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Texas RRC March Production Data

The Texas RRC is out with their latest Oil and Gas Production Data . Looks like oil production has leveled out with March production pretty much level with February. All RRC data is trough March 015. Texas Crude Only I always show the last 6 months or the RRC data in order to get a pretty good indication of which way data production is moving. From the data you can see that December was a very good month but January was just awful. February was a lot better and March was about the same as February. The chart above was created by Dean Fantazzini, PhD, of the Moscow School of Economics. He has developed an algorithm which predicts what the data will reflect after the final data has come in. His data suggests that Texas crude has plateaued. For more on the underlying methodology of Dr. Fantazzini see: Nowcasting Texas RRC […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukrainian shale handcuffed, company says

Ukrainian shale explorer granted more areas for work, but says business climate too cost prohibitive to start drilling campaign. File Photo by ekina/Shutterstock LONDON, May 18 (UPI) — Junior shale explorer JXK Oil & Gas said Monday it was granted more areas for work in Ukraine, though the cost of business was still prohibitive to drilling. JXK, which has headquarters in London, said Ukrainian authorities expanded by 13 square miles its production license in the Elizavetovskoye area, to bring the total to 40 square miles. The company started a multistage hydraulic fracturing operation in Ukraine in 2013, describing it as likely the largest operation of its kind in Europe to date. The company said it was pleased with the license expansion, but was unable to continue with operations in the country. "This further award is recognition of our ability to develop the potential of our Ukrainian licenses," JKX Chief […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bakken by County and Legacy Decline

North Dakota publishes Historical Oil Production by County . However confidential wells are not included in these totals. But they also publish a State Summary Report  which does include confidential well data for the previous two months. Working with both we can get a pretty good estimate of production from each county. McKenzie had  a 12,533 bp/d gain in March but they are still 32,447 below their December high. Mountrail peaked back in September 2014 and dropped another 9,467 bp/d in March. Mountrail dropped the most in October when the Bakken rig count averaged 191 and WTI averaged in the mid $80s. Once North Dakota’s largest producer, I don’t think there is any question that Mountrail has peaked. Dunn had a big increase of 10,884 bp/d in March and surpassed its previous peak in September. Williams was down by just over 1,000 bp/d in March. North Dakota outside the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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WPX Energy would add North Dakota rigs with $65 per barrel oil

WILLISTON, N.D. Oil and gas producer WPX Energy Inc would add one or two drilling rigs in North Dakota if WTI oil prices stabilized around $65 per barrel, Chief Executive Rick Muncrief told Reuters on Friday. The forecast falls in line with U.S. shale peers, several of whom have pointed to $65 to $70 per barrel as the range in which they would add rigs and ramp up production. Indeed, Muncrief’s comments add to a body of evidence that the United States is now the world’s swing oil producer, able to ramp production up or down quickly. For WPX specifically, Muncrief’s outlook is part of a broader strategy to show Wall Street that after years of bloated spending, cash flow and cost management are top priorities. It’s a focus that appears to be working: WPX’s stock is up 15 percent so far this year, compared with a nearly 3 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pace of U.S. rig decline slows

The pace at which the exploration and production sector in North America seems to be slowing. Photo by Lilac Mountain/Shutterstock HOUSTON, May 15 (UPI) — The pace at which the exploration and production sector in North America is declining is slowing, weekly data from oil field services company Baker Hughes show. Baker Hughes said in a weekly report the number of rigs actively exploring for or producing oil and natural gas in the United States and Canada declined by a combined 15 for the week ending May 8. That’s an improvement over the week-on-week decline reported for the week ending May 1. A weak crude oil market, characterized by a slump in demand and a surplus of supplies, has forced most energy companies to cut back on exploration and production. Through the first quarter of the year, that’s resulted in a decline in production from some states, though rig […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. Oil Rig Count Falls to 660 in Latest Week

The U.S. oil-rig count fell by eight to 660 in the latest week, according to Baker Hughes Inc., marking the 23nd straight week of declines. The number of U.S. oil drilling rigs–a proxy for activity in the oil industry–has fallen sharply since prices headed south last year. There are now about 59% fewer rigs working since a peak of 1,609 in October. That hasn’t yet translated into a drop in actual output, even though it has squelched production capacity. Crude-oil futures were recently down about 0.75% to $59.42. According to Baker Hughes, gas rigs were up two to 223 this week. The U.S. offshore rig count is at 34, unchanged from last week and down 23 from last year. For all rigs, including natural gas, the week’s drop was six to 888, and down 973 from last year’s 1861.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BHI: US rig count decline shrinks to 6 this week, settles at 888

HOUSTON, May 15 OGJ Staff Writer The trend of shrinking declines in the US drilling rig count continued during the week ended May 15. Just 6 units were laid down to settle at a total of 888 rigs working, representing the smallest drop in the 23 consecutive weeks in which the count has dived, easily surpassing last week’s 11 that went offline, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. ( OGJ Online, May 8, 2015 ). Since Dec. 5, 1,032 units have now gone offline ( OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2014 ). The total of 888 is still higher than the nadir of 876 during the 2008-09 downturn but is 973 fewer units compared with this week a year ago. In an energy update early this week, Raymond James & Associates noted that weekly well permits, a primary indicator of rig count activity, “have been relatively stable as of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Lower 48 Oil Production to Keep Growing, but At Slower Pace

U.S. Lower 48 oil production will continue to grow, but at a much slower pace than expected this time a year ago as lower oil prices impact production and industry capital expenditures, according to recent analysis by Wood Mackenzie. However, a Wood Mackenzie analyst emphasized that the firm doesn’t expect an annual trend of declining production to occur until oil prices remain at $50/barrel for a two-year period. Lower 48 production grew by 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) during 2014, but Wood Mackenzie expects the rate of growth to decline going forward, with 675,000 bpd incremental production forecast for 2015 and 425,000 bpd of incremental production growth in 2016, Benjamin Shattuck, senior analyst for the analysis firm’s Lower 48 Upstream group, told reporters at a media briefing Friday in Houston. As a result, Wood Mackenzie estimates a long-term impact of this growth to be 800,000 bpd by the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EOG Waiting Out Oil Prices

EOG Releases 2015 Q1 Report EOG Resources will continue to hold off on Bakken well completions  until crude prices stabilize. Pulling back, slowing down and waiting it out is the preferred strategy for oil producers looking for strategies during the current pricing crisis. During an earnings call, EOG says that they are benefiting greatly from the pull-back in activity and progress is being made to lowering cost in each phase of their operations. The company announced a first quarter loss net loss of $169.7 million. Related: EOG Reduces 2015 Capex 40 Percent Bakken Activity The slowdown in activity has allowed EOG to focus on three things in its Bakken operations Operational efficiencies and lowering well cost. Currently, a typical 10,000 foot lateral is now drilled in just over 10 days. Using new technical data from our integrated completion process to further adjust and tailor high density completion designs to specific […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil production rebounds in North Dakota

North Dakota reports a 1 percent increase in crude oil production despite low rig deployment figures. Photo by photostock77/Shutterstock BISMARCK, N.D., May 14 (UPI) — Oil production in North Dakota increased 1 percent despite obvious signs of a slowdown in the state’s shale reserve areas, state data show. The North Dakota Industrial Commission said oil production in March, the last full month for which data are available, was 1.19 million barrels per day, up from the 1.18 million bpd from February but down from the 1.22 million bpd in December, the all-time high. The increase comes despite a drop in the number of rigs exploring for or producing oil and natural gas in the No. 2 oil producer in the nation. "The drilling rig count dropped 25 from February to March, 17 more from March to April, and has since fallen 8 more from April to today," the NDIC […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple