Adrian Hedden
Artesia Daily Press
As one of the world’s largest energy producers planned to vastly increase its output in the Permian Basin and southeast New Mexico, ExxonMobil Production Manager Scott Buechler told a gathering in Carlsbad the company is also focusing on protecting the environment.
In 2024, Exxon became the basin’s largest oil and gas landowner by acquiring Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion, upping its physical footprint to 1.4 million acres across southeast New Mexico and West Texas with a potential resource of 16 billion barrels of oil and gas waiting to be tapped.
Using the acquired assets, Buechler said, the company expects to increase its Permian Basin production from about 600,000 barrels of oil per day to more than 2 billion barrels daily by 2030.
Buechler discussed the company’s growth plans in the region and its efforts to address environmental impacts during the 13th annual Carlsbad Mayor’s Energy Summit held Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Walter Gerrells Performing Arts Center.
The summit hosted by the city of Carlsbad brings together executives from oil and gas companies throughout southeast New Mexico, elected officials, and representatives of local organizations for discussions about the energy industry’s growth and impacts on the community.
Reducing the industry’s impacts on air quality and water scarcity, Buechler said, will be crucial to sustaining its growth in the Permian Basin, both for economic reasons and to respond to mounting pressure from elected officials and residents to mitigate pollution in energy development.
To that end, Buechler said, Exxon ended its routine use of flaring, or the burning of excess gas, in 2022. That milestone was reached a year after the state’s Oil Conservation Division banned the practice through a rule requiring all operators in New Mexico to capture 98% of produced gas by 2026.
Buechler said flaring is still used in emergency situations, to depressurize oil and gas wells and when operators lack the capacity to move gas away from the wellhead by pipelines.
“We’ve been able to lead this in New Mexico as a company,” Buechler said of flaring reductions. “We address that by not starting production where we don’t have takeaway.”
He said the company was also reducing its emissions by electrifying facilities such as drilling rigs, pneumatic pumps and tank batteries.
In the last three years, Buechler said, such measures resulted in a 90% reduction in flaring intensity, or the amount of gas burned as a percent of the oil and gas produced from a well. He also said Exxon reduced its methane emissions by 70% during the same period.
Meanwhile, Buechler said, the use of longer lateral lines underground to draw oil to the surface and improved, more productive hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations have helped producers reduce surface disturbance in the oilfield.
“Not only have we been reducing emissions, but we’ve also been better stewards of the resources we’ve been given to produce,” Buechler said.
Buechler said Exxon was working to eliminate its use of fresh water in fracking, the process many companies use to pump a mixture of water, chemicals and sand underground to break up rock formations and extract fossil fuels.
He said 98% of Exxon’s fracking fluid is recycled or from brackish sources unfit for drinking water.
“It makes our business more resilient to the industry and more resilient to society’s desires and needs,” Buechler said.
Workforce needs amid oil and gas growth
Also speaking at the summit was Kim Lacey with the Carlsbad Department of Development, who said that oil and gas companies dealing with the responsibility of curbing pollution impacts along with other demands of the industry must recruit more workers and retain them in the community – and that means housing.
Lacey’s presentation on workforce recruitment and retention followed a panel discussion on the evolving health care needs in the area and a speech by United Way of Eddy County Executive Director Kyle Marksteiner about the oil and gas industry’s charitable contributions.
“The housing shortage impacts recruiting and retention,” Lacey said. “Working on housing means working on economic development. “We can’t open businesses without first supporting the people who make it possible.”
Lyndsey White with Midland-based Permian Resources said drawing workers to the area and keeping them here means finding housing and other services.
Permian Resources, which recently gained approval from the Carlsbad City Council to drill 10 wells within city limits near the Happy Valley area west of Carlsbad, opened a field office on Tidwell Road the day before the summit.
“Moving can be one of life’s most stressful moments,” White said of transferring workers to the Carlsbad area. “There might be some uncertainty there, but as an organization it’s very important to make use of the facilities and engage them with the community.”
Carlsbad Mayor Rick Lopez addressed both the importance of the summit and the energy industry’s importance to the community in remarks at the start of the program, noting that local officials encourage more oil and gas development and the boon it brings to the local economy.
“Energy is at the heart of our community. It powers our homes and drives our economy,” Lopez. “It’s about being proud of our energy industry. This is about celebrating the people and the history of energy in our community.”
Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.
