In the Know Weekly - Week 8/12/2024
August 12, 2024
Top Stories
Rig Count Trend
- Diamondback Energy raises 2024 oil production target as U.S. shale drillers lift forecasts:
- Company: Diamondback Energy Inc.
- Details: Raised its 2024 oil production target to 276,000 bpd, up from 275,000 bpd.
- Capital Spending: Lowered its full-year capital spending budget.
- Source: World Oil
- US rig count: Up 2 rigs to 588.
- Canada rig count: Down 2 rigs to 217.
- Exxon Expects 3Q Guyana Volumes to Fall by 80,000 bbl/d:
- Company: Exxon Mobil
- Details: Lower production in Guyana’s Stabroek Block in the third quarter due to hook-up work.
- Impact: Production decrease by 80,000 bbl/d.
- Source: Hart Energy
- Diamondback, on Hold for Endeavor Deal, Divests in Delaware Basin:
- Company: Diamondback Energy
- Details: Deferred $26 billion acquisition of Endeavor Energy Resources; divested non-core assets for $150 million.
- Source: Hart Energy
- Patterson-UTI Boosts Bottom Line with OFS Acquisitions:
- Company: Patterson-UTI
- Details: Enhanced performance post-merger with NexTier and acquisition of Ulterra Drilling Technologies.
- Source: Hart Energy
NAL Macro Top Stories
- Oxy raises 2024 oil and gas production, following $10.8 billion CrownRock acquisition, Permian success:
- Company: Occidental Petroleum Corp.
- Details: Raised production by 5% to 1.32 MMboed in 2024; increased capital spending to $6.9 billion.
- Source: World Oil
- Flurry of seismicity prompts full-scale investigation in the Permian Basin:
- Details: Over 300 earthquakes (2.0 magnitude or greater) since June 1, 2024.
- Response: Shutdown of two deep disposal wells; state of disaster declared in Scurry County.
- Source: Rystad Energy
- Two US LNG projects lose federal permits after environmental court challenge:
- Details: FERC approvals for Texas LNG and Rio Grande LNG nixed; required to issue supplemental environmental impact statements.
- Source: Upstream
Global Top Stories
- Underwhelming Oil Demand Could Force OPEC+ to Delay Easing of Cuts:
- Details: Concerns over demand in China and potential recession in the U.S.
- Source: OilPrice.com
- Oil falls as global equities selloff offsets rising Middle East tensions:
- Details: Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices fell amid market selloff and Middle East tensions.
- Source: Hart Energy
In the Know Weekly - Week 8/26/2024
August 26, 2024
Top Stories
Rig Count Trend
- U.S. shale oil production to break record in 2025 on drilling efficiencies:
- Details: U.S. shale oil production to increase 4.5% to 13.9 MMbpd in 2025.
- Source: World Oil
- US rig count: Down 1 rig to 585.
- Canada rig count: Up 2 rigs to 219.
- Chevron to invest about $989 mln in India, state minister says:
- Company: Chevron
- Details: Investment in Bengaluru to create 600 engineering jobs.
- Source: Reuters
- Ovintiv explores $2 billion Uinta basin business sale to focus on Permian shale operations:
- Company: Ovintiv
- Details: Early-stage deliberations to sell Uinta basin assets.
- Source: World Oil
- Halliburton alerts oil clients after cybersecurity breach, activates response plan:
- Company: Halliburton
- Details: Cybersecurity response plan activated; ongoing investigation.
- Source: World Oil
NAL Macro Top Stories
- Permian recovers as other oil regions observed a decline in July:
In the Know Weekly - Week 8/12/2024
August 12, 2024
Top Stories
Rig Count Trend
- Diamondback Energy raises 2024 oil production target as U.S. shale drillers lift forecasts: Diamondback Energy Inc. raised its 2024 oil production target, joining other U.S. shale drillers lifting full-year forecasts. Diamondback, one of the largest independent operators in the oil-rich Permian basin of West Texas and New Mexico, expects to pump as much as 276,000 bpd this year, up from an earlier top-end forecast of 275,000 bpd, according to a statement released Monday. The company also lowered its full-year capital spending budget. Source: World Oil
- US rig count is up 2 rigs to 588.
- Canada rig count is down 2 rigs to 217.
- Exxon Expects 3Q Guyana Volumes to Fall by 80,000 bbl/d: Exxon Mobil expects lower production in Guyana’s Stabroek Block in the third quarter as it conducts hook-up work at two offshore developments that will supply a much-needed gas-to-energy project for power use on the country’s mainland. Exxon expects gross volumes in Guyana will decrease by approximately 13%, or 80,000 bbl/d, due to scheduled work on Liza Phase 1 and Phase 2 FPSOs to enable the necessary gas-to-energy project tie-ins, company executives said during its Aug. 2 second-quarter webcast. Source: Hart Energy
- Diamondback, on Hold for Endeavor Deal, Divests in Delaware Basin: Diamondback Energy, still awaiting regulatory approval to close its $26 billion acquisition of Endeavor Energy Resources, has started to prune non-core assets from its portfolio, the company said in an Aug. 5 letter to shareholders. During the second quarter, Diamondback said it received proceeds of approximately $150 million as a result of continued “portfolio optimization,” according to a letter from Diamondback Chairman and CEO Travis D. Stice. Source: Hart Energy
- Patterson-UTI Boosts Bottom Line with OFS Acquisitions: It's increasingly clear that there will be winners and losers in the oilfield over the next several years, Patterson-UTI President and CEO Andy Hendricks said during a July 25 conference call with investors. Less than a year out from the closing of its merger with NexTier and its acquisition of Ulterra Drilling Technologies, the oilfield services company is taking strides not to be the latest has-been. Source: Hart Energy
NAL Macro Top Stories
- Oxy raises 2024 oil and gas production, following $10.8 billion CrownRock acquisition, Permian success: Occidental Petroleum Corp. raised its production and capital spending plans for this year after closing its $10.8 billion acquisition of CrownRock LP earlier this month. The deal will increase Occidental’s production 5% to about 1.32 MMboed in 2024, with the extra coming from the Permian basin, the Houston-based company said in a statement Wednesday. Capital spending will increase about 6% to $6.9 billion. Source: World Oil
- Flurry of seismicity prompts full-scale investigation in the Permian Basin: A wave of seismicity has descended upon West Texas in the past 60 days, with over 300 2.0 magnitude or greater earthquakes rattling the Permian Basin since 1 June 2024. Of the 333 events, 153 have been in Scurry and Fisher counties, which has prompted Scurry County Judge Dan Hicks to declare a state of disaster, requesting assistance from the state and reporting damage across the area. Furthering the investigation, the Texas Railroad Commission has shut in two deep disposal wells in the area. Source: Rystad Energy
- Two US LNG projects lose federal permits after environmental court challenge: A US federal appeals court has nixed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approvals for a pair of Texas liquefied natural gas projects, saying regulators failed to issue proper environmental assessments for the LNG terminals. FERC will have to issue supplemental environmental impact statements for Glenfarne Group’s Texas LNG and NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG after previously failing to do so, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled. Source: Upstream
Global Top Stories
- Underwhelming Oil Demand Could Force OPEC+ to Delay Easing of Cuts: It is not certain that global oil demand is rising fast enough to allow the market to absorb the OPEC+ group’s planned increase in supply from October, analysts and industry sources have told Reuters. Concerns about an underwhelming demand in China amid sluggish economic growth below expectations and fears of a recession in the U.S. have weighed on the market in recent weeks. Source: OilPrice.com
- Oil falls as global equities selloff offsets rising Middle East tensions: Oil fell in volatile trade on Monday as a selloff continued on global stock markets, but the slide was limited by fears Iran's retaliation for the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran may lead to a wider war in the Middle East. Brent crude futures settled down 51 cents, or 0.66%, at $76.30 a barrel, with prices earlier trading around their lowest levels since January. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 58 cents, or 0.79%, at $72.94. Source: Hart Energy
In the Know Weekly - Week 8/26/2024
August 26, 2024
Top Stories
Rig Count Trend
- U.S. shale oil production to break record in 2025 on drilling efficiencies: Shale producers are pumping more oil per dollar invested in oil fields by drilling wells with fewer rigs and using better fracing techniques, BloombergNEF said in a report published Thursday. The U.S. will increase production 4.5% to a record 13.9 MMbpd next year. BNEF’s forecast is more bullish than the 13.7 MMbpd estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Source: World Oil
- US rig count is down 1 rig to 585.
- Canada rig count is up 2 rigs to 219.
- Chevron to invest about $989 mln in India, state minister says: Chevron plans to invest 83 billion rupees ($989.20 million) in India's Bengaluru, in what will be the oil and gas firm's largest tech center outside the United States, a minister with the state government of Karnataka said late Wednesday. Chevron's proposed new research and development hub will create 600 engineering jobs, Karnataka Commerce & Industries, and Infrastructure Minister MB Patil said in a post on social media platform X. Source: Reuters
- Ovintiv explores $2 billion Uinta basin business sale to focus on Permian shale operations: Denver-based Ovintiv is working with an adviser to gauge buyer interest in the asset, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Ovintiv’s operations in the Central basin of Utah involves drilling in about 2,600 feet of oil saturated reservoir rock, according to its website. The asset could attract interest from private equity-backed energy groups, the people said. Deliberations are in the early stages and there’s no certainty they’ll result in a transaction, the people said. A representative for Ovintiv declined to comment. Source: World Oil
- Halliburton alerts oil clients after cybersecurity breach, activates response plan: The Houston oilfield contractor has activated its cybersecurity response plan that includes taking certain systems offline for protection as well as notifying law enforcement, it said in a filing with U.S. regulators. When reached by phone Friday, a company representative declined to comment further. “The company’s ongoing investigation and response include restoration of its systems and assessment of materiality,” according to the filing, noting that Halliburton is still working to identify any effects from the incident. Source: World Oil
NAL Macro Top Stories
- Permian recovers as other oil regions observed a decline in July: Rystad Energy has identified 399 started frac operations in North America for August. Of these, 161 have been reported to FracFocus or provincial authorities in Canada, while the remaining 238 are based exclusively on our analysis of high-frequency satellite data. Given that there are still some days left in August, we estimate another 680 jobs to have started during this month, bringing the total to 1,079. The final number for July stands at 1,164, 7% lower than June. Source: Rystad Energy
- Long Canadian Rail Strike Could Exponentially Affect US NGLs, Crude: Nearly 10,000 rail workers walking off the job on Aug. 22 could have a massive effect on the Canadian economy, but the U.S. oil industry will be relatively unscathed, analysts said. For months, Canada’s teamster union has been threatening a strike against the country’s two primary freight railroad companies, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, over labor contracts. On Aug. 18, the two companies issued notices that a worker lockout would begin in the early hours on Aug. 22. Source: Hart Energy
Ford slows EV plans, delaying pickup and axing three-row SUV, to cut costs: Ford Motor on Wednesday said it was killing a planned three-row electric SUV and pushing back a new electric version of its best-selling pickup, the F-150, the latest delay by the U.S. automaker as it focuses on cutting costs to stimulate demand. Ford, General Motors, and other carmakers have delayed or