Witness Blog
Automation – The new Oilfield Worker crisis
Over the last few years, the prospect of AI integration has taken the oil and gas industry by storm but while this may benefit oil and gas executives and shareholders, it likely is bad news for the average worker. Major oil and gas companies have announced plans to integrate AI...
Emissions Sleight of Hand: Methane Intensity Explained
On July 24th, S&P Global released a press release touting that “methane emissions intensity” has declined by 29% from 2023 to 2024. On July 3rd, the International Energy Agency released a report on natural gas certification claiming that the practice could be “paving the way towards price premiums for low-intensity...
Not Just a Bright Idea: The Mixed Motives of Light Pollution Reduction in Oil and Gas Operations
New Mexico oil producer Franklin Mountain Energy was recently recognized for reducing light pollution at three of their operating sites in the New Mexico Permian Basin. DarkSky International, a group that focuses on reducing light pollution, applauded their efforts. These three sites are the first oil and gas sites in...
The End of the U.S. LNG Bubble
In 2019 I wrote an article making some predictions for how the U.S. energy markets would play out and it was titled, “The Inevitable Death of Natural Gas as a ‘Bridge Fuel’ which included this prediction. “... if all of the planned infrastructure gets built to export U.S. natural gas in liquid form (known as liquefied...
Ongoing Emissions at Sinclair Navajo Refinery Raise Alarms
A recent visit to the Sinclair Navajo Refinery in Artesia, New Mexico, a facility with a history of pollution violations — despite being located a few hundred feet from an elementary school — revealed ongoing emissions. This visit was part of an informational field tour I organized for some of...
Peak US Oil Reveals The True Hoax of the US Shale Revolution
In 2019 the U.S. oil industry was on a roll and a long hot streak of constantly breaking records for new crude oil production. It would seem an odd time to write an article asking the question, “Will the Fracking Revolution Peak Before Ever Making Money?” but that is what I did....
Methane Insanity
We’ve been warned of inconvenient truths. A movie was made about society’s unspoken agreement to ignore science and reality and the current U.S. regime is making that movie’s head-in-the-sand approach of science denial official policy. Meanwhile, the very real impacts of our changing climate are becoming harder to ignore. Polls are showing that a...
The Uncertain Future of the Lesser Prairie Chicken in the New Mexico Permian Basin
The lesser-prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is a grassland bird species native to the United States. Their habitat can be found in the southern Great Plains. They are known for their courtship displays and vocalizations, unique physical traits, and specific habitat needs. Unfortunately, they face severe threats due to habitat loss...
The Oil Industry’s Big Bluff
In a recent Wall Street Week video report on oil industry methane emissions there was a great insight into what the oil industry plans to do when it comes to environmental liabilities and the world in general. After hearing how there was potential to plug old oil and gas wells and have...
Soil Vapor Extraction: A False Cleanup Solution?
Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is a remediation technology for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater. However, SVE has significant limitations and drawbacks, particularly when it comes to its environmental impact. In this blog post, I’ll talk about SVE, exploring what it is, how it works, and why it's not as...