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Apache to Sell $1.4B in Non-Core US Assets

Apache will sell non-core assets in southern Louisiana and the Anadarko Basin for $1.4 billion as part of its strategic focus on its growing liquids production. Apache Corp. will sell non-core oil and gas assets in southern Louisiana and the Anadarko Basin in two transactions valued at approximately $1.4 billion as the company focuses on growing its North American onshore liquids production. The Houston-based company will sell its working interest in approximately 90,000 net acres of mature fields in southern Louisiana. Production from these fields, which have high decline rates and short reserve lives, produced around 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day – of which 62 percent was natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) – net to Apache during this year’s third quarter. Apache will retain its 275,000 mineral acres in southern Louisiana. In the Anadarko Basin, Apache will sell approximately 115,000 net acres in part of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bakken tight oil forecasts

I’ve collected a variety of forecasts for production from the Bakken oil formation, which is mostly in the state of North Dakota, but also stretches west into Montana and north into Canada. These forecasts are all for the U.S. side of the formation. To download the underlying data, go to my  page on Github . As you can see, there are wildly different forecasts from various sources. Some of the lowest I’ve seen come from geologist David Hughes, in two reports he wrote for the Post Carbon Institute. The higher forecasts generally come from what can loosely be called the “industry,” including producers, consultancies, and banks. In between are forecasts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (ND DMR). There are also a few other forecasts that were in documents I found online, but which said they could not be used […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Challenging (Crude) Convention

Co-authored by Mark Lewis and by J. David Hughes Media reports regarding the American crude oil industry have been uniformly positive in the past few months. Oil prices have dropped to their lowest level since 2010 and along with it prices at the pump. According to some reports, the US now produces as much or more oil than either Saudi Arabia or Russia. As the US closes in on energy independence, our reliance on foreign suppliers dwindles. Some suggest we are nearing a time of oil and economic security not seen in decades. If only that were true. The above rendering of events is taken, almost without examination, as gospel truth in the United States. The only subject of debate seems to be ascertaining whether hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") is safe for the environment of if burning the additional hydrocarbons is adding to risks of climate change . We find […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil at $75 Means Patches of Texas Shale Turn Unprofitable

With crude at $75 a barrel, the price Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says will be the average in the first three months of next year, 19 U.S. shale regions are no longer profitable, according to data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Those areas, which include parts of the Eaglebine and Eagle Ford in East and South Texas , pumped about 413,000 barrels a day, according to the latest data available from Drillinginfo Inc. and company presentations. That compares with the 1.03 million-barrel gain in daily national output over the past year, government figures show. The expansion of U.S. oil supply to more than 9 million barrels a day is contributing to a global glut, driving down prices by as much as 32 percent since June. The data compiled by BNEF, which take into account the costs of drilling, royalties and transportation, show that certain shale patches fail to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shale Drillers Keep Output High Despite Oil Price Decline

Shale drillers are planning on production growth with fewer rigs despite a worldwide glut that has sent crude prices to a four-year low. Companies including Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) , Continental Resources Inc. (CLR) and EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) said they expect to pump more from their prime properties while cutting back in their least productive prospects. That puts the onus on OPEC nations, led by Saudi Arabia, to cut output if they want to stem the slide in global oil prices . “There’s a lot more production coming online this year and in the first half of 2015,” said Jason Wangler, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities Inc. in Houston. “This isn’t a machine that you can turn on and off with a switch. It’s going to take months, if not quarters, to turn it around.” Domestic output topped 9 million barrels a day for the first time since […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shale Oil: Expensive, Over-hyped, and Short-Lived

Printer-friendly Chapter 21 of the Crash Course is now publicly available and ready for watching below. For the best viewing experience, watch the above video in hi-definition (HD) and in expanded screen mode Transcript:  Okay, by now you’ve heard the prior chapters on the Peak Cheap Oil concept and by now many of you are wondering how any of that could be still be true given all the positive recent stories about shale oil and shale gas, many of which proclaimed “peak oil is dead”. The mainstream press has faithfully repeated every press and PR statement made by the shale producers and if you simply followed the headlines you might even believe this about the US: It is soon going to be energy independent, Its oil production will surpass even Saudi Arabia putting it in the number one spot,and The US will even be exporting oil again like the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bakken Shale Rig Stays Flat at 192

Drone Image, Courtesy CSIRO The  Bakken-Three Forks rig count  stayed flat at 192 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week. The NDIC notes 184 rigs are active in North Dakota, but around 14 of those are in the process of moving in and rigging up. In recent Bakken news, the Federal Aviation Administration and six other states, including Texas, home of the Eagle Ford Shale , have recently been selected as test sites for integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAV) or drones into the general population, according to the  Bismarck Tribune . With the green light from the FAA for testing in North Dakota, which for now is limited to agricultural applications, the next step could be in the Bakken oil patch. Read more : Drones Coming to the Bakken Oil Patch? The U.S. rig count increased by three to 1,928 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 350 rigs […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shale Drillers Keep Output High Despite Oil Price Decline

Shale drillers are planning on production growth with fewer rigs despite a worldwide glut that has sent crude prices to a four-year low. Companies including Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) , Continental Resources Inc. (CLR) and EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) said they expect to pump more from their prime properties while cutting back in their least productive prospects. That puts the onus on OPEC nations, led by Saudi Arabia, to cut output if they want to stem the slide in global oil prices . “There’s a lot more production coming online this year and in the first half of 2015,” said Jason Wangler, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities Inc. in Houston. “This isn’t a machine that you can turn on and off with a switch. It’s going to take months, if not quarters, to turn it around.” Domestic output topped 9 million barrels a day for the first time since […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Crude oil and lease condensate production at highest volume since 1986

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, DrillingInfo, Inc., Illinois State Geological Survey, Indiana Geological Survey Note: Click to enlarge. Crude oil and lease condensate production in the United States exceeded 8.6 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in August, a production volume not observed since July 1986, according to EIA’s latest Petroleum Supply Monthly . More than half of total U.S. production was accounted for by record production from three basins in three states. Production from the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico accounted for 1.66 million bbl/d, while the Eagle Ford Shale in the Western Gulf Basin, also located in Texas, produced 1.57 million bbl/d. The Bakken Shale in North Dakota’s Williston Basin accounted for 1.13 million bbl/d. Domestic production has increased dramatically over the past four years, increasing from 5.4 million bbl/d in January 2010 to its current level, driven by increasing production from shale and other tight […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fracking Unbound

4712 Votes The Energy Department has once again lowered its prediction for the price of gas next year. For 2015, the price will remain in the range of $2.94, a full 44 cents lower than the department’s most recent prediction last month. This is one of those rare developments that has no downside – unless you’re an Iranian mullah or a bark-shoed Green fanatic. While still high by historic standards, this price will inject over $60 billion into the economy, acting as a massive tax cut for drivers. Like all tax cuts, it will have ancillary effects on the rest of the economy, freeing money that can be spent elsewhere and lowering overall costs for production and transport. The reason for the windfall can be expressed in a single word: fracking. Alomng with boosting the economy, the technical revolution that swept through the American energy industry over the past […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA