Ben Stone has worked in the oil and gas industry for more than 48 years, with a career spanning field operations, regulatory oversight, industry education, and large-scale data and systems modernization.

 

"I’m grateful for the opportunity to have contributed, and I’ll always care about the work and the people who carry it forward; some work stays with you long after it’s done."

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Ben began his career as a wireline (logging) engineer, where he spent 15 years logging more than 3,500 wells across a wide range of operating environments and more than 10,000 hours downhole. His work focused primarily on production logging, with additional experience in compensated neutron logs, cement bond logs, and early-generation downhole digital tools. During this period, he served as a Radiation Technician Level III Tech and 'tagged' more than 1,000 frack and acid jobs with radioactive isotope tracers including the first one-million pound frack job by Halliburton - just west of Odessa, Texas.  With GeoSource Wireline, he was promoted to senior engineer and Radiation Safety Officer for the Rocky Mountain Division, and participated in the testing and deployment of emerging downhole digital technologies during the industry’s transition from analog to digital systems.  His logging jobs took him from Texas, to New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wyoming and Louisiana with a 'Zero Time Lost' safety record.

 

While working as a wireline engineer with NL McCullough, Ben also contributed to professional development within the industry by teaching the company’s Phase II Engineering course, working directly with engineers to strengthen technical understanding of logging tools, interpretation, and downhole operations.

 

After his field career, Ben joined the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (NMOCD) as a Petroleum Engineering Specialist, where he served for 15 years. His initial assignment was to inventory and catalog all Salt Water Disposal (SWD) wells statewide, creating the first comprehensive picture of existing disposal infrastructure in New Mexico and enabling staff to better understand historical permitting, construction, and operational conditions across the state.

 

Following this effort, Ben became an active technical reviewer and author of administrative permits, including SWD wells, downhole commingling (DHC) applications, central tank batteries (CTB), and a wide range of other regulatory approvals and administrative actions. He worked directly with operators, consultants, and agency staff to ensure permits were technically sound, clearly documented, and enforceable. As needed, Ben also served as a technical expert for well logging, working alongside OCD hearing examiners to provide expert interpretation and testimony on subsurface and logging-related matters.  Ben served as the sole Oil Conservation Division representative to the WIPP Land Withdrawal Area Task Force, working in a cross-agency setting to help develop guidance and best practices for oil and gas operators and other stakeholder groups.

 

For six years, Ben served as the UIC program administrator and in addition to his permitting and review responsibilities, he directed and led numerous industry training seminars for NMOCD, designed to interface directly with operators and consultants. These seminars helped keep industry participants current on NMOCD rules, regulatory changes, and compliance expectations, while improving communication and practical understanding between the agency and regulated parties.  ​For five consecutive years, Ben authored the OCD portion of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department's Annual Report, compiling, analyzing, and synthesizing statewide oil and gas production data and agency activity into comprehensive summaries, tables, and charts for the division as well as public consumption.

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Ben coined the term, OCD Online and co-managed the imaging and e-permitting projects, serving as the primary liaison with the external development contractor and overseeing business-process definition, workflow design, and both hardcopy and electronic form development. At the time (2004), comparable state-level systems were still uncommon, making this an early modernization effort for the division among its peers.

 

One of Ben’s most significant contributions at NMOCD was leading the effort to compile, normalize, and integrate oil and gas data that had previously been scattered across multiple division offices and maintained in isolated legacy systems and stand-alone desktop databases common at the time, including FoxPro, dBase III, and Lotus 1-2-3 . This work resulted in the creation of a unified, statewide system for UIC and regulatory data management.

 

That effort culminated in the implementation of the Risk-Based Data Management System (RBDMS), marking the first time API numbers were used consistently and comprehensively statewide within the Oil Conservation Division. Ben led the technical development and served as the primary system designer, while also securing funding—including EPA and DOE grants—and coordinating with contracted technical developers. He acted as the critical bridge between field inspectors and system developers, translating real-world inspection workflows and regulatory requirements into functional system design. This alignment of operational reality with technical execution was central to the success of RBDMS and its utility remained for over eighteen years.

 

Ben concurrently obtained funding for laptop computers, making New Mexico the first O&G state to deploy RBDMS-enabled laptops directly to field inspectors, allowing real-time access to regulatory data in the field. The success of RBDMS produced measurable operational improvements; as a result of increased efficiency, the division was able to reclassify three clerical positions into additional field inspector positions, significantly increasing inspection capacity and effectiveness without increasing overall staffing levels.

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In recognition of his contributions, Ben was honored as the 1999 Employee of the Year for the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)—the parent agency of the Oil Conservation Division. This recognition was particularly meaningful, as it was voted on by approximately 400 peers across the department.

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Ben also served for several years on the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) technical committee, contributing to multi-state discussions on regulatory data systems, groundwater protection, and best practices. He was selected by GWPC to represent the organization on an international technical exchange trip to China, reflecting peer recognition of his technical and regulatory expertise in implementing the customized version of RBDMS in New Mexico.  Unfortunately, the trip was cancelled a few weeks later due to geopolitical circumstances arising from the collision of a Chinese military jet and a US Navy intelligence aircraft on April 1, 2001.

 

For the past 19 years, Ben has served as Principal of SOS Consulting, LLC, where he has prepared and managed nearly 1000 regulatory applications across a wide range of projects, including SWD and injection wells, pressure increases, permit amendments, and complex technical submittals. His consulting work builds directly on decades of field experience and regulatory service, providing clients with practical, experience-driven solutions grounded in a deep understanding of both operational realities and agency expectations.

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"Having spent much of my career helping modernize regulatory processes at the Oil Conservation Division, I remain personally invested in seeing those systems function efficiently, transparently, and with sound technical judgment. I understand the pressures faced by both regulators and operators, and I know from experience that process discipline and thoughtful design matter. I care because I’ve seen what effective regulation looks like when it works—and I believe the people on both sides of the process deserve nothing less.

 

I may not have caught every brass ring I reached for, but I wouldn’t trade my life in the oilfield for anything. The friendships, camaraderie, and shared sense of purpose were worth far more than any finish line. That season of chasing the next idea or conference has passed, and I’m at peace with it. Today, I’m content knowing the work continues in capable hands. The industry will keep evolving, as it always has, and a new generation will bring its own energy and ideas to the challenges ahead."

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