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Oil Patch Insider: USGS’ Houseknecht: Good news and bad news for Alaska;
Crude oil passes $80 a barrel
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
For the last two years the top Arctic petroleum geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey has been campaigning for a senior research geologist to be hired and posted in Alaska, versus Reston, Virginia where he is stationed.
David Houseknecht, USGS senior research geologist, told Petroleum News Sept. 25 that the USGS is moving forward to hire such a person in the near future.
The bad news for Alaska is Houseknecht, 67, who has made significant contributions to understanding the petroleum geology of the state, will eventually retire.
The good news is, the person hired for the senior research geologist in Anchorage will eventually take Houseknecht’s place as project chief and he or she will continue to be based in Alaska.
“It will make it much easier to do the job to have the project lead in Alaska,” he said.
And more good news: Houseknecht doesn’t intend to hand over the reins anytime soon - not for at least a few years, in fact.
“I’m having too much fun to retire,” he said, fresh from a field work this past summer on the North Slope and Brooks Range.
Houseknecht will work closely with the new person for several years, in the same way the former supervisory geologist Ken Bird did with him.
The new person will give Houseknecht more time to concentrate on what he most enjoys: utilizing the scientific research conducted in the Arctic, analyzing it, interpreting it, and publishing papers on what he and co-authors see - the result of interest and value to the energy industry, as well as those looking to understand the science behind it, and even those who oppose resource development.
USGS papers and assessments are published and made public at the same time for public consumption - the agency resists all attempts by political leaders and advocacy groups to release its reports early.
Houseknecht’s position requires three talents, which the new senior geologist will also need, he said.
“I describe them as three tentacles: One is conducting research that provides the scientific foundation for conducting assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources and providing the technical leadership for the project team scattered across the country. Two is maintaining current knowledge of industry activities and serving as liaison to industry, federal and state agencies, and non-government organizations. The third is providing an interface with the political world, which commonly involves communicating objective technical information in a politically volatile environment.” (Petroleum News suspects this includes knowing how to resist political pressure.)
Houseknecht joined USGS in 1992, serving as energy program manager until 1998. He has worked on basin analysis and petroleum resource assessments of Arctic Alaska and adjacent Arctic regions since 1995, spending nearly four years working closely with Bird before he assumed the lead for the USGS Alaska petroleum project.
He frequently represents the USGS scientific perspective on petroleum resources in ANWR, NPR-A, and other areas of Alaska and the global Arctic to Congress and the Administration.
Previously, Houseknecht was a professor of geology at the University of Missouri (1978-1992) and a consultant to the oil industry (1981-1992), working on domestic and international projects.
He received geology degrees from Penn State University (Ph.D. 1978, B.S. 1973) and Southern Illinois University (M.S. 1975).
- KAY CASHMAN
Crude oil prices surpass $80 a barrel This has been a year of recovery for the oil and gas industry, especially in the Lower 48 states.
Alaska has seen growth, but 2019 looks to be closer to a boom year than this past year, given the major new oil discoveries on the North Slope and all the attention they are garnering around the world.
Activity suggests Alaska will gain a few more oil and gas companies in the coming year; and that those already here will become increasingly active, eager to develop newly discovered resources.
Equally important is the latest oil price milestone which broke the $80 a barrel mark this past week.
According to a Sept. 24 posting from OilPrice.com, an oil price spike is “starting to look increasingly possible,” with a repeat of 2008 “not entirely out of the question.”
The statement was supported by a new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch Business Solutions.
BofAML has a price target for Brent at $95 per barrel by the end of the second quarter 2019. In 2008, Brent spiked to nearly $150 per barrel.
- KAY CASHMAN
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