# Why Oil Companies Leave So Much Money Downhole

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/chuck-yates-got-a-job-1369602/why-oil-companies-leave-so-much-money-downhole
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/chuck-yates-got-a-job-1369602/why-oil-companies-leave-so-much-money-downhole.md
Podcast: [Chuck Yates Got A Job](https://stenobird.com/podcast/chuck-yates-got-a-job-1369602)
Published: 2026-07-10T14:00:40+00:00
Episode link: https://cynaj.collide.io/episodes/why-oil-companies-leave-so-much-money-downhole
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/c0807705/8224457c.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/chuck-yates-got-a-job-1369602/episodes/why-oil-companies-leave-so-much-money-downhole
Duration seconds: 2723

## Resource

Everybody chases the drill bit, but the real money can hide in wells that have produced for years. D.J. Snyder left drilling and completions to chase what nobody wanted to touch: production. His company Vannevar builds downhole tools that squeeze more oil out of wells already in the ground, using a marginal gains mindset borrowed from F1 and the Tour de France. Chuck gets into frac plugs, pumper routes, why nobody shuts in a well to fix it, and how AI could give operators one source of truth. Click here to watch a video of this episode. Join the conversation shaping the future of energy. Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward. Apply today at collide.io Click here to view the episode transcript. 00:00 Meet D.J. Snyder 01:05 From drilling to the overlooked world of production 02:47 Old tech, new problems: gas, sand, and horizontal wells 06:24 Physical widgets and the marginal gains mindset 08:32 Why there's no one size fits all 13:00 Heresy: actually watch and fix your wells 16:57 The AI promise of one source of truth 18:43 Rethinking the pumper's daily route 22:57 War stories, the Bakken, and naming tools 25:18 ROI, payback, and how you really sell it 28:25 Who to call, what it costs, and building a company 36:03 How AI reshapes the work itself 38:16 Robots, drones, and the future of the field 40:14 Why boards say yes and value beats cheap 44:53 Wrap up and where to find DJ https://twitter.com/collide_ai https://www.tiktok.com/@collide.io https://www.facebook.com/collide.io https://www.instagram.com/collide.io https://www.youtube.com/@collide_io https://bsky.app/profile/collide-ai.bsky.social https://www.linkedin.co…

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