Clay Gaspar, president and COO of WPX Energy, sat down with Jessica Morales at the recent DUG Permian conference and exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas, to share what he thinks are the positives as well as concerns about operating in the Permian Basin. “The key to being the top basin is starting with the right geology. Is the rock right?” Gaspar said. He also believes there is a lot of resource in the Permian to turn from inventory into value, and that it’s proven from the Midland and Delaware basins.

The topic of infrastructure remains on the minds of the players in the Permian. “It is a real challenge,” Gaspar said. He shared his concerns about the three things he thinks could “derail the industry” or be an issue in the Permian, including commodity prices, supply chain and midstream challenges. “The Permian is the place to be. There is a reason the rig count is doing what it is.” All good to see he said, but “we just have to manage that.”

Additionally, Gaspar explained WPX 2.0 and how the company moved from essentially an “all gas company to almost an all oil company,” reformatting their organization.