The road less traveled

ROBERT E. “BOB” WARREN, President, Baclenna, Inc. 

“The United States must end ‘crazy’ oil and gas subsidies to achieve its climate goals.” – John Kerry (COP28)  

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” – Hosea 4:6  

“Truth is still the truth even if no one believes it. A lie is still a lie even if everyone believes it.”  – Anonymous  

As 2024 boils to a close, the challenges that face our planet and governments would appear to have accelerated: wars and rumors of wars; hunger; unchecked immigration; crime; poverty; and energy poverty. The list goes on with solutions that remain uncertain.  

The U.S. elections have necessarily been front and center for weeks, with the change of names and faces in government that produce whiplash. Remaining current with the topics at hand is a challenge for even the most news-observant among us. Still, we are an optimistic industry and continue to celebrate improvement in any shape it may take. U.S. energy policy affects energy policy around the world, and decisions made in the U.S. regulatory and permitting realms have far reaching impact. With the always questionable direction and outcome of elections in America, the pending crew change in Washington D.C. brings with it a cautious optimism for positive energy policy. 

In the last decade, and longer, the debate over climate change and energy transition has captured whole societies, various industries, and policy decisions in many governments over the proper way to save Planet Earth. Perhaps the most critical and elemental of societal impact has been in the educational system, here and abroad. After all, if the next generation is—or isn’t—taught what makes fire hot, then they will learn on their own and not always with happy results. Young minds matter, and energy education is essential to the wisdom of its future development and use. 

The emphasis on energy education would not normally be expected in a government representative/appointee, but there is reason for encouragement with the selection of Chris Wright to head the Department of Energy. He is an unapologetic ambassador for the promotion of energy to improve the lives of those around the world, who do not have access to it. The book published through his company, Liberty Energy, should be required reading by every high school student in the industrialized world.  

Fig. 1. Bettering Human Lives, authored by Chris Wright. Image: Liberty Energy, 2024F.

“There is no highly energized poor country, and no low-energized rich country. Health, prosperity and opportunity require energy, Fig. 1,” Chris Wright. 

If we weren’t so comfortable and spoiled, with unlimited energy at our fingertips, we would ensure the energy debate was better served as an urgent moral and educational topic. It is inconceivable that large and well-funded groups remain active in the effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels as a source of wellness for human life and national security. The arguments remain senseless. 

There are organizations that promote energy education, in part because energy education has been withdrawn or minimized from public school programs across the country. Whether purposely or otherwise is another discussion, but the non-profits that support energy education receive too little support and appreciation for providing a non-political platform to students, teachers and adults—for the simple purpose of informing them about energy facts.  

Among those at the tip of the spear are the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB), which provides a vast array of learning efforts and scholarship opportunities, all supported by a cross-section of industries, volunteers and educational entities. A young mind is a terrible thing to waste. 

Fig. 2. The Ocean Star jackup is moored along the wharf in the harbor at Galveston, Texas. Image: Energy Education Foundation.

Another example is the Energy Education Foundation, which also hosts teacher workshops around the nation, including the use of Mobile Energy Learning Units (MELUs) and anchored by the Ocean Star Museum in Galveston, Texas. The Ocean Star jackup is visited by tens of thousands of guests and students every year in the interest of learning about energy production that benefits the human race and provides for many a most challenging career path with global opportunities.   

We have and will continue to take what we have for granted, unless we work harder to understand that energy and energy knowledge is life—and the uncertainties of life bring opportunities for growth and learning. Consider tonight then, as you set your thermostat for a comfortable night’s rest, to say thank you to the hundreds of thousands of men and women working in remote oil and gas operations around the country and around the world … who keep the lights burning and the wheels turning for the rest of us. Godspeed, Mr. Wright.  

About the author

ROBERT E. “BOB” WARREN is President of Baclenna, Inc., an energy consulting service, based in Houston, Texas. He holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from Texas Tech University, and an MBA degree from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas-Austin, and has completed the Corporate Social Responsibility Program at Harvard Business School. Mr. Warren has over 45 years of industry experience in foreign operations and executive corporate management. His perspectives are his alone but often represent the views of others.