Category: Shale Oil

Various Halliburton equipment being stored at the equipment yard in Alvarado, Texas June 2, 2015. North America’s shale drillers are struggling with the renewed slump in oil prices, despite cutting costs, boosting output, and in some cases employing hedging to improve realized prices. Stock prices for most of the main shale drillers have fallen faster than the price of U.S. light crude since the middle of April. Spot WTI has fallen 20 percent since mid-April but the share price of Pioneer Natural Resources has dropped 30 percent and Continental Resources is down almost 40 percent over the same period. Both companies increased production during the second quarter. Pioneer produced 197,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in April-June, up from 194,000 in January-March, while Continental reported output of 227,000 boepd, up from 207,000. Pioneer’s production is mostly from the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford in Texas, while Continental’s […]

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Analysis finds some energy companies focused on exploration and production might not survive the downturn. UPI/Gary C. Caskey HOUSTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) — The depressed crude oil market could limit the borrowing options for North American exploration and production companies, analysis finds. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, has struggled in recent trading days to break the $50 mark. In early Thursday trading, WTI was $44.72, more than 50 percent lower than this time last year. Paul O’Donnel, an equity analyst at IHS Energy, said the low price of crude oil, and expectations that the weak market will endure, spells trouble for companies focused on exploration and production. "Prolonged depressed prices for oil are hurting many of the [exploration and production companies] and will begin to limit their borrowing options," he said in a statement. Marathon Oil this week became the latest in a […]

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Shale oil basin in North Dakota a standout for Marathon Oil as it posts a financial loss for the second quarter. Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock HOUSTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) — Production from the Bakken shale play in North Dakota was a standout in terms of gains for Marathon Oil, which posted a $386 million loss in the second quarter. For all of North America, the company said in its second quarter report net production averaged 274,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. That represents a 21 percent increase year-on-year, but 3 percent lower than first quarter 2015. Marathon President and Chief Executive Officer Lee Tillman said the net decline was in part because of less spending on exploration and production. "Capital spending in the quarter was down about 40 percent sequentially as we’ve moderated activity levels in the U.S. resource plays," he said in a statement. In North Dakota, […]

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The exterior of the Schlumberger Corporation headquarters building is pictured in the Galleria area of Houston January 16, 2015. Business is so tough for oilfield giants Schlumberger NV and Halliburton Co that they have come up with a new sales pitch for crude producers halting work in the worst downturn in years. It amounts to this: "frack now and pay later." The moves by the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 oil services companies show how they are scrambling to book sales of new technologies to customers short of cash after a 60 percent slide in crude to $45 a barrel. In some cases, they are willing to take on the role of traditional lenders, like banks, which have grown reluctant to lend since the price drop that began last summer, or act like producers by taking what are essentially stakes in wells. At Halliburton, some of the capital […]

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Despite all their spending cutbacks and idle drilling rigs, American energy producers are finding it hard to turn off the taps that have helped lead to a global glut of oil. Rising crude production was a major theme in the past week as shale drillers reported their second-quarter earnings. Analysts say American oil pumpers need to cut their output by at least 500,000 barrels a day to stem the oversupply that has sent oil prices tumbling over the past 14 months to just under $45 a barrel. But monthly oil production rose steadily through March, peaking at a record 9.7 million barrels a day that month and just slightly less in April, before edging down to 9.5 million barrels in May, according to the latest federal data. “We need to cut a whole lot more,” said Jamie Webster, a senior director at IHS Energy, a consultancy. “This industry has […]

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Energy explorers reeling from the rout in oil prices are looking for liquidity in an obvious place: their rocks. (Bloomberg) — Energy explorers reeling from the rout in oil prices are looking for liquidity in an obvious place: their rocks. Having exhausted other ways to raise cash as a glut of global supply depresses prices, a slew of producers from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to Comstock Resources Inc. announced more than $2.4 billion in asset sales last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Selling oil and gas fields to pay off lenders and fund new drilling — often a wildcatter’s option of last resort — is surging after a six-month lull. There’s more to come — by one estimate, another $20 billion this year — as executives at Occidental Petroleum Corp., Whiting Petroleum Corp., Penn Virginia Corp., Exco Resources Inc., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Ultra Petroleum Corp. have all […]

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Pioneer Natural Resources moves against tide with plans to spend more on rigs in shale basins in Texas. Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 5 (UPI) — Despite posting a loss for the second quarter, Pioneer Natural Resources said it would increase its capital budget for the second half and add more rigs. Pioneer said it lost $218 million in the second quarter, joining its peers struggling to generate revenue during the downturn in the crude oil market. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield said in a statement the company was seeing benefits from operations focused largely in the Spraberry/Wolfcamp shale basin in Texas. "As a result, we are putting rigs back to work and plan to return to an activity level during 2016 that can result in a similar growth trajectory that we were delivering in the second half of 2014 before the downturn," he said […]

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Energy explorers reeling from the rout in oil prices are looking for liquidity in an obvious place: their rocks. Having exhausted other ways to raise cash as a glut of global supply depresses prices, a slew of producers from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to Comstock Resources Inc. announced more than $2.4 billion in asset sales last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Selling oil and gas fields to pay off lenders and fund new drilling — often a wildcatter’s option of last resort — is surging after a six-month lull. There’s more to come — by one estimate, another $20 billion this year — as executives at Occidental Petroleum Corp., Whiting Petroleum Corp., Penn Virginia Corp., Exco Resources Inc., Chesapeake Energy Corp . and Ultra Petroleum Corp. have all said in recent weeks that they are selling assets or exploring sales. The surge shows how the industry’s two-pronged strategy […]

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CCOs Concerned About Compliance IT Systems: Survey More authority and stronger organizational support are helping to increase the effectiveness of corporate compliance programs, yet persistent concerns remain about information technology (IT) systems’ ability to fulfill compliance program requirements, according to “In Focus: 2015 Compliance Trends Survey,” a joint effort between Deloitte and Compliance Week. In addition, third parties continue to be the single biggest worry for surveyed CCOs.

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