A New Economic Yardstick for Today's Late-life Production: Holdback

Low-rate, late-life producers figure prominently in the portfolios of most oil companies, but they also create a unique financial trap for their owners. Decades of delayed plugging has accumulated liabilities while production and cash flow have tapered down. Combined these make it possible for cash-flowing properties with a positive present value to be net liability instead of an asset. This presentation explains the unexpected, the dangers it creates, and how to foresee the trap so that the tax-paying public does not end up footing the bill for our former profit centers.

Dwayne Purvis, P.E. offers consulting and advisory services for the oil and gas industry, building on two and a half decades in reservoir engineering and executive leadership as a consultant and operator. From engineering studies and reserve reports to strategic decision-making on the energy transition, Mr. Purvis helps operators and investors with reliable analysis for prudent decisions. He has led or participated in hundreds of engineering studies over dozens of basins in the United States and abroad and advised on tactical and strategic decisions large and small. Mr. Purvis frequently speaks and writes on issues of shale reservoirs, the energy transition, commodity prices, decline curve analysis, and risk analysis. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas, member of SPEE, AAPG, SEG, SIPES and an active, 25-year member of SPE. He is also pursuing a masters degree in sustainable energy at Johns Hopkins University.