Category: Shale Oil

The world’s biggest oil companies faced ruin in the summer of 1931. Crude prices had plummeted. Wildcatters were selling oil from the bonanza East Texas field for a nickel a barrel, cheaper than a bowl of chili. On Aug. 17, Governor Ross Sterling declared a state of insurrection in four counties and sent 1,100 National Guard troops to shut down the fields and bring order to the market. A month later the Railroad Commission of Texas handed out strict production quotas. That heavy-handed intervention in the free market was remarkable enough. Even more remarkable was who pulled it off. The person in charge of shutting down the wildcatters, National Guard Brigadier General Jacob Wolters, was the general counsel of Texas Co., an ancestor of Chevron ( CVX ). And the Texas governor who ordered Wolters in was a past president of Humble Oil and Refining, a forerunner of ExxonMobil […]

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An active Oasis Petroleum well site in the summer. PHOTO: OVERLAND AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY An active Oasis Petroleum well site in the summer. PHOTO: OVERLAND AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY Oasis Petroleum Chairman and CEO Thomas Nusz addressed a group of investors today, providing poignant information and insight on the exploration and production firm’s 2015 plans and adopted strategies for a low crude price environment. The Williston Basin pure play operator will focus on its held acreage in areas with the highest estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) totals. The EUR areas are also a 2015 focus due to the present and scalable infrastructure in the acreage, the ability by Oasis to perform high intensity completions and the option to optimize full field development strategies. The company’s focus and strategies are being guided by oil prices trading in the $60 per barrel range, Nusz explained. “We are in a new environment today in comparison to […]

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HOUSTON, Dec. 10 12/10/2014 North Dakota has approved new rail transportation safety standards for crude oil that stipulate operating standards for oil-conditioning equipment at the well to separate production fluids into gas and liquid. The North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) voted unanimously Dec. 9 on standards that require producers to heat crude to at least 110° F. at a pressure of 50 psi, effective Apr. 1, 2015. The new standards, which apply to crude oil from the Bakken , Three Forks , and Sanish formations, require the removal of light hydrocarbons ensuring crude oil going to rail terminals has a rvp limit of 13.7 psi. The new standards involve lower temperatures than the NDIC initially considered and some of the operating procedures also were changed from original proposals ( OGJ Online, Nov. 14, 2014 ). “This is all designed so that everyone knows the crude oil is being treated,” […]

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HOUSTON, Dec. 10 12/10/2014 Goodrich Petroleum Corp., Houston, is considering the sale of at least some of its shale assets in the South Texas Eagle Ford , the company said, adding that it plans to concentrate next year on the Tuscaloosa marine shale. The board authorized management to explore selling “all or a portion” of the Eagle Ford assets during the first half of 2015 to give Goodrich more flexibility to expand developments elsewhere. Goodrich said it will focus most of its spending next year on the Tuscaloosa marine shale, where executives report costs are coming down as results continue to improve. Goodrich outlined 2015 spending plans of $150-200 million compared with its 2014 budget of $325-375 million. Executives said 2014 actual spending likely will be at the lower end of that range. Related Articles 12/10/2014 Stone Energy Corp., Lafayette, La., reported that its Pribble 6HU well in Wetzel […]

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Dec 10 (Reuters) – Goodrich Petroleum Corp and Oasis Petroleum Inc said they expect to spend much less on exploration and production next year, joining a list of U.S. oil and gas companies cutting capital spending as oil prices plunge. Goodrich shares fell as much as 14.7 percent to $3.57 in early trading. Oasis’ shares fell as much as 13.3 percent to a record low of $11.01. Both stocks were among the top losers on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Several large oil producers, including ConocoPhillips and Apache Corp, have set lower capital spending budgets for 2015, rattled by a near 40 percent drop in global crude prices since June. Some have said they will deploy fewer drilling rigs next year. Global oil and gas exploration projects worth more than $150 billion are likely to be put on hold in 2015, according to Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy. […]

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Oilfield contractors hired to drill wells and fracture rock to raise crude and natural gas to the surface will have to lower prices by as much as 20 percent to help keep their cash-strapped customers working. Ultimately, that could carve out more than $3 billion from the 2015 earnings outlined by analysts for the world’s four biggest oil-service companies — Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) , Halliburton Co. (HAL) , Baker Hughes Inc. and Weatherford International Plc. (WFT) The potential losses loom just as the service providers were looking ahead to higher rates after a glut in pressure-pumping gear dragged prices down in past years. Now, crude oil prices that have fallen more than 40 percent since June are squeezing them once again. As they look for ways to cut costs, oil producers will be pushing for discounts wherever they can find them. “They’re already going to confront significant cash-flow pressures […]

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US shale oil data Darkening times for shale industry: drilling is being scaled back in the Bakken formation in North Dakota amid a falling oil price When Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries last month rejected calls for a production cut by Opec, the oil cartel, they put the responsibility for stabilising plummeting crude prices on to the US shale industry. Suhail al-Mazroui, energy minister for the United Arab Emirates, said US shale companies and other producers who had created an oil glut should “respect the needs of the market”. Less diplomatically, Scott Sheffield, chief executive of Pioneer Natural Resources , one of the leading shale oil producers, said Opec had “declared war” on the US industry. Two weeks on from that Opec decision — and against a backdrop of a 40 per cent fall in the oil price since June — evidence of its negative impact on US […]

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