This year's 36th annual Howard Weil Energy Conference in New Orleans helped underscore the industry's fickle nature as 2007 buzz phrase "MLP" vanished into the graveyard of cliches only to be replaced by a crazyquilt of shale play mania.
In 2007, it seemed you were nothing if you lacked plans to spin off production into an master limited partnership. This year you had to have a new shale target to get any respect: Marcellus, Huron, Woodford and several more.
SandRidge Energy CEO highlighted that feature when he began his presentation with the joke that his was the only company there without a shale play to tout. In contrast, Barnett Shale pioneer Devon CEO Larry Nichols played the loyalty card, hinting that the Barnett represents the original shale and he plans to stand by his play.
A running joke among trade reporters concerned the rumored sightings of mysterious landmen on the sidelines wearing trench coats with maps for exotic new shales available in the inside pockets.
While last year's financial market meltdown worked quickly to kill the MLP furor, however, it appears the shale play mania has legs to run while companies use the next five years or more to learn if they really will work.
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