INDUSTRY NEWS
Frac is Back
According to Rystad, the running rate of frac activity in the Permian has shifted from 15 to 20 wells per week in May and June to 40 to 45 wells per week in the last three weeks. In all other oil basins - including Bakken, Eagle Ford, Anadarko and Niobrara – Rystad said its latest fracking activity estimates suggest fracking activity is around 35 to 40 wells per week since the beginning of July.
Study: Permian’s economics will help weather downturn
There is no question operators active in the Permian Basin are facing a difficult economic environment. But a recent report by Mercer Capital finds the nation’s most prolific basin should fare better than other producing regions because of its economics.
Google plans to stop making A.I. tools for oil and gas firms
A Greenpeace report on Tuesday highlighted how Google, Microsoft, and Amazon use AI and warehouse servers to help the likes of Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil to locate and retrieve oil and gas deposits from the earth.
The Oil Bulls Betting On $150 Crude
The current oil crisis will severely depress investments in new oil production, setting the stage for oil prices hitting $100 or even $150 a barrel over the next five years, several analysts told The Wall Street Journal.
Green activist comes clean on climate disinformation
“On behalf of environmentalists everywhere, I would like to formally apologize for the climate scare we created over the last 30 years,” Michael Shellenberger wrote last month. “Climate change is happening. It’s just not the end of the world. It’s not even our most serious environmental problem.”
Oil Demand To Rebound Despite Spike In COVID-19 Cases
Despite the continued bearish sentiment, oil markets saw a bit of support over the past week, resulting from the sharp decline in the crude oil inventories as reported by the EIA.
Pipeline completion expected to boost natural gas exports to Mexico
Connected to other pipeline projects known as the Wahalajara system, the Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara Pipeline can receive nearly 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Waha Hub in the Permian Basin. The gas will be used by power plants and industrial consumers.
Study linking fracking to Permian Basin earthquakes stirs public debate
A new study from the University of Texas at Austin blames hydraulic fracturing for causing some earthquakes in the Permian Basin of West Texas, dispelling the widely held view that oilfield wastewater disposals wells were solely responsible for the man-made tremors.
Fossil Fuels Make Up 84 Percent Of The Global Energy Market
The largest share of the increase in energy consumption, 41%, was contributed by renewables. Natural gas contributed the second largest increment with 36% of the increase. However, as an overall share of energy consumption, oil remained on top with 33% of all energy consumption. The remainder of global energy consumption came from coal (27%), natural gas (24%), hydropower (6%), renewables (5%), and nuclear power (4%).
Fossil Fuels Make Up 84 Percent Of The Global Energy Market
The largest share of the increase in energy consumption, 41%, was contributed by renewables. Natural gas contributed the second largest increment with 36% of the increase. However, as an overall share of energy consumption, oil remained on top with 33% of all energy consumption. The remainder of global energy consumption came from coal (27%), natural gas (24%), hydropower (6%), renewables (5%), and nuclear power (4%).
$40 Oil Is The New Normal
Oil prices have already reached an interim stage of recovery. The 40-dollar mark is the level around which they will fluctuate for a while, but huge deviations are not likely.
Oil Prices Reach Interim Recovery Stage
Oil prices have now reached an interim stage of recovery. That’s according to Rystad Energy’s Head of Oil Markets Bjornar Tonhaugen, who outlined that prices will fluctuate around the $40 mark “for a while” and that “huge deviations” would not be likely.
When Will U.S. Shale Rebound To Pre-Pandemic Levels?
Analysts have varying perspectives on what happens next for shale drilling. According to Morgan Stanley, the industry will proceed in three phases. First, shut-in wells come back online. Then production stabilizes, but an average of $40 per barrel will be needed for that to occur. Finally, production growth resumes, assuming prices move back up to $50 per barrel.
Natural Gas Is Ready To Rally
During all the chaos of the response to coronavirus, there has been one area of logic and sanity. Surprisingly enough, given its deserved reputation for massive volatility, the market in natural gas futures has resisted the temptation to follow the stock market and oil futures in overreacting massively to every bit of coronavirus-related news or data. It has, on the whole, moved logically based on long-term supply and demand factors, rather than the latest headlines.
U.S. Oil Drillers Restart Production As Prices Recover
A couple of high-profile shale companies voiced optimism at the start of June. EOG Resources said it plans to “accelerate” production in the second half of 2020, finding prevailing oil prices sufficient to step up drilling activity. The company also reduced its hedging exposure, a sign that the company is bullish about the trajectory of prices.
Arctic Circle oil spill prompts Putin to declare state of emergency
The Russian Investigative Committee (SK) has launched a criminal case over the pollution and alleged negligence, as there was reportedly a two-day delay in informing the Moscow authorities about the spill.
Midland company to invoke idled frac fleet fees on Pioneer Natural Resources
Midland oilfield service company ProPetro plans to exercise a contract clause that obliges Irving oil company Pioneer Natural Resources to pay millions of dollars in fees for idling hydraulic fracturing fleets in the Permian Basin.
The Uncertain Future Of America’s Most Controversial Pipeline
The U.S. Presidential election coming up in November may well decide the fate of the infamous Keystone XL oil pipeline, with the conservative right and the liberal left facing off in a race that could shape the fate of the North American energy landscape for decades to come.
Surging Crude Prices Send Oil Stocks Soaring Today
Oil prices started this week with a bang. WTI, the primary U.S. oil price benchmark, had rallied more than 10% by 10:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, to around $32.50 a barrel, while Brent, the global oil price benchmark, jumped more than 7% to nearly $35 a barrel.
Permian Report Supports View Price Crash Has Passed
Pipelines figured prominently among this past week’s top downstream-related articles on Rigzone. Find out why in the recap below that highlights some of the most popular recent articles in terms of page views.