The establishment media and shale myth-making

Counties of the Permian Basin
Area of Texas and New Mexico that makes up the Permian Basin

Todd Bennington, Kingdom Exploration Media

In the below uncritical account recently posted at foxnews.com, the Permian Basin is presented as a panacea for the nation’s energy needs and as the place where, with a little hard work and determination, billionaires are made every day:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/20/texas-shale-oil-boom-yields-rags-to-riches-tales-by-barrel.html

“Like so many of the dreamer-turned-tycoon stories the area churns out,” writes the piece’s author, Barnini Chakraborty, “success at Permian wasn’t a given. It was born out of grit, determination and hard work. Making it big meant going all in on an area that was a relative latecomer to the shale revolution.”

Scarcely is any space given in the article to the actual complexities of the oil and gas industry, and tight oil in particular, or to competing views, save for a brief acknowledgement that such views do exist while glibly dismissing them:

“Despite some skeptical analysts, the shale industry in the Permian Basin – a 300-mile stretch of open land from West Texas to southeast New Mexico – isn’t showing signs of slowing down,” Chakraborty continues.

This stands in marked contrast to geological consultant Art Berman’s keynote address at the West Texas Geological Society’s annual fall symposium this past September. There, Berman characterized the Permian as providing marginal profitability when all costs are considered and as dependent on a steady stream of outside investment capital.

“That’s not enough to make the economics work, particularly with the very high acquisition prices people have been paying,” Berman is quoted as saying in the below piece by the Midland Reporter-Telegram:

http://www.mrt.com/business/oil/article/Consultant-Permian-plays-are-marginally-12235743.php

Who is right? Perhaps it’s worth recalling here the old adage that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

For discerning oil and gas investors, Kingdom Exploration has opportunities available in British Columbia, Canada that come without the high cost of hydraulic fracturing and which are situated adjacent proven and currently producing wells. Contact Kingdom Exploration President Sean Pruitt at sean.pruitt@kingdomexploration.com today for more information or fill out and submit the online form at the following link: http://kingdomexploration.com/?page=contact.