Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the nationally syndicated Energy Mix Radio Show produced
by the Energy Network Media Group. The Energy Mix Radio
Show will give you an inside look at the energy
industry and how it affects you by talking with industry leaders, experts,
and government officials on the Energy Mix Radio Show.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And Welcome to the Energy Mix Radio Show. I'm your
host Kimbalato, and today we are celebrating the power of
partnerships in the Permium Basin and as we mark another
milestone in our journey of highlighting energy innovation and community impact,
today's episode brings us to the heart of one of
America's most powerful economic engines, the Permium Basin. And in
(00:39):
just the past year, the Permium Basin contributed over one
hundred and nineteen billion dollars to the US economy and
supported over eight hundred and sixty two thousand jobs nationwide.
But beyond the numbers lies a deeper story, one of
strategic investment, regional resilience, and a bold vision for the future.
(01:00):
At the center of this transformation is the Permium Basin
Strategic Partnership, a coalition of twenty seven leading energy companies
and two university systems united by a mission to improve
quality of life across West Texas and southern eastern New
Mexico and from education, healthcare, workforce development, and road safety.
(01:24):
Permium Basin Strategic Partnership has leveraged over one hundred and
eighty four million dollars in direct investment into a one
point eight billion in collaborative impact. Joining me today is
Tracy Bentley, President and CEO of the Premier Basin Strategic Partnership,
whose leadership has helped shape the region's trajectory, not just
(01:46):
as a global energy leader, but as a model. Here
that folks a model for public private collaboration. We explore
how the Premium Basin is fuelling America's future and what's
next for the region that continues to punch way above
its weight. Tracy, welcome back to the Energy Mix radio show.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Kim.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
It's good to be back.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I feel like you are my sole contact in the
way of truly grasping all the amazing things that are
going on in the Permium Basin. You know, when you arrived,
there were a lot of issues and situations in that region.
How would they grow but yet continue to invest in infrastructure?
Your organization has it right. And your organization now through
(02:34):
many years, is showing that what it took was one
great leader, a whole bunch of committed companies, and of
course the ability to tell that story and bring in
those dollars, and you all have really truly transformed the
whole area out there. So I want to give you
an opportunity before we get into your economic impact report
(02:55):
that you all just released in July, tell me a
little bit about just some historical day of for our listeners,
Why was this created, what was the vision and hope,
and then we'll dive into the impact report.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
In twenty eighteen, two or three of larger energy companies
got together and we're talking about some of the challenges
that they were facing here in the Permian workforce challenges,
how difficult it was to recruit and retain the necessary
talent needed here in the Permian. And what they all
(03:32):
came to the conclusion was they were all dealing with
the same struggles. The lack of access to high quality education,
lack of access to quality healthcare are very dangerous roads,
and the lack of workforce development opportunities. And they said, well,
(03:52):
we're all having these troubles and individually, those troubles alone
are bigger than any one company, even the global companies.
So what if we all put our heads together and
our resources and tried to figure it out together. So
that conversation with two or three eventually became eight, and
then ten and then twenty. And today, as you earlier
(04:15):
pointed out, Kim, we're at twenty seven energy companies and
two university systems. So now we're at close to thirty
and we continue to grow because we've made some progress.
Today as of our June board meeting, we have spent
about two billion dollars and we've in collaborative investments two
(04:35):
hundred million dollars, in collaborati investments two point two billion,
and so it just speaks to the power of public
private partnerships and what can be done when we all
work together and if not in silos. But we have
seen education, you know, performance rise. Now we've got a
long way to go, but we're thrilled that we've seen
some progress. Access to healthcare is much better than it
(05:00):
was six or seven years ago. And again we've got
some more work to do, but we're thrilled with what
we're seeing progress there. And you talk about investment in
road safety out here. I mean, we have seen investments
in the last six years that our area quite frankly
hasn't seen for thirty or forty or fifty years, maybe
even ever, because we're able to take our economic report
(05:23):
like we're talking about here today and take it to
Austin and say you all are heavily dependent on this
region providing economically for the state and for the country,
and in order to be able to do that, we
have to have safe and reliable roads and Kim if
I could. While we're on this topic, some of us
learned yesterday about the unfortunate passing of the chairman of
(05:48):
our Tech doc Commission, Jay bruce Bug, and we are shocking,
so sad to hear that, and all of our thoughts
and blessings go out to his and prayers his family.
Bruce I don't know that there was a greater champion
outside of the Permian for the Permian than bruce Bug.
(06:08):
Bruce coined the term Permian Promise, which now gets used
all over the place in Austin when we're talking about
reinvesting in the Permian basin, and that was a bruce
Bug term, and he saw the vision for the Permian
and understood that what it would take for the region
to become safer, not only for the workforce, but to
(06:30):
get product to market. And so we were so happy
to have had him as our champion, and he will
be very, very missed.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Absolutely. You know, Bruce Bugg used to my one of
my good friends way way back, was his administrative assistant
when he worked I think for Fulton Bright or something
like that, a big law firm, and then the city
of San Antonio could see just the promise in him
and he left the firm and he took on a
life of his own. He did a lot for San
(07:00):
Antonio too. I think that he was just the kind
of person that no matter what he took on, he
was committed to it. He had the talent, the education,
and the vision, and that's not always easy to find
in a person. So he will definitely be missed. He
helped many different communities and so yes, it's a great loss.
(07:20):
So the Economic Impact Report, before we get started on it,
I want to remind our listeners that Tracy, before you
got there, you know, it was the wild West out there,
and there was really no community effort that was really
strategic in any way. Everybody wanted to help, but there
was no bringing everybody together and being on the same page.
(07:42):
So it was very scattered. And what was happening was
these energy companies, service companies couldn't hire the people, like
you said, because who would leave Houston that has symphonies
and baseball feels and has access to medical to leave,
no matter how much money you're going to give them
(08:03):
to go and live in a place that lacked almost
all of that and the unsafe roads. There was a
lot of work to be done. And to see how
in a few short years you guys not only strategically
put it together and you actually, in some ways you're
not a lobbying group at all. You didn't get involved
in the politics to push things. You actually had to
(08:26):
do it through collaboration and like you said, explain your
position through these partnerships. And I just have to say
it's amazing. I don't think there's any organization in the
state of Texas that is able to is doing what
you're doing, or has been able to do what you
all are doing and show such a difference. So kudos
(08:47):
to what you guys are doing. And I wish that
other parts of the state would look at this potentially
as a model for them to start pulling together their communities.
And so that brings me to before we get into
your impact report, and I said that twice, but in
there is not water. But yet we just ended the
(09:07):
session and now we're in another extended session. But water
came out as a high priority. Our legislators understand that
Texas is water is important. Can you give us an
update on what is happening in the Permium Basin area
with water and your thoughts for the State of Texas
and how we're dealing with water, because if we don't
(09:28):
find a solution to the water situation, we're going to
start seeing an economic impact in negative numbers. So it's
kind of important.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
You are exactly right, Kim, and here in the Permian
and we have a very very unique situation in that,
like the rest of the State of Texas, fresh water
is becoming more and more scarce, and without fresh water,
you really can't have community, and you can't see growth,
and you can't even sustain what.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
You do have.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
What we have an abundance of in the Permian Basin
is produced water. For every barrel of oil produced out here,
three to five barrels of produced water come along with it.
And you know as well as I do. This water
we're talking about is briny. It's it's not drinkable, certainly
(10:23):
for human consumption, not really animal consumption. Sometimes it can
be cleaned up to be used for crops. But we've
got to figure out how we take this produced water
and put it to beneficial use. The technologies there, it's very, very,
(10:45):
very expensive. But this industry and this state is known
for our innovation and taking challenges and creating opportunities out
of them, and that's exactly what we have in the
Permian Basin. Have an opportunity to take what's honestly kind
of a nuisance, this produced water because we don't we
don't have a good solution where to put it. It's
(11:07):
too expensive to truck, so it's often reinjected back into
the into the ground. It's it's recycled to some degree,
but but it's not enough. So we've got to figure
out produced water, which will didn't help overall with the
lack of water situation that we're facing in the Permium,
and we know that with data centers now coming very
(11:32):
very prevalent in the state of Texas. I think I
heard the other day that we're the second most sought
after state in the top three for certain when it
comes for data centers and where they want to be
because of our business friendly climate here. But along with
data centers, it comes the need for water to run
(11:52):
the data centers. And so that's just one example I
can think of. Until we find a good solution to
water that's going to hinder progress.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Well, we're gonna get ready for break. But about three
weeks ago, I traveled to Pittsburgh as part of the
White House Press Corps to cover the ninety billion dollar
investment that was made in Pennsylvania, and it was specifically
titled Pennsylvania AI and Technology Summit ninety billion dollars. And
(12:22):
the main thing that I learned out of that was
because Pennsylvania had transmission lines and had an abundance of
water as well as skilled workers meaning welder's electricians, they
were the one that received the ninety billion dollar investment,
and according to President Trump, Pennsylvania will lead the AI
(12:44):
race as long as it happened in America. I'm great
with that, but I do have thoughts on where is
Texas in this. So let's take a quick break. When
we return, I'll give you an opportunity to speak on that.
You're listening to the Energy Mix Radio show, and we'll
be right back.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And we're back.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
You're listening to the Energy Mix Radio show. My guest
today is Tracy Bentley, President CEO of the Permium Basin
Strategic Partnership at Tracy. Before the break, I told you
I went and covered Pittsburgh an announcement from President Trump himself,
who flew there to announce that he along with Senator McCormick,
(13:23):
along with Governor Shapiro, a Democrat, all worked together to
bring ninety billion dollars to Pennsylvania to lead the charge
of artificial intelligence and these big data centers. The people
that were in the room, Darren Woods, Larry Fink, you
name it. Governor Rick Perry was there. It was a
(13:45):
trillion dollar summit of just the big Way saying, asw Google,
everybody's throwing money at Pennsylvania to lead the AI. Where
are we in Texas? And well, just where are we
in Texas?
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Gus? Well, as you pointed out, Kim Water, I think
is one of our biggest hindrances and challenges that we
that we've got to figure out. But second, which you
also alluded to, is access to power. So here in
the Permian, for example, if you ask some of my members,
what are the what are the top couple of things
(14:21):
that keep you up at night? First, right now, it's
going to be oil prices, But second of all they
are going to say lack of power. We have the
opportunity to be doing more than than we are out
here right now, and the opportunity to bring in more
electric fleets, for example, but without access to power, we
(14:46):
really can't grow anymore. And we've watched it over the
course of the last six seven years, and we've talked
about it, and we've talked about it, but nothing's been
done about it. And we are we're hopeful now that
we can work with the state and the PUC and
(15:10):
entities like on Core to say, okay, it is time
to reinvest in the premium basin because without power, we
can't do any of what we're counted on to do.
And so that is a top top concern not only
for the oil and gas industry, but for data centers
as well.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Well. You know, my last week's show was I covered
the entire Pennsylvania summit, and I delayed it intentionally because
I knew that executive orders were going to come out
the three And what I believe I've seen is President
Trump understands that Pennsylvania has been given this AI technology
(15:49):
revolution and he wants it to lead it. So he
came home and he signed or went to DC and
signed those three executive orders to allow it to fast track.
And I covered those executive orders to do But basically,
if anybody in any state says we are going to
provide so many megawatts or we are going to start
(16:09):
building these big data centers, they don't have to go
through those years of regulation and permitting. They are fast
trapped to allow that to happen. And so the biggest
thing that I actually discovered in covering Pittsburgh was they
were selected because they have an abundance of natural gas
(16:33):
and transmission lines. And I think we could also look
at that as well. So you are the association that
doesn't directly lobby, but understands what's going on, and I
would say that you know water and access to what
you mentioned transmission lines might be good for your almost
(16:54):
thirty members to start looking and seeing do we want
to make maybe some adoptions and start looking at these things,
because if there's one group that shows they can get
things done in a collaborative way, it's you all, and
you actually show impacts that reflected as well. So just
a thought of i'd like to see Texas say in
(17:16):
the AI race too. You were mentioning before the break
that Texas is one of three states, so I guess
Pennsylvania's number one. We're in the running. That's a lot
of jobs that's going to be a huge win off
of the state.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
That's exactly right. And to your point also, Kim, I
think we have a workforce that we could skill up
and be ready to go and have amazing talent in
order to do that. But to this conversation, I think
it's water and power primarily that are holding us back.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Well, Mike Rowe also was in attendance, and he talked
about his foundation and he said this, and I quote
him because I still remember it. He said, AI is
not going to replace your electricians and your welders, but
it is probably going to replace your coders. And so
we've got to get back to vocational training and make
(18:13):
that sexy again, because that's also a great job that
isn't going to be replaced by you know, artificial intelligence
and how fast it's done. So I thought that was
also interesting. Let's get into your economic impact report. So
the twenty twenty four Economic Impact Report highlights one hundred
and nineteen billion in national contributions and over eight hundred
(18:36):
and sixty two jobs. What do these numbers say about
the Premium basins involvement in the overall national economy? Because
I don't know if everybody really puts that together.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
No, I'm convinced that they don't. Cam so in a nutshell,
what this report once again points out is that we
far out kick our coverage when it comes to economic output.
We are the Premium Basin is home to about seven
percent I'm sorry, two percent of the population of Texas,
(19:13):
yet we are seven percent of the state's total GDP
and it's even higher than that on the New Mexico side.
And as you said earlier, we have over almost eight
hundred thousand jobs are attributed to the Premian Basin nationwide.
I mean, there is no other region in this country
(19:36):
that puts up those kind of numbers. You just won't
find it. When we were looking doing a deep dive analysis,
on is there another region that kind of looks like this.
The answer is no. The premian basin is about one
hundred and eighty seven thousand square miles. We are less
than a million people and we are this so we're
(19:58):
about the size of the state of Minnesota. So we're big,
we're rule, and we're a powerhouse. Yes, and that's such
incredibly unique.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Yes. Well, let's take a quick break. When we return,
I want to get back on the economic impact report.
You're listening to the Energy Inks radio show. We'll be
right back.
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Speaker 2 (21:52):
And we're back. You're listening to the Energy Mix radio show.
My guest today is Tracy Bentley, CEO and President at
the Premium based in Strategic Partnership. Tracy PSP has turned
one hundred and eighty four million dollars in direct investments
into one point eight billion in collaborative impact. What is
the secret to the kind of leverage that you're doing
(22:12):
and how do you prioritize where to invest next?
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Yes, I think the kind of the magic sauce that
we've discovered is we aim to serve as a catalyst
for investments and for growth, and so it's very very
rare that you will find that the permanent Strategic Partnership
is the sole funder of any of these major projects
(22:38):
that we've invested in and or created. We like to
bring other investors and other stakeholders to the table to
invest with us, because I mean, it's the simple math
that says, you know, if you've got everybody putting in
a dollar and five dollars a spend, that's much better
than the dollar that you would have had by yourself.
And we have absolutely found that to be true. Some
(23:00):
of our biggest and best partners are in fact the
state of Texas. As we talked about tech stot before,
we have other foundations. We have other energy related companies
who are not necessarily a member of PSP, but who
have said, wow, I believe in that project. Can we
come alongside you federal partners, and so there's no there's
(23:23):
no recipe for what a partner looks like. The only
qualification is that you care and want to invest in
the Permian Basin as much as we do. So leveraging
our dollar has proven to be really, really key when
it comes to prioritizing projects. It's very much we are.
We insist that we stay within our focus areas, education, healthcare,
(23:44):
road safety, and workforce development. There are so many great
projects that are that have happened and that are going
to happen out here that fall outside of those areas,
and we absolutely want to see those continue. But you
can imagine what would happen if we start to go
outside of our scope. We would be doing a lot
of things and maybe not to the best of our abilities.
(24:06):
So we are we're very diligent about staying within those
focus areas. And you know, I don't know if if
people know this, but the average age of a Midlander
right now is thirty one years old. That really age.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Yes, okay, those numbers have definitely changed, they sure have,
and that's been within the last seven eight years.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
So we have a young population. We have more three
to four year olds than any other age group. Yes,
and how exciting is that?
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Yeah, it used to not be that way.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
He's no older.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
Population exactly, and it's happened, I think, pretty quickly, and
we have you know, our chairman Don Evans likes to
say there are more baby strollers walking around on the
streets of Milano, does it And he's seen it in
a very very long time.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
And that's exciting. But what the that also means is
these young families have got to have better access to
mom and baby care. So we have a huge sort
of pediatricians out here. That's something that you will find
us working on diligently over the next year, is to
grow our pediatricians.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Well, let's switch gears and talk about the community investment, infrastructure,
infrastructure development within PSP. You guys have made some major investments,
as you mentioned earlier, in healthcare including rule access and
medical training. But what you mentioned at the gaps are
you're looking at the young ones that are still in
(25:39):
baby that does it sound that are still looking to
continue to have more children and add to their family.
How do you measure that success in these types of
initiatives You said you want to bring in more pediatricians
more obsietricians, I guess for when they're carrying the child.
So tell me a little bit about is there anything
(25:59):
else you're looking at in the way of healthcare?
Speaker 3 (26:02):
There sure is. So we did about three four years ago,
we did a regional healthcare assessment to find out what
do we have, what don't we have, what are the gaps,
and where should we be investing to really start to
make big progress in closing those gaps. And a couple
of things came out of that assessment. Number one, we
(26:28):
definitely need more access for behavioral health and so we
prioritize that. And you and I have spoken about this before.
Can we prioritize that right out of the shoots. In fact,
if you look in between Middland and Odessa right now
near the airport, you will see a building being constructed
(26:49):
and that is our brand new regional behavioral health center.
We invest We invested on one point five and many
others came alongside us, and we got the state to
help us out quite a bit as well. But it's
the first ever regional behavioral health center for our area
and it is so badly needed.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Excellent Tracy, Let's take a quick break. When we return,
we'll pick this topic back up. You're listening to the
Energy Mixed Radio show. We'll be right back.
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Speaker 2 (27:52):
And we're back. You're listening to the Energy Mix Radio show.
My guest today's Tracy Bentley, President CEO of the Permium
based in strategic Partnership. Tracy, you alls economic Impact report
reflects a lot of great things you guys are accomplishing,
and you just announced you first of its kind in
the region, a mental health facility, and everybody talks about
the need for mental health in the great state of Texas.
(28:13):
You all are completing that, please tell us one's it
going to be completed and any other initiatives you're working on.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
Yes, thank you. It's under construction right now and it
should be completed in about a year. And this is
another beautiful public private partnership between the State of Texas,
the Premier Strategic Partnership and our member companies and the county,
city and County of Midland and many others have come
(28:39):
to the table to make this happen. But we're so
excited about this and we just know it's going to
make a huge difference for our families and our work
that live here. Speaking of huge difference, can one other
pretty amazing thing that came out of our regional healthcare
assessment was the amount of premium basin families impacted by
cancer and the lack of cancer care here in our region.
(29:05):
If you are blessed enough to have resources, you have
the opportunity to go to MD Anderson or another specialty
cancer care facility on the east side of the state.
But many and most people in the Permian don't have
those kind of resources, and so they may go without
care or kind of putting together what the little bit
(29:26):
of pieces that we have here and just making do
and that's completely unacceptable. And so we are in talks
with the University of Texas System and m D Anderson
to see what it would take. What are the possibilities
of getting an MD Anderson branch out here in the
Permian so that all families, regardless of socioeconomic status, have
(29:47):
access to the very best cancer care in the world.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And that makes total sense. And I'm just wondering if
you have heard of or are working currently with Skyhide
for Kids, because if you haven't, I'd love to connect
you out. They're with them there have passed through, but
they give money to Saint Jude, but they also actually
will go out and do fundraising to try to build
a capital campaign to build these type of facilities if
they're needed. So I'll connect you after the show. Let's
(30:13):
talk about road safety and emergency response. How have they
been key and you mentioned they've been a key focus.
We all remember a lot of negative media about all
the deaths that were happening on the highways because of
all the eighteen wheelers, the roads had not been used.
When the shell Revolution exploded, everybody got caught by surprise
and the Middland and Middleland and Odessa area was no different.
(30:35):
There was a lot of traffic and a lot of fatalities.
Can you share with us how programs like hero are
improving the outcomes for Permian residents?
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Yes, Jim, you're right. Seven years ago the Permian had
some of the most well, we had by far the
most dangerous roads in the state of Texas, but we
had some of that. We were in the top five
most dangerous roads in the entire country. Because of what
you said, our roads and our infrastructure was not built
for the volume that we started to see with the
show Revolution and so, uh we were averaging a fatality
(31:07):
per day and accidents were, i mean off the charts,
and we said, listen that we've this, We've got to
do something about this. We've really got to make this
a focus. And so we went to text dot and
showed them the safety numbers and we provided the front work,
if you will, and the studies to then be able
(31:29):
to go to text out and say, Okay, here are
your heavily traveled most heavily traveled traveled energy corridors. Here
are the safety stats for them, and here's what you
if you invest in these top ten projects here's the
return on investment we will get as a state. And
so that's how we partner with tech dot to show
them we're going to do the leg work up front.
(31:49):
If you all will will help us make this a priority.
And so since we have had this partnership with text
dot so for about seven years, can we are thrilled
to say we are no longer the most dangerous region
in the state or in the country. In fact, we've
went from yes, we've went from dead last to about
middle of the range and we're continuing to get better
(32:10):
every day. And you just mentioned the Hero program. So
on your side of the state, I think San Antonio
and Austin and Dallas and some other larger metropolitan areas
have Hero trucks. And those are trucks that are designed
to go assist stranded motorists on the side of the road.
So if you need a tow they'll help you get
(32:31):
a tow truck. If you have a flat tire, they'll
help you change a flat. If you ran out of gas,
they'll bring you guests. If there's a minor medical emergency,
they're trained to be able to help with that until
a paramedica and an ambulance get there and they've had amazing
success with safety on roads on the eastern part of
the state, and we said, my goodness, let's pilot it
(32:52):
out here. And tex Dot said, we've never done this
in overal part of the state, and we said, well,
we'll partner with you. We'll put some money in and
fund the program if you'll partner with us. So these
trucks have been up and going for I think a
month now, maybe a month and a week. I cannot
even tell you the stories that we're already hearing about.
You know, I was stranded, I had little kids, I
didn't know what I was going to do. My cell
(33:13):
phone was dead. And then I look in my rearview
mirror and it was like an angel on wheels comes
rolling up and says, HI were the Hero crew. We
came to help you. Don't worry. Oh my goodness, amazing.
It's so amazing, And so we're so thrilled to have
the five hero trucks going in some of those heavily
traveled highways of the Permian Basin right now.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Well, you know, if you look at the stats, truly,
the most dangerous thing that can happen to you is
to being stuck on the side of a freeway or
on a road because for Summer's another it attracts people
who are under the influence. But this is where you
can get you know, ran into the easiest. And they
also say, for safety reasons, get out of your vehicle
(33:56):
and go somewhere where you're safe, because that is a huge,
huge problem that people can have rex like that or
you know, die in their vehicle while they're waiting for
a tow truck or something. So the fact that there's
somebody out there that's helping. Let's move on to education
and workforce. With over eighty million invested in education, how
is PSP helping to build the pipeline of talent for
(34:16):
the region for the future. And what roles do and
and what role do partnerships with the university play. Now
I'm going to warn you I've got about a minute
and then I'm going to cut into break, but I
promise we'll put this back up on the other side.
What are these investments in education?
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Yes, well, education is our biggest challenge to attracting and
retaining workforce in the Permian.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
We have.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
We have very large districts out here, especially for being
a rural area, but we also have some of the
lowest performing districts and so when families are looking at relocating,
the first thing that parents want to see is what
are the quality of your schools? And unfortunately that's a
big that's a big area needed for improvement out here.
So what we a couple of projects that we've invested
(35:01):
in and we will continue to invest in in this area,
but are bringing in some very high, high quality charter
schools to partner with families. So we broke ground on
Harmony Schools in both Midland and an Odessa and it
already has a waitless Harmony is very very highly regarded
in the public school world and we're thrilled with student
(35:22):
performance already. They've been open for about a year now
and families are loving it. So that's one area. But
we also know that regardless, we can keep building charters
and we will invest in some more, but that most people,
no matter what, are still going to choose to send
their kids to their public isd and so we invest
a great deal in our public isds with superintendent training,
(35:44):
principal training, teacher incentive allotment, principal incentive allotments as well
as overall teacher training so that our teachers feel like
they have the preparation and the skill set to be
the very best for our kiddos in the classroom if
you live out here. Once again, going back to there
are more resources in metropolitan areas for teachers to go
(36:06):
get this training than there are in rural America, rural Texas.
And so what we did is PSP invested in bringing
those amazing resources from Austin area to the Premium Basin
that so they have them right here at home.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Absolutely. So let's take a quick break. When we return,
I want to drill down a little bit into the universities,
how they're playing into this, the teacher housing. You mentioned
the certificates, just so the listeners understand the type of
real investment that's going on, because this is something that
really has not been done before. Listening to the Energy
Mix radio show. We'll be right back. You're listening to
the Energy Mix Radio show. My guest today is Tracy Bentley,
(36:45):
the president and CEO of the Permium Basin Strategic Partnership.
Let's fill down a little bit more and tell me
about the partnerships with the universities. How did they play
you mentioned certifications. I'd like for you to talk to
us a little bit about that and then the teacher's
housing allowance and how that is working for you. Guys.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Well, we are incredibly blessed to have two prominent university
systems out here in the Permian and that, of course,
the University of Texas Premier Basin and Texas Tech, both
of which are members of the Premian Strategic Partnership. But
those two universities not only provide access to an amazing
higher education, but they are absolutely fundamental to building our
(37:24):
workforce pipeline. So we have invested upwards of thirty million
dollars in Texas Tech, primarily in healthcare, so with doctor
primary care residencies, surgery residencies, mobile clinics to serve the
underserved and without insurance in the rural parts of our area,
(37:47):
and many many more. And when it comes to the
University of Texas Premium Basin, we expanded and revamped their
nursing program so that they can take more students and
so that those students are able to have a little
more diverse nursing education and be able to specialize in
a couple of more things. We've also invested in teachers
through the University of Texas Premium Basin as well as
(38:10):
licensed professional counselors, and all of these are partnerships with
each of those universities specifically designed to meet the workforce
needs of our region so that we can attract the
workforce and retain the workforce and the families that we
want to call the Premium Basin homes. Also, Kim, it
turns out that when you look at communities that kind
(38:32):
of look like us, our diversity and our population numbers,
a healthy number that you want from driven by healthcare
is right around you know, twenty percent, whereas we're at
like nine percent. And so what that says is there's
a huge opportunity to grow our healthcare economy here, and
we're doing just that by hopefully bringing in MD Anderson,
(38:55):
by hopefully bringing in you know, a children's a mom
and children's hot hospital, by growing our nurses and doctors,
because we're leaving a lot on the table right now.
So that's an exciting opportunity in one that we are
being pretty aggressive on. And again, could not do this
without the partnership of our two university systems.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Absolutely, and it just kind of reminds me when I
look at this of how insane this is. To a
degree that you all are actually more efficient, it would
appear than most municipalities elected officials. Maybe we should look
at this model. I want to get to this and
I want to make sure that we're able to have
(39:34):
the time for it. So sustainability and future outlook. The
premium Basin is projected to produce three hundred and fifty
billion in gross product by twenty fifty. So how is
the PSP preparing for that growth while while balancing sustainability
and community needs Because it sounds like there's a whole
lot coming there.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
Sure is. The world is going energy demand worldwide is
going to be up fifty by twenty five. That is
a lot of energy. And when you think about the
places that it's going to need to come from, most
of the places are not what we would call friendly
towards the United States, towards freedom. And so we want
(40:17):
the majority of that fifty percent additional energy to come
from right here in the United States and honestly from
the Premium Basin. And so in order to be able
to sustain that growth, we have got to be ready
for it. And we've got to be doing what we're doing,
and even more building out our social and our traditional
infrastructure so that we can comfortably house the workforce that
(40:41):
we needed, so that we have enough power as we
started off this conversation, to produce the energy for the
world safely. And we've got a lot, We've got a
lot of work to do. We've to have we've got
to continue to see road improvements, we've got to continue
to see investments honestly from the federal government as well
when it comes to infrastructure, roads, healthcare, rural healthcare, all education,
(41:05):
all of these things. But I'm very, very confident that
we can do it. And when you.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Have this confidence with you, absolutely, when Tracy Bentley says
we can do it, we're going to do it. Absolutely.
Tell me about looking ahead, what is the most exciting
projects and initiatives that you guys are planning to launch
either next year maybe this year, and then is there
anywhere that stakeholders can get involved as well?
Speaker 3 (41:30):
Well. I have never been more excited than I am
right now about where we're at and the the kind
of the spirit of the region. You know, it's easy
to if you just look at what's going on nationally
and the rhetoric. I think it can be easy to
fall into the oh gosh, you know trap. But here
(41:50):
on the ground, we know that no matter what's happening
geopolitically and with politics, the premium basin is not replaced,
and so we have got to continue just doing the
hard work that it's going to take to get us
all through this sent to power the world. And so
we also know that of anywhere, if there's going to
(42:11):
be oil drilled anywhere in the world, the hands down,
the most preferable place is right here in the Permian.
And that's not Tracy Bentley's opinion, that is the opinion
of my twenty seven member companies who say this is
the place to be and this is where they want
to be. So the future looks very, very bright for
the Permian. And in addition, Kim, I don't know if
post people know this, but we have only tapped about
(42:32):
six to nine percent of available resources underground, and that's
because of technology. This there is no better industry when
it comes to innovation than the oil and gas industry.
We innovate like nobody's business and I am absolutely confident
that here, before too long, technology is going to continue
(42:52):
to develop where now we can get to fifteen percent
of what's under the rock and then twenty and think
about when that happens. My goodness. I mean, with current technology,
one could say, you know, we're looking some of my
companies have to do your development plans well. As technology improves,
so will the outlook and the longevity of the Permian.
And so that's something that we all have to look
(43:12):
forward to. And it's exciting to know that that permian
is going to be prolific for a very, very long
time and our companies are planning that way, and you
see that in our investments. So here coming up, we've
talked about a couple of them, a behavioral health center,
hopefully a premier cancer center that will serve our region.
We're looking at collegiate high school models that really sync
(43:33):
up with our university systems and the needs of our
work workforce. A place where kids can go to get
dual credits and you know, immediately have a job waiting
for them when they're ready right here in the community.
So this concept of grow our own is something that
we really strongly believe in, and it takes all the
partnerships that we've been discussing today. To make those happen,
(43:55):
we will you will continue to see us ass heavily
in career technical education centers. We have I think already
four in the region, and we know there's a need
to do more. So CTE is going to continue to
be a huge focus, as well as continuing to see
our schools go from you know, maybe on the lower
performing end. We want them to be the best in
the state, and so providing teachers those opportunities that they
(44:18):
might not otherwise have, continuing to build our teacher pipeline
and grow our own once again encouraging kiddos who are
interested in becoming teachers to take that take that path,
and we'll help you get the best training that there is.
And I could go on and on, but these are
the things that our young families need in order to
(44:40):
be here, raise their kids here for generations, and so
we are in this for the long haul. Thank you
so much. I have to tell you, when I landed
here six and a half years ago, you were one
of the very first people that interviewed me, and I
got a even We're so kind to put me on
the cover of your magazine, and I'll never forget that
conversation and how wonderful you were to me, and we
(45:03):
didn't know what this was going to be at that time.
It was brand new, never been done before. And so
it's fun now to be here with you again six
and a half years later talking about some of our accomplishments.
So thank you for being there through my journey.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
Yeah, well, you've done great and the organization is doing great,
and this is what strategic thinking looks like, folks. Tracy again,
thank you for joining me, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
The Energy Mix Radio show is where we explore topics
that affect us all in the oil and gas industry.
Every week, our host will interview the movers and shakers
in this fast paced industry. You'll hear from industry experts,
elected officials, and many more on the Energy Mix Radio Show.
Welcome to the nationally syndicated Energy Mix Radio Show produced
by the Energy Network Media Group. The Energy Mix Radio
Show will give you an inside look at the energy
industry and how it affects you by talking with industry leaders, experts,
and government officials on the Energy Mix Radio Show.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And Welcome to the Energy Mix Radio Show. I'm your
host Kimbalato, and today we are celebrating the power of
partnerships in the Permium Basin and as we mark another
milestone in our journey of highlighting energy innovation and community impact,
today's episode brings us to the heart of one of
America's most powerful economic engines, the Permium Basin. And in
(00:39):
just the past year, the Permium Basin contributed over one
hundred and nineteen billion dollars to the US economy and
supported over eight hundred and sixty two thousand jobs nationwide.
But beyond the numbers lies a deeper story, one of
strategic investment, regional resilience, and a bold vision for the future.
(01:00):
At the center of this transformation is the Permium Basin
Strategic Partnership, a coalition of twenty seven leading energy companies
and two university systems united by a mission to improve
quality of life across West Texas and southern eastern New
Mexico and from education, healthcare, workforce development, and road safety.
(01:24):
Permium Basin Strategic Partnership has leveraged over one hundred and
eighty four million dollars in direct investment into a one
point eight billion in collaborative impact. Joining me today is
Tracy Bentley, President and CEO of the Premier Basin Strategic Partnership,
whose leadership has helped shape the region's trajectory, not just
(01:46):
as a global energy leader, but as a model. Here
that folks a model for public private collaboration. We explore
how the Premium Basin is fuelling America's future and what's
next for the region that continues to punch way above
its weight. Tracy, welcome back to the Energy Mix radio show.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Kim.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
It's good to be back.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I feel like you are my sole contact in the
way of truly grasping all the amazing things that are
going on in the Permium Basin. You know, when you arrived,
there were a lot of issues and situations in that region.
How would they grow but yet continue to invest in infrastructure?
Your organization has it right. And your organization now through
(02:34):
many years, is showing that what it took was one
great leader, a whole bunch of committed companies, and of
course the ability to tell that story and bring in
those dollars, and you all have really truly transformed the
whole area out there. So I want to give you
an opportunity before we get into your economic impact report
(02:55):
that you all just released in July, tell me a
little bit about just some historical day of for our listeners,
Why was this created, what was the vision and hope,
and then we'll dive into the impact report.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
In twenty eighteen, two or three of larger energy companies
got together and we're talking about some of the challenges
that they were facing here in the Permian workforce challenges,
how difficult it was to recruit and retain the necessary
talent needed here in the Permian. And what they all
(03:32):
came to the conclusion was they were all dealing with
the same struggles. The lack of access to high quality education,
lack of access to quality healthcare are very dangerous roads,
and the lack of workforce development opportunities. And they said, well,
(03:52):
we're all having these troubles and individually, those troubles alone
are bigger than any one company, even the global companies.
So what if we all put our heads together and
our resources and tried to figure it out together. So
that conversation with two or three eventually became eight, and
then ten and then twenty. And today, as you earlier
(04:15):
pointed out, Kim, we're at twenty seven energy companies and
two university systems. So now we're at close to thirty
and we continue to grow because we've made some progress.
Today as of our June board meeting, we have spent
about two billion dollars and we've in collaborative investments two
(04:35):
hundred million dollars, in collaborati investments two point two billion,
and so it just speaks to the power of public
private partnerships and what can be done when we all
work together and if not in silos. But we have
seen education, you know, performance rise. Now we've got a
long way to go, but we're thrilled that we've seen
some progress. Access to healthcare is much better than it
(05:00):
was six or seven years ago. And again we've got
some more work to do, but we're thrilled with what
we're seeing progress there. And you talk about investment in
road safety out here. I mean, we have seen investments
in the last six years that our area quite frankly
hasn't seen for thirty or forty or fifty years, maybe
even ever, because we're able to take our economic report
(05:23):
like we're talking about here today and take it to
Austin and say you all are heavily dependent on this
region providing economically for the state and for the country,
and in order to be able to do that, we
have to have safe and reliable roads and Kim if
I could. While we're on this topic, some of us
learned yesterday about the unfortunate passing of the chairman of
(05:48):
our Tech doc Commission, Jay bruce Bug, and we are shocking,
so sad to hear that, and all of our thoughts
and blessings go out to his and prayers his family.
Bruce I don't know that there was a greater champion
outside of the Permian for the Permian than bruce Bug.
(06:08):
Bruce coined the term Permian Promise, which now gets used
all over the place in Austin when we're talking about
reinvesting in the Permian basin, and that was a bruce
Bug term, and he saw the vision for the Permian
and understood that what it would take for the region
to become safer, not only for the workforce, but to
(06:30):
get product to market. And so we were so happy
to have had him as our champion, and he will
be very, very missed.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Absolutely. You know, Bruce Bugg used to my one of
my good friends way way back, was his administrative assistant
when he worked I think for Fulton Bright or something
like that, a big law firm, and then the city
of San Antonio could see just the promise in him
and he left the firm and he took on a
life of his own. He did a lot for San
(07:00):
Antonio too. I think that he was just the kind
of person that no matter what he took on, he
was committed to it. He had the talent, the education,
and the vision, and that's not always easy to find
in a person. So he will definitely be missed. He
helped many different communities and so yes, it's a great loss.
(07:20):
So the Economic Impact Report, before we get started on it,
I want to remind our listeners that Tracy, before you
got there, you know, it was the wild West out there,
and there was really no community effort that was really
strategic in any way. Everybody wanted to help, but there
was no bringing everybody together and being on the same page.
(07:42):
So it was very scattered. And what was happening was
these energy companies, service companies couldn't hire the people, like
you said, because who would leave Houston that has symphonies
and baseball feels and has access to medical to leave,
no matter how much money you're going to give them
(08:03):
to go and live in a place that lacked almost
all of that and the unsafe roads. There was a
lot of work to be done. And to see how
in a few short years you guys not only strategically
put it together and you actually, in some ways you're
not a lobbying group at all. You didn't get involved
in the politics to push things. You actually had to
(08:26):
do it through collaboration and like you said, explain your
position through these partnerships. And I just have to say
it's amazing. I don't think there's any organization in the
state of Texas that is able to is doing what
you're doing, or has been able to do what you
all are doing and show such a difference. So kudos
(08:47):
to what you guys are doing. And I wish that
other parts of the state would look at this potentially
as a model for them to start pulling together their communities.
And so that brings me to before we get into
your impact report, and I said that twice, but in
there is not water. But yet we just ended the
(09:07):
session and now we're in another extended session. But water
came out as a high priority. Our legislators understand that
Texas is water is important. Can you give us an
update on what is happening in the Permium Basin area
with water and your thoughts for the State of Texas
and how we're dealing with water, because if we don't
(09:28):
find a solution to the water situation, we're going to
start seeing an economic impact in negative numbers. So it's
kind of important.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
You are exactly right, Kim, and here in the Permian
and we have a very very unique situation in that,
like the rest of the State of Texas, fresh water
is becoming more and more scarce, and without fresh water,
you really can't have community, and you can't see growth,
and you can't even sustain what.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
You do have.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
What we have an abundance of in the Permian Basin
is produced water. For every barrel of oil produced out here,
three to five barrels of produced water come along with it.
And you know as well as I do. This water
we're talking about is briny. It's it's not drinkable, certainly
(10:23):
for human consumption, not really animal consumption. Sometimes it can
be cleaned up to be used for crops. But we've
got to figure out how we take this produced water
and put it to beneficial use. The technologies there, it's very, very,
(10:45):
very expensive. But this industry and this state is known
for our innovation and taking challenges and creating opportunities out
of them, and that's exactly what we have in the
Permian Basin. Have an opportunity to take what's honestly kind
of a nuisance, this produced water because we don't we
don't have a good solution where to put it. It's
(11:07):
too expensive to truck, so it's often reinjected back into
the into the ground. It's it's recycled to some degree,
but but it's not enough. So we've got to figure
out produced water, which will didn't help overall with the
lack of water situation that we're facing in the Permium,
and we know that with data centers now coming very
(11:32):
very prevalent in the state of Texas. I think I
heard the other day that we're the second most sought
after state in the top three for certain when it
comes for data centers and where they want to be
because of our business friendly climate here. But along with
data centers, it comes the need for water to run
(11:52):
the data centers. And so that's just one example I
can think of. Until we find a good solution to
water that's going to hinder progress.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Well, we're gonna get ready for break. But about three
weeks ago, I traveled to Pittsburgh as part of the
White House Press Corps to cover the ninety billion dollar
investment that was made in Pennsylvania, and it was specifically
titled Pennsylvania AI and Technology Summit ninety billion dollars. And
(12:22):
the main thing that I learned out of that was
because Pennsylvania had transmission lines and had an abundance of
water as well as skilled workers meaning welder's electricians, they
were the one that received the ninety billion dollar investment,
and according to President Trump, Pennsylvania will lead the AI
(12:44):
race as long as it happened in America. I'm great
with that, but I do have thoughts on where is
Texas in this. So let's take a quick break. When
we return, I'll give you an opportunity to speak on that.
You're listening to the Energy Mix Radio show, and we'll
be right back.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And we're back.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
You're listening to the Energy Mix Radio show. My guest
today is Tracy Bentley, President CEO of the Permium Basin
Strategic Partnership at Tracy. Before the break, I told you
I went and covered Pittsburgh an announcement from President Trump himself,
who flew there to announce that he along with Senator McCormick,
(13:23):
along with Governor Shapiro, a Democrat, all worked together to
bring ninety billion dollars to Pennsylvania to lead the charge
of artificial intelligence and these big data centers. The people
that were in the room, Darren Woods, Larry Fink, you
name it. Governor Rick Perry was there. It was a
(13:45):
trillion dollar summit of just the big Way saying, asw Google,
everybody's throwing money at Pennsylvania to lead the AI. Where
are we in Texas? And well, just where are we
in Texas?
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Gus? Well, as you pointed out, Kim Water, I think
is one of our biggest hindrances and challenges that we
that we've got to figure out. But second, which you
also alluded to, is access to power. So here in
the Permian, for example, if you ask some of my members,
what are the what are the top couple of things
(14:21):
that keep you up at night? First, right now, it's
going to be oil prices, But second of all they
are going to say lack of power. We have the
opportunity to be doing more than than we are out
here right now, and the opportunity to bring in more
electric fleets, for example, but without access to power, we
(14:46):
really can't grow anymore. And we've watched it over the
course of the last six seven years, and we've talked
about it, and we've talked about it, but nothing's been
done about it. And we are we're hopeful now that
we can work with the state and the PUC and
(15:10):
entities like on Core to say, okay, it is time
to reinvest in the premium basin because without power, we
can't do any of what we're counted on to do.
And so that is a top top concern not only
for the oil and gas industry, but for data centers
as well.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Well. You know, my last week's show was I covered
the entire Pennsylvania summit, and I delayed it intentionally because
I knew that executive orders were going to come out
the three And what I believe I've seen is President
Trump understands that Pennsylvania has been given this AI technology
(15:49):
revolution and he wants it to lead it. So he
came home and he signed or went to DC and
signed those three executive orders to allow it to fast track.
And I covered those executive orders to do But basically,
if anybody in any state says we are going to
provide so many megawatts or we are going to start
(16:09):
building these big data centers, they don't have to go
through those years of regulation and permitting. They are fast
trapped to allow that to happen. And so the biggest
thing that I actually discovered in covering Pittsburgh was they
were selected because they have an abundance of natural gas
(16:33):
and transmission lines. And I think we could also look
at that as well. So you are the association that
doesn't directly lobby, but understands what's going on, and I
would say that you know water and access to what
you mentioned transmission lines might be good for your almost
(16:54):
thirty members to start looking and seeing do we want
to make maybe some adoptions and start looking at these things,
because if there's one group that shows they can get
things done in a collaborative way, it's you all, and
you actually show impacts that reflected as well. So just
a thought of i'd like to see Texas say in
(17:16):
the AI race too. You were mentioning before the break
that Texas is one of three states, so I guess
Pennsylvania's number one. We're in the running. That's a lot
of jobs that's going to be a huge win off
of the state.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
That's exactly right. And to your point also, Kim, I
think we have a workforce that we could skill up
and be ready to go and have amazing talent in
order to do that. But to this conversation, I think
it's water and power primarily that are holding us back.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Well, Mike Rowe also was in attendance, and he talked
about his foundation and he said this, and I quote
him because I still remember it. He said, AI is
not going to replace your electricians and your welders, but
it is probably going to replace your coders. And so
we've got to get back to vocational training and make
(18:13):
that sexy again, because that's also a great job that
isn't going to be replaced by you know, artificial intelligence
and how fast it's done. So I thought that was
also interesting. Let's get into your economic impact report. So
the twenty twenty four Economic Impact Report highlights one hundred
and nineteen billion in national contributions and over eight hundred
(18:36):
and sixty two jobs. What do these numbers say about
the Premium basins involvement in the overall national economy? Because
I don't know if everybody really puts that together.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
No, I'm convinced that they don't. Cam so in a nutshell,
what this report once again points out is that we
far out kick our coverage when it comes to economic output.
We are the Premium Basin is home to about seven
percent I'm sorry, two percent of the population of Texas,
(19:13):
yet we are seven percent of the state's total GDP
and it's even higher than that on the New Mexico side.
And as you said earlier, we have over almost eight
hundred thousand jobs are attributed to the Premian Basin nationwide.
I mean, there is no other region in this country
(19:36):
that puts up those kind of numbers. You just won't
find it. When we were looking doing a deep dive analysis,
on is there another region that kind of looks like this.
The answer is no. The premian basin is about one
hundred and eighty seven thousand square miles. We are less
than a million people and we are this so we're
(19:58):
about the size of the state of Minnesota. So we're big,
we're rule, and we're a powerhouse. Yes, and that's such
incredibly unique.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Yes. Well, let's take a quick break. When we return,
I want to get back on the economic impact report.
You're listening to the Energy Inks radio show. We'll be
right back.
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Speaker 2 (21:52):
And we're back. You're listening to the Energy Mix radio show.
My guest today is Tracy Bentley, CEO and President at
the Premium based in Strategic Partnership. Tracy PSP has turned
one hundred and eighty four million dollars in direct investments
into one point eight billion in collaborative impact. What is
the secret to the kind of leverage that you're doing
(22:12):
and how do you prioritize where to invest next?
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Yes, I think the kind of the magic sauce that
we've discovered is we aim to serve as a catalyst
for investments and for growth, and so it's very very
rare that you will find that the permanent Strategic Partnership
is the sole funder of any of these major projects
(22:38):
that we've invested in and or created. We like to
bring other investors and other stakeholders to the table to
invest with us, because I mean, it's the simple math
that says, you know, if you've got everybody putting in
a dollar and five dollars a spend, that's much better
than the dollar that you would have had by yourself.
And we have absolutely found that to be true. Some
(23:00):
of our biggest and best partners are in fact the
state of Texas. As we talked about tech stot before,
we have other foundations. We have other energy related companies
who are not necessarily a member of PSP, but who
have said, wow, I believe in that project. Can we
come alongside you federal partners, and so there's no there's
(23:23):
no recipe for what a partner looks like. The only
qualification is that you care and want to invest in
the Permian Basin as much as we do. So leveraging
our dollar has proven to be really, really key when
it comes to prioritizing projects. It's very much we are.
We insist that we stay within our focus areas, education, healthcare,
(23:44):
road safety, and workforce development. There are so many great
projects that are that have happened and that are going
to happen out here that fall outside of those areas,
and we absolutely want to see those continue. But you
can imagine what would happen if we start to go
outside of our scope. We would be doing a lot
of things and maybe not to the best of our abilities.
(24:06):
So we are we're very diligent about staying within those
focus areas. And you know, I don't know if if
people know this, but the average age of a Midlander
right now is thirty one years old. That really age.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Yes, okay, those numbers have definitely changed, they sure have,
and that's been within the last seven eight years.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
So we have a young population. We have more three
to four year olds than any other age group. Yes,
and how exciting is that?
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Yeah, it used to not be that way.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
He's no older.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
Population exactly, and it's happened, I think, pretty quickly, and
we have you know, our chairman Don Evans likes to
say there are more baby strollers walking around on the
streets of Milano, does it And he's seen it in
a very very long time.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
And that's exciting. But what the that also means is
these young families have got to have better access to
mom and baby care. So we have a huge sort
of pediatricians out here. That's something that you will find
us working on diligently over the next year, is to
grow our pediatricians.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Well, let's switch gears and talk about the community investment, infrastructure,
infrastructure development within PSP. You guys have made some major investments,
as you mentioned earlier, in healthcare including rule access and
medical training. But what you mentioned at the gaps are
you're looking at the young ones that are still in
(25:39):
baby that does it sound that are still looking to
continue to have more children and add to their family.
How do you measure that success in these types of
initiatives You said you want to bring in more pediatricians
more obsietricians, I guess for when they're carrying the child.
So tell me a little bit about is there anything
(25:59):
else you're looking at in the way of healthcare?
Speaker 3 (26:02):
There sure is. So we did about three four years ago,
we did a regional healthcare assessment to find out what
do we have, what don't we have, what are the gaps,
and where should we be investing to really start to
make big progress in closing those gaps. And a couple
of things came out of that assessment. Number one, we
(26:28):
definitely need more access for behavioral health and so we
prioritize that. And you and I have spoken about this before.
Can we prioritize that right out of the shoots. In fact,
if you look in between Middland and Odessa right now
near the airport, you will see a building being constructed
(26:49):
and that is our brand new regional behavioral health center.
We invest We invested on one point five and many
others came alongside us, and we got the state to
help us out quite a bit as well. But it's
the first ever regional behavioral health center for our area
and it is so badly needed.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Excellent Tracy, Let's take a quick break. When we return,
we'll pick this topic back up. You're listening to the
Energy Mixed Radio show. We'll be right back.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
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Speaker 2 (27:52):
And we're back. You're listening to the Energy Mix Radio show.
My guest today's Tracy Bentley, President CEO of the Permium
based in strategic Partnership. Tracy, you alls economic Impact report
reflects a lot of great things you guys are accomplishing,
and you just announced you first of its kind in
the region, a mental health facility, and everybody talks about
the need for mental health in the great state of Texas.
(28:13):
You all are completing that, please tell us one's it
going to be completed and any other initiatives you're working on.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
Yes, thank you. It's under construction right now and it
should be completed in about a year. And this is
another beautiful public private partnership between the State of Texas,
the Premier Strategic Partnership and our member companies and the county,
city and County of Midland and many others have come
(28:39):
to the table to make this happen. But we're so
excited about this and we just know it's going to
make a huge difference for our families and our work
that live here. Speaking of huge difference, can one other
pretty amazing thing that came out of our regional healthcare
assessment was the amount of premium basin families impacted by
cancer and the lack of cancer care here in our region.
(29:05):
If you are blessed enough to have resources, you have
the opportunity to go to MD Anderson or another specialty
cancer care facility on the east side of the state.
But many and most people in the Permian don't have
those kind of resources, and so they may go without
care or kind of putting together what the little bit
(29:26):
of pieces that we have here and just making do
and that's completely unacceptable. And so we are in talks
with the University of Texas System and m D Anderson
to see what it would take. What are the possibilities
of getting an MD Anderson branch out here in the
Permian so that all families, regardless of socioeconomic status, have
(29:47):
access to the very best cancer care in the world.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And that makes total sense. And I'm just wondering if
you have heard of or are working currently with Skyhide
for Kids, because if you haven't, I'd love to connect
you out. They're with them there have passed through, but
they give money to Saint Jude, but they also actually
will go out and do fundraising to try to build
a capital campaign to build these type of facilities if
they're needed. So I'll connect you after the show. Let's
(30:13):
talk about road safety and emergency response. How have they
been key and you mentioned they've been a key focus.
We all remember a lot of negative media about all
the deaths that were happening on the highways because of
all the eighteen wheelers, the roads had not been used.
When the shell Revolution exploded, everybody got caught by surprise
and the Middland and Middleland and Odessa area was no different.
(30:35):
There was a lot of traffic and a lot of fatalities.
Can you share with us how programs like hero are
improving the outcomes for Permian residents?
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Yes, Jim, you're right. Seven years ago the Permian had
some of the most well, we had by far the
most dangerous roads in the state of Texas, but we
had some of that. We were in the top five
most dangerous roads in the entire country. Because of what
you said, our roads and our infrastructure was not built
for the volume that we started to see with the
show Revolution and so, uh we were averaging a fatality
(31:07):
per day and accidents were, i mean off the charts,
and we said, listen that we've this, We've got to
do something about this. We've really got to make this
a focus. And so we went to text dot and
showed them the safety numbers and we provided the front work,
if you will, and the studies to then be able
(31:29):
to go to text out and say, Okay, here are
your heavily traveled most heavily traveled traveled energy corridors. Here
are the safety stats for them, and here's what you
if you invest in these top ten projects here's the
return on investment we will get as a state. And
so that's how we partner with tech dot to show
them we're going to do the leg work up front.
(31:49):
If you all will will help us make this a priority.
And so since we have had this partnership with text
dot so for about seven years, can we are thrilled
to say we are no longer the most dangerous region
in the state or in the country. In fact, we've
went from yes, we've went from dead last to about
middle of the range and we're continuing to get better
(32:10):
every day. And you just mentioned the Hero program. So
on your side of the state, I think San Antonio
and Austin and Dallas and some other larger metropolitan areas
have Hero trucks. And those are trucks that are designed
to go assist stranded motorists on the side of the road.
So if you need a tow they'll help you get
(32:31):
a tow truck. If you have a flat tire, they'll
help you change a flat. If you ran out of gas,
they'll bring you guests. If there's a minor medical emergency,
they're trained to be able to help with that until
a paramedica and an ambulance get there and they've had amazing
success with safety on roads on the eastern part of
the state, and we said, my goodness, let's pilot it
(32:52):
out here. And tex Dot said, we've never done this
in overal part of the state, and we said, well,
we'll partner with you. We'll put some money in and
fund the program if you'll partner with us. So these
trucks have been up and going for I think a
month now, maybe a month and a week. I cannot
even tell you the stories that we're already hearing about.
You know, I was stranded, I had little kids, I
didn't know what I was going to do. My cell
(33:13):
phone was dead. And then I look in my rearview
mirror and it was like an angel on wheels comes
rolling up and says, HI were the Hero crew. We
came to help you. Don't worry. Oh my goodness, amazing.
It's so amazing, And so we're so thrilled to have
the five hero trucks going in some of those heavily
traveled highways of the Permian Basin right now.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Well, you know, if you look at the stats, truly,
the most dangerous thing that can happen to you is
to being stuck on the side of a freeway or
on a road because for Summer's another it attracts people
who are under the influence. But this is where you
can get you know, ran into the easiest. And they
also say, for safety reasons, get out of your vehicle
(33:56):
and go somewhere where you're safe, because that is a huge,
huge problem that people can have rex like that or
you know, die in their vehicle while they're waiting for
a tow truck or something. So the fact that there's
somebody out there that's helping. Let's move on to education
and workforce. With over eighty million invested in education, how
is PSP helping to build the pipeline of talent for
(34:16):
the region for the future. And what roles do and
and what role do partnerships with the university play. Now
I'm going to warn you I've got about a minute
and then I'm going to cut into break, but I
promise we'll put this back up on the other side.
What are these investments in education?
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Yes, well, education is our biggest challenge to attracting and
retaining workforce in the Permian.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
We have.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
We have very large districts out here, especially for being
a rural area, but we also have some of the
lowest performing districts and so when families are looking at relocating,
the first thing that parents want to see is what
are the quality of your schools? And unfortunately that's a
big that's a big area needed for improvement out here.
So what we a couple of projects that we've invested
(35:01):
in and we will continue to invest in in this area,
but are bringing in some very high, high quality charter
schools to partner with families. So we broke ground on
Harmony Schools in both Midland and an Odessa and it
already has a waitless Harmony is very very highly regarded
in the public school world and we're thrilled with student
(35:22):
performance already. They've been open for about a year now
and families are loving it. So that's one area. But
we also know that regardless, we can keep building charters
and we will invest in some more, but that most people,
no matter what, are still going to choose to send
their kids to their public isd and so we invest
a great deal in our public isds with superintendent training,
(35:44):
principal training, teacher incentive allotment, principal incentive allotments as well
as overall teacher training so that our teachers feel like
they have the preparation and the skill set to be
the very best for our kiddos in the classroom if
you live out here. Once again, going back to there
are more resources in metropolitan areas for teachers to go
(36:06):
get this training than there are in rural America, rural Texas.
And so what we did is PSP invested in bringing
those amazing resources from Austin area to the Premium Basin
that so they have them right here at home.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Absolutely. So let's take a quick break. When we return,
I want to drill down a little bit into the universities,
how they're playing into this, the teacher housing. You mentioned
the certificates, just so the listeners understand the type of
real investment that's going on, because this is something that
really has not been done before. Listening to the Energy
Mix radio show. We'll be right back. You're listening to
the Energy Mix Radio show. My guest today is Tracy Bentley,
(36:45):
the president and CEO of the Permium Basin Strategic Partnership.
Let's fill down a little bit more and tell me
about the partnerships with the universities. How did they play
you mentioned certifications. I'd like for you to talk to
us a little bit about that and then the teacher's
housing allowance and how that is working for you. Guys.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Well, we are incredibly blessed to have two prominent university
systems out here in the Permian and that, of course,
the University of Texas Premier Basin and Texas Tech, both
of which are members of the Premian Strategic Partnership. But
those two universities not only provide access to an amazing
higher education, but they are absolutely fundamental to building our
(37:24):
workforce pipeline. So we have invested upwards of thirty million
dollars in Texas Tech, primarily in healthcare, so with doctor
primary care residencies, surgery residencies, mobile clinics to serve the
underserved and without insurance in the rural parts of our area,
(37:47):
and many many more. And when it comes to the
University of Texas Premium Basin, we expanded and revamped their
nursing program so that they can take more students and
so that those students are able to have a little
more diverse nursing education and be able to specialize in
a couple of more things. We've also invested in teachers
through the University of Texas Premium Basin as well as
(38:10):
licensed professional counselors, and all of these are partnerships with
each of those universities specifically designed to meet the workforce
needs of our region so that we can attract the
workforce and retain the workforce and the families that we
want to call the Premium Basin homes. Also, Kim, it
turns out that when you look at communities that kind
(38:32):
of look like us, our diversity and our population numbers,
a healthy number that you want from driven by healthcare
is right around you know, twenty percent, whereas we're at
like nine percent. And so what that says is there's
a huge opportunity to grow our healthcare economy here, and
we're doing just that by hopefully bringing in MD Anderson,
(38:55):
by hopefully bringing in you know, a children's a mom
and children's hot hospital, by growing our nurses and doctors,
because we're leaving a lot on the table right now.
So that's an exciting opportunity in one that we are
being pretty aggressive on. And again, could not do this
without the partnership of our two university systems.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Absolutely, and it just kind of reminds me when I
look at this of how insane this is. To a
degree that you all are actually more efficient, it would
appear than most municipalities elected officials. Maybe we should look
at this model. I want to get to this and
I want to make sure that we're able to have
(39:34):
the time for it. So sustainability and future outlook. The
premium Basin is projected to produce three hundred and fifty
billion in gross product by twenty fifty. So how is
the PSP preparing for that growth while while balancing sustainability
and community needs Because it sounds like there's a whole
lot coming there.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
Sure is. The world is going energy demand worldwide is
going to be up fifty by twenty five. That is
a lot of energy. And when you think about the
places that it's going to need to come from, most
of the places are not what we would call friendly
towards the United States, towards freedom. And so we want
(40:17):
the majority of that fifty percent additional energy to come
from right here in the United States and honestly from
the Premium Basin. And so in order to be able
to sustain that growth, we have got to be ready
for it. And we've got to be doing what we're doing,
and even more building out our social and our traditional
infrastructure so that we can comfortably house the workforce that
(40:41):
we needed, so that we have enough power as we
started off this conversation, to produce the energy for the
world safely. And we've got a lot, We've got a
lot of work to do. We've to have we've got
to continue to see road improvements, we've got to continue
to see investments honestly from the federal government as well
when it comes to infrastructure, roads, healthcare, rural healthcare, all education,
(41:05):
all of these things. But I'm very, very confident that
we can do it. And when you.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Have this confidence with you, absolutely, when Tracy Bentley says
we can do it, we're going to do it. Absolutely.
Tell me about looking ahead, what is the most exciting
projects and initiatives that you guys are planning to launch
either next year maybe this year, and then is there
anywhere that stakeholders can get involved as well?
Speaker 3 (41:30):
Well. I have never been more excited than I am
right now about where we're at and the the kind
of the spirit of the region. You know, it's easy
to if you just look at what's going on nationally
and the rhetoric. I think it can be easy to
fall into the oh gosh, you know trap. But here
(41:50):
on the ground, we know that no matter what's happening
geopolitically and with politics, the premium basin is not replaced,
and so we have got to continue just doing the
hard work that it's going to take to get us
all through this sent to power the world. And so
we also know that of anywhere, if there's going to
(42:11):
be oil drilled anywhere in the world, the hands down,
the most preferable place is right here in the Permian.
And that's not Tracy Bentley's opinion, that is the opinion
of my twenty seven member companies who say this is
the place to be and this is where they want
to be. So the future looks very, very bright for
the Permian. And in addition, Kim, I don't know if
post people know this, but we have only tapped about
(42:32):
six to nine percent of available resources underground, and that's
because of technology. This there is no better industry when
it comes to innovation than the oil and gas industry.
We innovate like nobody's business and I am absolutely confident
that here, before too long, technology is going to continue
(42:52):
to develop where now we can get to fifteen percent
of what's under the rock and then twenty and think
about when that happens. My goodness. I mean, with current technology,
one could say, you know, we're looking some of my
companies have to do your development plans well. As technology improves,
so will the outlook and the longevity of the Permian.
And so that's something that we all have to look
(43:12):
forward to. And it's exciting to know that that permian
is going to be prolific for a very, very long
time and our companies are planning that way, and you
see that in our investments. So here coming up, we've
talked about a couple of them, a behavioral health center,
hopefully a premier cancer center that will serve our region.
We're looking at collegiate high school models that really sync
(43:33):
up with our university systems and the needs of our
work workforce. A place where kids can go to get
dual credits and you know, immediately have a job waiting
for them when they're ready right here in the community.
So this concept of grow our own is something that
we really strongly believe in, and it takes all the
partnerships that we've been discussing today. To make those happen,
(43:55):
we will you will continue to see us ass heavily
in career technical education centers. We have I think already
four in the region, and we know there's a need
to do more. So CTE is going to continue to
be a huge focus, as well as continuing to see
our schools go from you know, maybe on the lower
performing end. We want them to be the best in
the state, and so providing teachers those opportunities that they
(44:18):
might not otherwise have, continuing to build our teacher pipeline
and grow our own once again encouraging kiddos who are
interested in becoming teachers to take that take that path,
and we'll help you get the best training that there is.
And I could go on and on, but these are
the things that our young families need in order to
(44:40):
be here, raise their kids here for generations, and so
we are in this for the long haul. Thank you
so much. I have to tell you, when I landed
here six and a half years ago, you were one
of the very first people that interviewed me, and I
got a even We're so kind to put me on
the cover of your magazine, and I'll never forget that
conversation and how wonderful you were to me, and we
(45:03):
didn't know what this was going to be at that time.
It was brand new, never been done before. And so
it's fun now to be here with you again six
and a half years later talking about some of our accomplishments.
So thank you for being there through my journey.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
Yeah, well, you've done great and the organization is doing great,
and this is what strategic thinking looks like, folks. Tracy again,
thank you for joining me, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
The Energy Mix Radio show is where we explore topics
that affect us all in the oil and gas industry.
Every week, our host will interview the movers and shakers
in this fast paced industry. You'll hear from industry experts,
elected officials, and many more on the Energy Mix Radio Show.
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