INDUSTRY NEWS
U.S. shale firms amp up natural gas output as futures signal more gains
“Demand has remained pretty robust. Supply has been starved for capital,” said Christopher Kalnin, chief executive of Denver-based Banpu Kalnin Ventures, which last month closed a deal to acquire Devon Energy natural gas assets. Banpu Kalnin has hedged about 65% of its gas production for next year.
Oil Rally Stalls on Uncertainty Over OPEC+ Output Plan
Oil’s rally above $45 a barrel hit the brakes on Monday after OPEC talks ended without a clear stance on whether to delay an output increase in January.
Five Reasons Why Internal Combustion Engines Are Here to Stay
To be sure, there’s lots of momentum propelling the electric-vehicle market, including the recent inclusion of Tesla in the S&P 500. But oil-fired cars are here to stay, and there are five big reasons why.
The Real Reason Oil Prices Went Negative In April
Unusually high open interest in West Texas Intermediate was one of the two causes for the benchmark plunging into negative territory in late April, according to a report by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Flare capture offers easy wins
Increasing commitments to a ‘net-zero’ society—be it by 2050, 2060 or a sooner or later date—pose both a generational challenge and an existential threat to oil and gas producers. There will be no more ‘business as usual’, but firms must also deliver more in environmental terms while grappling with reductions in their size and access to capital.
U.S. Natural Gas Stocks Close To Record-High At Refill Season End
At the end of the refill season—which is April 1 to October 31—the amount of working natural gas in storage stood at 3,920 billion cubic feet (Bcf), close to the record of 4,047 Bcf from the middle of November 2016, according to EIA data from its latest weekly natural gas inventory report last week.
San Francisco Imposes Natural Gas Ban
San Francisco will ban the use of natural gas in new buildings starting next year, becoming the latest city in California to clamp down on the heating and cooking fuel because of climate concerns.
Pirate Attacks On Oil Tankers Off West Africa Intensify
Several oil tankers were attacked or approached with attempted attacks in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa over the past few days, maritime security companies warn.
Has the Texas Upstream Slump Bottomed Out?
“Normally there is very little reason to get excited about the addition of three rigs and 30 industry employees statewide from one month to the next,” Ingham said, referring to changes from August to September. “But when they represent the first increases in over a year and a half, and on the heels of the worst demand contraction on record thanks to COVID, the numbers are very exciting because hopefully they signal the beginning of the end of this nasty downturn.”
Trump Signs Order To Protect Fracking
The president referred to a memorandum from Saturday, titled “Memorandum on Protecting Jobs, Economic Opportunities, and National Security for All Americans,” in which he mandates the Secretary of Energy to prepare a report on “the economic impacts of prohibiting, or sharply restricting, the use of hydraulic fracturing and other technologies.”
U.S. Rig Count Rises Despite Coronavirus Threat
The EIA’s estimate for oil production in the United States rose in the week ending October 23—rebounding from 9.9 million barrels in the week prior to 11.1 million barrels of oil per day. U.S. oil production has been bouncing around between just under 10 million bpd to 1.1 million bpd for months now as the pandemic continues to sap demand for crude oil.
Trump mulls executive order on fracking
Trump is considering issuing an executive order to require an economic analysis of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, according to several people familiar with the matter, as the president seeks to use what he portrays as Biden’s mixed messages on energy to woo voters in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Keystone Faces Biden Risk
Barack Obama tried to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Donald Trump tried to revive it. If Joe Biden is elected, he says he’ll block it again -- and the pandemic may help him kill the project for good.
Another Permian Giant May Be Forced To Consolidate Or Die
The three-month chart for Diamondback Energy, (NASDAQ: FANG) tells a pretty grim tale of capital destruction. One thing that intrigues us at this moment in time is the dividend, currently yielding ~near 5%. A tempting target, but does it a sense of security with reliable income, or is it a warning signal that the yield could go higher?
Pioneer Natural to buy shale rival Parsley for $4.5 billion in all-stock deal
A combined company would hold around 930,000 acres in the Permian, the top U.S. oil field, with production of about 328,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). Neither company holds federal acreage, which is seen as riskier than state or private lands in case drilling rules change after the U.S. presidential election.
Why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Must Support ‘Fracking’ for Oil and Natural Gas
Through the worst public health crisis in many decades, it has been a devastating seven months for the U.S. economy. But hope is emerging: September unemployment was at 7.9%, down from 14.7% in April. Even better, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette recently stated that the U.S. oil and gas industry, which leads the world in production, should be a primary vehicle for our recovery from the pandemic-driven economic fall.
Oil claws back early loss on shrinking U.S. stockpiles
Futures in New York ended the session little changed just under $41 a barrel after earlier falling as much as 4.4%. The Energy Information Administration reported a decline in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories as well as a 7.25-million-barrel draw in distillate supplies, the most since 2003, providing optimism around a tightening supply picture.
Oil trapped between bearish demand outlook and rallying equities
Some of the world’s largest oil suppliers are painting a bleak picture for crude demand, with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cutting the demand estimate for its oil by 1.1 million barrels a day and BP Plc saying the relentless growth in oil demand is over. But U.S. stock markets gained, signaling that investors are seeing an increase in business activity which could buoy demand.
Will The Permian Stage A Miraculous Comeback?
It is the crown jewel of the U.S. shale industry, but it’s in crisis. Thousands of layoffs, numerous bankruptcies, canceled land auctions, plummeting rig counts, and fewer fracking crews have plagued the Permian for the better part of this year—but is the worst behind the landmass that is America’s best (and perhaps only) chance at oil independence?
Saudi Arabia Pegs Budget to Oil at Around $50, Goldman Says
Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry is budgeting for oil prices to be around $50 a barrel for the next three years, according to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysis of the kingdom’s fiscal plans.