Special Brown Bag Lecture
Introduction to the Oil & Gas Industry
Robert W. Von Rhee
M.S. Univ. of Illinois, 1977
Managing Partner, KVR Energy, Tulsa, OK
Abstract:
Is it fun to work in the O&G Industry? Should I reject a potential career in the Oil and Gas Industry because of a moral judgment that it¡¯s somehow inherently bad? Does the media accurately portray how the O&G Industry works? Will I be able to find a challenging career in the O&G Industry? If I do will my relatives dis-own me?
To date there is no commercially viable fuel as portable and with as much energy per unit mass as crude oil and natural gas. Although we are rapidly developing and implementing alternative fuels, and although all fossil fuels are a depleting resource, oil and natural gas will remain a major source of energy in the US for the foreseeable future.
Let me take you through a quick tour of the upstream sector of the O&G Industry and see if you might be interested in learning more about it. The industry employs some of the best geologists and geophysicts in the world. Most companies employ the latest technology in subsurface interpretation, petrophysics, and in geophysics. In other words, you will probably have all the ¡°cool tools¡± with which to work. The geological projects facing the industry cross several orders of magnitude. Thus you may work on crustal tectonics, basin analysis and petroleum systems, or perhaps at the thin section level detailing the reservoir architecture and sequence stratigraphy for enhanced recovery. There is almost no limit to your potential for scientific growth and career success.
Speaker Profile:
Robert W. Von Rhee
Managing Partner
KVR Energy, LLC http://www.kvrenergy.com/index.htm
Mr. Von Rhee received a BA cum laude, honors in Geology from Lafayette College in 1975 and MS in Geology from the University of Illinois in 1977.
Upon graduation, Mr. Von Rhee joined Exxon Co. USA in Midland, Texas as a Development Geologist. From 1980 to 1986 Mr. Von Rhee worked for several Oklahoma City and Tulsa-based independents as an Exploration Geologist. From 1986 to 1993, Mr. Von Rhee was an Independent Geologist engaged primarily in the generation and placement of drilling prospects in the Anadarko Basin and the exploitation of producing properties.
Since 1993, Mr. Von Rhee served first as Chief Geologist for Tide West Oil Company, and later Sapient Energy Corporation, responsible for the exploitation of acquired properties. In early 2000, he also co-founded KVR Energy LLC, an Oklahoma oil and gas producing company. In May, 2002 Mr. Von Rhee joined Rockford Energy Partners, LLC as Vice President of Geology and partner and successfully exited this investment in 2004. Mr. Von Rhee is now Managing Partner for KVR Energy, LLC. KVR Energy¡¯s primary focus is the acquisition of under-developed producing properties and the generation of low geologic risk drilling prospects in the greater Midcontinent.
Mr. Von Rhee has 32 years experience in the Mid-Continent, West Texas, and other on-shore producing basins. He is a Certified Petroleum Geologist by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and member of the Society of Petrophysicists and Well log Analysts. He also currently serves as a Research Associate at the University of Tulsa where he has taught classes in Entrepreneurial Geology and Subsurface Mapping Methods. He and his family have made Tulsa their home since 1984.