I hope this finds you all enjoying this season of celebration. As this difficult year for the oil industry draws to a close, there are some reasons to celebrate. Natural gas exports from Texas to Mexico have expanded rapidly. Currently pipeline capacity from the US to Mexico stands at 7.3 BCF/D. In the next three years this capacity is projected to double (source eia.gov, Dec 1, 2016). LNG exports from Louisiana began this year, with four more terminals planned in the next five years. OPEC just reached a provisional agreement to cut output; who knows if it will stick with all the drama and confusion, but there is cautious optimism. With oil starting at below $30/B at the beginning of the year, now topping $50/B and with natural gas prices at a two-year high, things are headed in the right direction.

As our industry slowly picks up, this is a good time to hone our skills and spark new ideas. Many of us must take financial responsibility for our own continuing education to stay up on the latest technology and innovations. What better, low-cost place to do that than ETGS. I hope you will join us for our luncheon this month, 11:30, December 14th, at the Cascades Country Club, to hear Bill Chandler’s presentation, “Rethinking Drill Cuttings: A new productive identification tool that finds the 'sweet spots'". He will show us a low-tech methodology using drill cuttings that creates a reliable resistivity curve and tracks density porosity while drilling. In wells without wireline logs, this could be a very useful tool in analyzing zones of interest. Don’t forget to RSVP on our website.

PLEASE NOTE THE LUNCHEON HAS BEEN MOVED UP TO THE SECOND WEEK OF DECEMBER.

Last month Maria Richards from the SMU geothermal lab gave us a fascinating presentation on the research their lab is doing. She mentioned they are asking for donations of temperature and pressure logs for a subsurface database. You can receive a tax credit for your donation. Contact Maria at mrichard@smu.edu.

If you are looking for a good place to make a tax-deductible monetary donation at the end of the year, the ETGS will put your money to good use. You can donate through the website, but if you want to save the PayPal fee, you can make a check to the East Texas Geological Society and write "Scholarship Fund" or "ETGS General Fund" in the memo line. Mail to: East Texas Geological Society, 102 North College Avenue, Suite 1200, Tyler, Texas 75702. In the last five years, the ETGS has donated over $52,000 in scholarships, sponsorship of student activities, and other philanthropic endeavors.

Happy Holidays and best regards,

Anita Paulssen

President, East Texas Geological Society