What’s Next For U.S. Shale Giants?
For OPEC, U.S. shale oil is a curse. For the Trump administration, it is the biggest tool to help achieve what the White House has dubbed energy dominance . There Continue Reading
Fracking Puts Pressure on OPEC’s Bottom Tier
Regarding Walter Russell Mead’s “ Fracking Our Way to Mideast Peace ” (op-ed, Dec. 12): While the general sentiment is correct that American energy independence frees American foreign policy, it Continue Reading
Wall Street Returns To U.S. Shale With A Bang
Investors have grown wary of U.S. shale after years of disappointing returns, and they have pressed shale companies to rein in reckless drilling practices . But with money still pouring Continue Reading
Drilling Productivity Report
New-well oil production per rig barrels/day New-well gas production per rig thousand cubic feet/day Region December 2017 January 2018 change December 2017 January 2018 change Anadarko 382 387 5 2,573 Continue Reading
U.S. Shale Looks Beyond The Sweet Spots
Although the start to 2017 saw wavering optimism from U.S. oil and gas, healthier corporate balance sheets, improved well economics, and capital continuing to flow into the sector, are setting Continue Reading
North Dakota oil output jumped more than 78,000 b/d in October: state
North Dakota oil production averaged nearly 1.19 million b/d in October, up more than 78,000 b/d from September and the highest average output since August 2015, bolstered by the OPEC Continue Reading
Fracking drives US oil exports to record high
The world’s largest oil consumer exported more hydrocarbons than ever before in 2017 and shows no signs of slowing down. You name it – crude oil, gasoline, diesel, propane and Continue Reading
US shale groups step up bond sales to finance drilling
US exploration and production companies have raised more from bond sales in 2017 than in any year since the slump in oil prices began in 2014, shoring up their finances Continue Reading
Drillers Flock to Rockies as Sleepiest Shale Corner Awakens
It’s not exactly the Pike’s Peak gold rush of 160 years but with crude prices on the rise, explorers are returning to the oil-rich rock of Colorado. (Bloomberg) — It’s Continue Reading
OPEC Wakes Up to the Threat of U.S. Shale 2.0
Stronger U.S. output is blunting OPEC’s effort to clear glut Once expected in third quarter ’18, rebalancing now seen later OPEC predicted that global oil markets won’t rebalance until late Continue Reading
U.S. Shale Sends OPEC Deal Back To Square One
True to its perpetually optimistic form, OPEC, which last month for the first time conceded to the threat posed by rising U.S. shale production… sharply raised its demand forecast for Continue Reading
U.S. Shale Output Rises As OPEC Production Falls To 6-Month Low
OPEC’s crude oil production dropped to a six-month low in November, while U.S. and other non-OPEC supply has grown stronger than initially expected this year, which prompted the cartel to Continue Reading
Rising U.S. output threatens global oil market balance in 2018
The global oil market will likely show a surplus in the first half of 2018, as rising U.S. supply offsets OPEC’s discipline in maintaining its production cuts for the whole Continue Reading
Investors pour cash into U.S. shale despite questions on returns
Financiers keep pouring cash into the shale oil sector, providing producers with a path to keep U.S. output rising through the middle of the next decade. The United States is Continue Reading
The ‘Unknown Unknowns’ That Threaten U.S. Shale
Three years after the oil price crash, the U.S. shale patch is on its second growth phase and is expected to continue to increase its production, at least through the Continue Reading
Will Oil Producers Do As They Say Or Do As They Sell?
North America’s oil producers have adopted a meek tone of late. But the numbers suggest they’re locked and loaded heading into 2018. North America’s oil producers have adopted a meek Continue Reading
Fracking Our Way to Mideast Peace
Whatever you think of President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, it points to the most important strategic reality in the Middle East: Arab power has collapsed in Continue Reading
Nodding Donkeys Fail as Long Shale Wells Make Pumping Oil Harder
Imagine trying to slurp a thick chocolate shake through a J-shaped straw four miles long. That’s the kind of cheek-puckering test the American shale industry must overcome to prolong a Continue Reading
Are U.S. Shale Stocks Finally Set For A Rebound?
After years of meager returns and overspending to boost production at all costs, U.S. shale explorers and drillers are finally about to see their share prices rise next year, according Continue Reading
Why Isn’t Wall St. Backing The Next Shale Boom?
No doubt, these four companies are solid and have a lot of running room, but so are the other 12 companies. Plus, all of the upstream oil & gas companies Continue Reading
Chevron boasts of U.S. shale, but spending more elsewhere
While lauding the opportunities in the Permian shale basin in Texas, Chevron said it would spend more on projects already underway, such as in Kazakhstan. Chevron said it planned to Continue Reading
Chevron Cuts Total 2018 Capex, Boosts U.S. Shale Investment
Chevron Corporation plans to cut its total capital and exploratory budget for a fourth consecutive year in 2018—to $18.3 billion, compared to the $19.8 billion that it planned for this Continue Reading
Chevron Capital, Exploratory Spending to Total $18.3B in 2018
Chevron Corporation’s capital and exploratory budget will be $18.3 billion in 2018, down from $19.8 billion in 2017. Chevron Corporation’s capital and exploratory budget will be $18.3 billion in 2018, Continue Reading
Why Isn’t Wall St. Backing The Next Shale Boom?
No doubt, these four companies are solid and have a lot of running room, but so are the other 12 companies. Plus, all of the upstream oil & gas companies Continue Reading
U.S. Shale Cautious As Oil Majors Invade Texas
Shale drillers are starting to show some caution when it comes to their pace of drilling, but some of the oil majors are still increasing their efforts in the shale Continue Reading
Oil Investors Are Growing Impatient
The renewed optimism in the oil markets and the $55-plus WTI prices may have warranted frenzied production growth across the U.S. shale patch, if it wasn’t for the 2015-2016 downturn. Continue Reading
More U.S. oil export capacity in the works
A gas pipeline running from Texas shale could be converted to send oil to the Gulf Coast by the start of the next decade, Enterprise Products Partners said. The company Continue Reading
Wall Street Tells Frackers to Stop Counting Barrels, Start Making Profits
Twelve major shareholders in U.S. shale-oil-and-gas producers met this September in a Midtown Manhattan high-rise with a view of Times Square to discuss a common goal, getting those frackers to Continue Reading
When Boom is Bust: the Shale Oil Bonanza as a Symptom of Economic Crisis
The gradual climb in oil prices in recent weeks has revived hopes that US shale oil producers will return to profitability, while also renewing fevered dreams of the US becoming Continue Reading
Don’t Expect Aggressive U.S. Shale Drilling
Many analysts expect U.S. shale to put the pedal to the metal after OPEC extended the production cuts through the end of next year, but some shale executives are unmoved Continue Reading
Is The EIA Overestimating The U.S. Shale Boom?
The American shale boom may be overstated by the U.S. Energy Department, according to a new MIT study that suggests the agency may be over-attributing a rise in shale drilling Continue Reading
Big Shale Turns OPEC Ally From Foe With Focus on Oil Returns
Don’t expect Big Shale to rush and fill the hole left by OPEC in the oil market. (Bloomberg) — Don’t expect Big Shale to rush and fill the hole left Continue Reading
After 2.5 Billion Barrels, Eagle Ford Has More Oil Coming
Mark Twain would appreciate irony in the Eagle Ford Shale, where rumors of the play’s impending exhaustion are greatly exaggerated. The Eagle Ford has produced 2.5 billion barrels (Bbbl) of Continue Reading
Don’t Count On A Utah Shale Boom
On Monday, President Trump announced his plan to shrink Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent, while also cutting Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by half, a move that could open Continue Reading
US tight oil: Too light, too sweet
International buyers’ appetite may start to wane in 2018 US light tight oil output is transforming world oil markets. After falling during the 2015 oil price crash, total American production Continue Reading
OPEC extension a win-win, even for U.S. shale oil producers
A move by parties to an OPEC-led agreement to extend a production cut deal to the end of 2018 is a win-win, including for U.S. shale oil players, analysts said. Continue Reading
U.S. Vastly Overstates Oil Output Forecasts, MIT Study Suggests
Estimates from EIA exaggerate impact of fracking technology New well output could undershoot EIA forecasts by 10% in 2020 Turns out, America’s decade-long shale boom might just end up being Continue Reading
Oil Rig Count Rises After OPEC Deal Extension
A day after OPEC extended the already-extended production cut deal to end-2018, oil and gas rigs in the US climbed by 6 . The boost to the number of oil Continue Reading
How Big Oil Is Transforming Shale
Shale drillers have successfully lowered their breakeven price over the past several years, but the industry is looking for more ways to cut costs. The oil majors are investing in Continue Reading
U.S. Shale To Surge After OPEC Extension
Just as expected: OPEC and the group of non-OPEC countries led by Russia extended their production cuts for an additional nine months through the end of 2018. “It’s been a Continue Reading
U.S. Shale Becomes More Flexible, Hedges 900,000 Barrels
U.S. oil producers have hedged almost 900,000 barrels of future crude at prices of US$50-60 a barrel, which will likely allow them to continue growing production whatever OPEC decides to Continue Reading
Gas production accelerating in the Bakken
Even though more crude oil than gas comes out of the Bakken shale in North Dakota, the pace of growth for gas is far greater, a federal report found. North Continue Reading
U.S. Oil Has One Fatal Weakness
But most of the U.S. oil production is light tight oil, and American exports—especially those of very light sweet crude—may hit a demand constraint next year, Bill Barnes , director Continue Reading
UK Government Issues Support for Shale Industry
The UK government has lent its support to the UK’s shale gas industry in a recently published white paper. The UK government has lent its support to the UK’s shale Continue Reading
U.S. shale producers renew challenge to OPEC: Kemp
U.S. shale producers have started adding more drilling rigs in response to rising oil prices and improving confidence about the outlook for 2018. Experience shows changes in the number of Continue Reading
Pressured for profit, oil majors bet big on shale technology
Part of a team working to cut the cost of drilling a new shale well by a third, Portillo works from a Royal Dutch Shell Plc office in suburban Houston, Continue Reading
As Money Tightens, an Oil Boom Town Fights for Its Share
Williston, N.D., built a $70 million recreation center, complete with an indoor water park, with the influx of wealth from the oil boom. When the oil boom came to Williston, Continue Reading
Is Trouble Brewing In The Permian?
The Permian shale play has been attracting so much attention lately it’s started to get a little bit boring. But not for oil investors. The rush to the Permian has Continue Reading
Is Texas Poised For A Sharp Rise In Output?
His analysis is based on RRC data only. Each RRC data set from Jan 2014 to Sept 2017 for crude and from April 2014 to Sept 2017 for condensate and Continue Reading
Can The Gas Glut Kill The Permian Boom?
Natural gas is produced as a byproduct when drilling for oil. Oil tends to be more lucrative, so shale companies typically target oil in places like the Permian, and the Continue Reading