managing carbon dioxide and how we collaborate with industrial organizations to become their commercial sequestration partner,” Jeff Alvarez, President of 1PointFive Sequestration, said in a news release.

1PointFive is storing up to 20 million tons of CO2 per year, according to the company.

“By working together, we can unlock the potential of American manufacturing and energy production, while advancing industries that deliver high-quality jobs and economic growth,” Alvarez said in a news release.

Houston energy-focused AI platform raises $5M in Mercury-led seed round

fresh funding

Houston-based Collide, a provider of generative artificial intelligence for the energy sector, has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Houston’s Mercury Fund.

Other investors in the seed round include Bryan Sheffield, founder of Austin-based Parsley Energy, which was acquired by Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources in 2021; Billy Quinn, founder and managing partner of Dallas-based private equity firm Pearl Energy Investments; and David Albin, co-founder and former managing partner of Dallas-based private equity firm NGP Capital Partners.

“(Collide) co-founders Collin McLelland and Chuck Yates bring a unique understanding of the oil and gas industry,” Blair Garrou, managing partner at Mercury, said in a news release. “Their backgrounds, combined with Collide’s proprietary knowledge base, create a significant and strategic moat for the platform.”

Collide, founded in 2022, says the funding will enable the company to accelerate the development of its GenAI platform. GenAI creates digital content such as images, videos, text, and music.

Originally launched by Houston media organization Digital Wildcatters as “a professional network and digital community for technical discussions and knowledge sharing,” the company says it will now shift its focus to rolling out its enterprise-level, AI-enabled solution.

Collide explains that its platform gathers and synthesizes data from trusted sources to deliver industry insights for oil and gas professionals. Unlike platforms such as OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot, Collide’s platform “uniquely accesses a comprehensive, industry-specific knowledge base, including technical papers, internal processes, and a curated Q&A database tailored to energy professionals,” the company said.

Collide says its approximately 6,000 platform users span 122 countries.

CenterPoint reports progress on grid improvements ahead of 2025 hurricane season

grid resilience

As part of an ongoing process to make Houston better prepared for climate disasters, CenterPoint Energy announced its latest progress update on the second phase of the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI).

CenterPoint reported that it has completed 70 percent of its resiliency work and all GHRI-related actions are expected to be complete before the official start of the 2025 hurricane season.

"Our entire CenterPoint Houston Electric team is focused on completing this historic suite of grid resiliency actions before the start of hurricane season,” Darin Carroll, Senior Vice President of CenterPoint's Electric Business, said in a news release. “That is our goal, and we will achieve it. To date, we have made significant progress as part of this historic effort.”

CenterPoint’s resiliency solutions include clearing higher-risk vegetation across thousands of miles of power lines, adding thousands more automation devices capable of self-healing, installing thousands of storm-resistant poles, and undergrounding hundreds of miles of power lines.

CenterPoint's GHRI efforts, which entered a second phase in September 2024, aim to improve overall grid resiliency and reliability and are estimated to reduce outages for customers by more than 125 million minutes annually, according to the company. It has undergrounded nearly 350 miles of power lines, about 85 percent of the way toward its target of 400 miles, which will help improve resiliency and reduce the risk of outages. CenterPoint also aims to install the first of 100 new local weather monitoring stations by June 1.

In March, CenterPoint cleared 655 miles of high-risk vegetation near power lines, installed 1,215 automated reliability devices capable of self-healing, and added an additional 3,300 storm-resilient poles.

In April, CenterPoint will begin building a network of 100 new weather monitoring stations, which will provide 24/7 weather monitoring and storm response preparation.

“We will continue to work every day to complete these critical improvements as part of our company's goal of building the most resilient coastal grid in the country,” Carroll added in the release.

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