Dwayne Purvis

Petroleum Engineering Consultant

Dwayne Purvis, SPE, is a petroleum engineering consultant, writer, speaker, and trainer based in Texas. He assists operators, investors, NGOs, and others in making thorough analyses and circumspect decisions, especially in hard-to-understand reservoirs and complex situations. With nearly 30 years of practice in multiple leadership roles and projects around the world, Purvis has studied scores of fields and advised clients of all sizes. He holds a degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University and earned a master's degree in sustainable energy from Johns Hopkins University in 2013.

Decommissioning

Decommissioning Costs Make Producing Projects Uneconomic

This article examines how decommissioning costs impact project viability, showing that operational profitability can mask uneconomic end-of-life obligations, and advocates for ethical diligence in assessing these costs.

December 3, 2024 • Dwayne Purvis • Oil and Gas Facilities
Energy transition

Shale Boom Foretells Energy Transition

The shale revolution has not yet finished its course, but the boom is well past. The next boom is the energy transition, and it, too, will reward those who see and act early.

November 16, 2023 • Dwayne Purvis • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Mature fields

New Realities of Mature Production Require New Economic Yardsticks

Instead of insights, traditional economic yardsticks in mature fields can create surprises. Buyers, investors, and lenders need new yardsticks—besides those based on present value—in order to make profitable decisions in mature properties.

December 26, 2022 • Dwayne Purvis • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Environment

Path of Honest Inquiry Leads to Truth About Climate Science

I was arrogant and selfish to dismiss an entire collegial branch of science. After so many years learning and living within the petroleum industry, I decided I should give climatology a fairer hearing.

April 19, 2022 • Dwayne Purvis • HSE Now
HSE & Sustainability

The Virtue in Virtue Signaling

Virtue signaling alone is not a viable strategy to deal with climate issues. However, virtue signaling best leads to “virtuous” behavior. A company motivated only by appearances will face forces to keep up appearances. As firmer pressure teed up, voluntary corporate and national commitments to net-zero emissions have grown exponentially.

March 15, 2022 • Dwayne Purvis • HSE Now
Reservoir

The Coming Boom in the “Counterstream” Business

You know about upstream, midstream, and downstream. Now, get ready for the coming age of "counterstream" which will leverage many of the industry's existing engineering skillsets.

January 12, 2022 • Dwayne Purvis • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Environment

Guest Editorial: Venting and the Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

For more than a century, the oil industry magnificently improved the lives and health of humankind. Those gains help support a moral case to expand some use of fossil fuels but not to release them. Now it is time to lean in to solving the last step of our direct emissions.

December 1, 2021 • Dwayne Purvis • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Energy transition

Guest Editorial: How To Meet Declining Oil Demand

Oil isn’t going away, but that misses the fact that a demand plateau will structurally change the industry for people and companies in the most geologically mature areas, especially the United States.

June 1, 2021 • Dwayne Purvis • Journal of Petroleum Technology