Keep Going
I truly believe that the people working in the oil and gas industry have to be some of the most resilient people on earth. The amount of volatility in our market leaves no room for people with a weak stomach. We have to be tough. It is never about if we will see another downturn.
It is always about when. We know there will be downturns in our industry. We know there will be many difficult challenges to face. But in times like this, please remember that we fuel the world. We improve the quality of life for millions of people on the planet because we supply them with energy.
With the current situation we are in, the coronavirus has tested our abilities to work in a safe but productive manner. Unfortunately, we now have a tremendous oversupply of oil that just recently led to a negative price on the NYSE oil index for the first time in history. That is terrifying to a person currently working in the oil industry. I wonder how this moment in time will be viewed 5, 10, or even 20 years from now. It makes me curious about previous crashes in our industry.
What were people thinking in the late 1970’s energy crisis when they had to wait in line for hours just to get a tank of gas? After 1979, oil went on a 6-year decline. I bet that window in history felt like a long time to the people working in our industry. Is our experience today similar or different than those moments in time? I certainly do not want this to last 6 years, but it helps to give me perspective that our industry has been through tough patches before.
The technology that our industry creates is second to none. We rival the NASA Space Program and the Silicon Valley tech industry each and every day. I always found it entertaining when people got excited about cars that could drive themselves. I imagine trying to get through the Galleria traffic at rush hour in a self-driving car, relying on technology to ‘see where I am going.’ I then realize that the oil and gas industry has been using technology to help us navigate what we can’t see for years. It’s called drilling.
I encourage everyone to keep going. We can’t see what is ahead of us, but remember we do something similar in our jobs every day, whether it is drilling, completions, or reservoir. Keep your heads up. Keep working hard. We will get through this.
Until next month,
Gabrielle Morrow