These Are Not the Leaders We're Looking For, Part VII
People, Ideas & Objects believe finding the motivation to address long-term challenges is one of the most pressing issues for oil and gas producer officers and directors. This assumes they decide to stay and are given the opportunity to make significant changes in the industry. I may not be fully aware of the greater oil & gas economic state. What I do see outside of People, Ideas & Objects is not much activity other than an uninspired, lethargic leadership that does nothing outside of issuing press releases.
Let's highlight the service industry's dynamics as detailed in the Preliminary Specification Resource Marketplace module. Some officers and directors assert the industry’s stability, convinced suppliers will always be there to accept their business. Money being the great motivator it is will maintain its predominance in terms of motivation. That does not mean they’ve been able to acquire the hearts and minds of those that are willing to go to the wall for the producers. In fact it is these necessary elements of dynamic industries that have been lost throughout the greater oil & gas economy. Producers use and abuse the service industry, kicking it like a proverbial dog whenever difficulties arise. If producers cut capital expenditures it's the service industry that will realize the consequences. And not in an insignificant way. Being fully dependent on the producers for their revenues, when activity is slashed officers and directors take the opportunity to ensure that substantial discounts are also realized. Leaving the service industry to make the choice to let the equipment idle and rust or keep it moving for a quarter of their asking price. (50% reduction in activity and 50% discounts.)
The line up to be persecuted in this way has dwindled to nothing in the past decades. Therefore when times are good the service industry is accused of being lazy and greedy when unable to meet industries' excessive, booming demand. Producer officers and directors' favorite actions are blaming, excuses and creating viable scapegoats. When Covid hit the service industry they were forced to sell horse power to other industries and cut up their equipment to financially survive. Producers did nothing, protected by the comfort of the primary oil & gas industry revenues that are the exclusive domain of the officers and directors.
Another critical issue is that producer officers and directors often discourage the development and utilization of Intellectual Property (IP) within the industry. Claiming any form of IP risks having it appropriated by powerful players, who may sideline your firm or use your ideas to fuel competition. They generally persecute any new entrant with the classic line: “they only work with big firms” and reflect to the rest of the community this is what happens to those who think they might start a business. If you have an idea, best just leave it on the sidewalk and let it be found by an officer or director to pick it up for themselves. Nowhere does the motivation to act for the business's benefit exist.
People, Ideas & Objects leverages IP to challenge the producers' status quo. (IP predominantly in the form of copyright and trade secrets.) We have established many precedences in the industry and we’re proud of our efforts and the changes that we’ve seen. The purpose of this post is to reflect on what I’m seeing in the broader business community. With oil & gas having none of its IP secured it is a proverbial gold rush at the moment. When we say that none of its IP is secured, producers operate on the basis where no IP is identified or claimed by anyone. Therefore a pool of IP was available to them at all times to use as they pleased, with no cost to them. We noted in our July 21, 2021 blog post that this was the case and we encouraged people to begin the process of securing their corner of the oil & gas IP. That way they could build a solid foundation on which to build their future service, product and IP pursuits.
Without legal protection and motivated leadership, the oil and gas industry's problems will persist, hindering its future prospects. Without the protection afforded by the law, no one will undertake the difficult tasks that need to be done to resolve these difficulties. In February 2024, producers finally began shutting-in production to address low natural gas prices. A mere 38 years after the 1986 oil price collapse from overproduction and a dozen since the publication of the Preliminary Specification. Yet today we’re expected to believe that this has always been the case, and shutting in production to support prices has been the common practice in the industry. If what should be common sense takes 38 years to be considered, no one will be spending any thought on the issues and opportunities around the oil & gas bored room.
Well wouldn’t you know. Not only has this been happening, surreptitiously I might add, these people are NOT deploying that IP in their current positions. They will avoid the discussion and use of that until such time as the officers and directors are dispatched to the afterlife and they are free to establish their pursuit of resolving the oil & gas industries difficulties and build a secure and prosperous future for themselves and everyone else. The fact of the matter is that the United States is the most powerful economy in the world due to the fact that copyright protections are part of the U.S. Constitution. People can benefit from their efforts and ideas, and in turn society benefits by building a stronger and more robust economy. How far along in this process is difficult for me to ascertain. Engineering and geology are unfamiliar to me as professions. I am a “wanna be engineer” that spent their time in accounting, audit and ERP software. Places where tragic mistakes were resolved by flipping the pencil to erase the error, or using the delete key.
People, Ideas & Objects has built the Preliminary Specification around the foundation of Intellectual Property. It is one of three of our distinct competitive advantages and the means in which we secure how we provide the most profitable means of oil & gas operations, everywhere and always. It is how our user community, service providers and Profitable Production Rights holders are secured.
People, Ideas & Objects are fully committed to the Profitable Production Rights as the means in which to raise the funds necessary for the Preliminary Specifications development. We understand and appreciate the concern from the rarified air of the officers and directors that it is comical to propose. It is the only means that we have available to us. And as seemingly the one group that’s more concerned with the profitability of the industry than those given the authority, responsibility, accountability and resources to ensure profitability. And just as People, Ideas & Objects proudly maintains the two ugliest websites on the Internet. I would hope that these producer officers and directors are adequately humiliated that others would need to go to such lengths to try to fix their problems, if only just to entertain them.
Just when you think it's about to settle down, everything changes again. In the July 21, 2021 blog post I mentioned that I began my journey into securing IP as the premier personal asset to develop and hold. People, Ideas & Objects are the result of that. Recently Artificial Intelligence has come into the market and is interesting and valuable to some extent. For those who own IP, it’s solid rocket fuel. The combination of the two is something to behold. I’ll only repeat the three tiers of IP we see that are available in the market. Securing a variety of these are what will be necessary for the average person who will need to be employed soon, I believe. The first is the outright ownership of IP and the ability to contractually control it through licensing etc. The second tier is through a direct license from the original owner of the IP. These would be our user community. And the third is working for a firm that has acquired some form of IP and or license they apply a service with. What I see in oil & gas today is the proverbial gold rush and the early pioneers are moving. Others may need to hurry as the officers and directors will undoubtedly stop laughing, and possibly as soon as 37 years from now.
The last point I need to make today is an important one from the software point of view. It is the division between explicit and tacit knowledge and the implications from IP. Explicit knowledge is what can be written down and captured in some form. Tacit knowledge is learned by doing and is unable to be captured in any form. Our user community defines explicit knowledge that our Preliminary Specification ERP software captures, and service providers then apply their tacit knowledge to enhance the software’s value.
Entrenched, inflexible leadership dominating the bored room presents the core issue in oil and gas. The solution which is necessary is an innovative, dynamic, accountable and profitable oil & gas industry that has the best interests of everyone involved. Oil & gas is not interested in accounting and administration as distinct competitive advantages. However that may be the headspace of the current officers and directors. The same can be stated for IP. Producers' competitive advantages exist in the coordination of earth science and engineering capabilities and capacities at their disposal, and their land and asset base. Only through highly motivated individuals willing and able to overcome the obstacles can the industry address producer issues and opportunities. To do so there has to be something in it for them other than officers and directors treating them as parasites.