TCU Sent College Kids Into the Permian Basin. Here's What Happened.
TCU's energy internship program is back for round two and the results are kind of wild. What started as a summer experiment with business students who knew zero about oil and gas turned into kids giving no-notes presentations on legacy well economics in just ten weeks. Nikki Morris, Executive Director of TCU's Ralph Lowe Energy Institute, and Ryan Haggerty, Owner at RHR Oil and Gas, break down the field trips from Diamondback frac sites to 70 year old vertical wells, how AI is changing the game for young talent but still can't replace the crusty old timer making the final call, and why the industry's biggest problem with 150,000 orphan wells in Texas might need a proactive solution before Washington forces one.
0:00 Intro and field trip recap from Riot's bitcoin mining site to Corsicana
2:45 First impressions of the oilfield and the stiletto boots story
5:22 How students connected the dots seeing wells in person
8:21 Why basic energy education is missing from schools
10:30 Overview of TCU's energy programs and student workers
13:00 How Ryan and Nikki connected through the Fort Worth chamber
17:32 AI vs tribal knowledge and the great crew change debate
19:07 The HEB data scientist story that shocked an operator
21:48 Ryan's legacy well project and what the students discovered
25:14 The pyramid of problem solving and where AI fits
28:40 What's next for the students and the upcoming TCU Energy Symposium
30:52 Nuclear energy gaining traction with SMRs and molten salt reactors
34:02 The orphan well crisis and incentivizing proactive plugging
37:28 Where to find Ryan and Nikki
https://twitter.com/collide_io
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Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward.
Apply today at collide.io
0:00 Intro and field trip recap from Riot's bitcoin mining site to Corsicana
2:45 First impressions of the oilfield and the stiletto boots story
5:22 How students connected the dots seeing wells in person
8:21 Why basic energy education is missing from schools
10:30 Overview of TCU's energy programs and student workers
13:00 How Ryan and Nikki connected through the Fort Worth chamber
17:32 AI vs tribal knowledge and the great crew change debate
19:07 The HEB data scientist story that shocked an operator
21:48 Ryan's legacy well project and what the students discovered
25:14 The pyramid of problem solving and where AI fits
28:40 What's next for the students and the upcoming TCU Energy Symposium
30:52 Nuclear energy gaining traction with SMRs and molten salt reactors
34:02 The orphan well crisis and incentivizing proactive plugging
37:28 Where to find Ryan and Nikki
https://twitter.com/collide_io
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https://www.facebook.com/collide.io
https://www.instagram.com/collide.io
https://www.youtube.com/@collide_io
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