Survey: Attracting new talent, political environment top midstream concerns

The Center for Midstream Management and Science (CMMS) conducted its third annual CMMS survey of issues facing the midstream industry. This survey drew on opinions of friends of the center in executive management, engineering, operations, consulting, and academia, and its Industry Advisory Board. The Top Ten issues facing the midstream industry in 2024, force ranked, are:

• Attracting New Talent
• Political Environment
• New Regulations (tie)
• Government Energy Policy (tie)
• Aging Infrastructure
• Business Outlook
• Emerging Engineering Issues
• Permitting
• Capital Availability
• Supply Chain

“In last year’s Top Ten midstream issues survey, human capital and what might be considered day-to-day operating concerns dominated industry concerns,” according to the center. “In this year’s survey, Attracting New Talent took first place again, but in an astonishing and disturbing result, day-to-day operating concerns were replaced by Political Environment.

“Interestingly, Attracting New Talent and Political Environment were not only very close in scoring but were also significantly more important than the remaining eight issues. The next two issues, New Regulations and Government Energy Policies, were tied in scoring and materially more important than the remaining six issues.”

CMMS was established and funded by the Texas legislature in late 2019 and serves as a bridge between Lamar University and the midstream industry. The Midstream Center is the only academic organization focused solely on the midstream industry.