Markets: Oil Rises as Inventories Expected to Fall
Oil rose on Tuesday on expectation of a continuous decline in U.S. oil inventories, recouping some losses from the previous session due to lingering concern over rising cases of the Delta coronavirus variant.Brent, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 60 cents, or 0.8%, to $73.49 a barrel, at 0905 GMT.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 63 cents, or 0.9%, at $71.89 a…
When Oil Became Waste
A week of turmoil for crude, and more pain to comeThe magnitude of how damaged the energy industry is came into full view on April 20 when the benchmark price of U.S. oil futures, which had never dropped below $10 a barrel in its nearly 40-year history, plunged to a previously unthinkable minus $38 a barrel.In just a few months, the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed so much fuel demand as billions of people curtail travel that it has done what financial crashes…
US Oil Drillers Cut Rigs for First Week in Four
The U.S. oil drilling rig count declined this week for the first time in four weeks, although the rig count held close to its highest in over three years as production surges to record highs and some companies forecast even higher output this year.Drillers cut one oil rig in the week to Nov. 2, bringing the total count down to 874, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.The U.S.
US Shale CEOs Meet with Saudi Aramco Board
Two of the U.S. shale industry's most prominent executives met with the Saudi Aramco board of directors in Houston on Wednesday.Mark Papa, chief executive of Centennial Resource Development Inc, and Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources Inc, spoke at a regularly scheduled meeting of the directors of the world's largest oil producer.They declined to comment on the meeting.(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Unafraid Investors Pour Cash into U.S. Shale
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 on track to deliver up to 80 percent of the world's oil production gains through 2025, the International Energy Agency estimates, increases fueled in part by easy access to capital. Rising U.S. production is undermining OPEC's attempts to curb global supply and boost prices…
US Shale Producers Promise Higher Output and Returns
U.S. shale producers are telling investors impatient for better returns that they can keep boosting oil output aggressively and do so while still making money for shareholders. Investors have pushed top U.S. shale companies to focus on returns, rather than higher output, a move that threatened to slow the breakneck growth in supply sparked by the shale revolution in the world's top oil consumer.
Pullback in Fracking Sand Use Pressures Producers
U.S. shale oil companies are pulling back on the amount of sand they use to hydraulically fracture new wells, responding to rising prices of the material that are driving up costs. Investors worry a slowdown in sand use, combined with new mining capacity coming online, could lead to a glut of the material and bring down prices. The worries have pressured shares of sand companies. Sand prices soared in the last year as oil companies ramped up shale drilling and production.
US Drillers Add Oil Rigs for Second Week in Three
U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a second time in the last three weeks, extending a 15-month drilling recovery, but the pace of additions has slowed in recent months as firms cut spending plans in reaction to declining crude prices. Drillers added 3 oil rigs in the week to Aug. 11 bringing the total count up to 768, the most since April 2015. General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.
North Dakota Output to Rise as DAPL Opens
North Dakota oil production will get a shot in the arm next month as a pipeline comes online despite opposition by environmental groups and Native Americans, allowing the energy industry to save at least $540 million in annual shipping costs. The Dakota Access Pipeline gives the state's producers cheaper access to refineries and other customers on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Market players said they…
All Drill, No Frack: US Shale Leaves Thousands of Wells Unfinished
U.S. shale producers are drilling at the highest rate in 18 months but have left a record number of wells unfinished in the largest oilfield in the country – a sign that output may not rise as swiftly as drilling activity would indicate. Rising U.S. shale output has rattled OPEC's most influential exporter Saudi Arabia and pushed oil prices to a near four-month low on Wednesday. U.S. production gains are frustrating Saudi-led attempts by the world's top oil exporters to cut supply…
US Oil Rig Count Highest Since Sept. 2015 -Baker Hughes
U.S. drillers added oil rigs for an eighth week in a row to the most since September 2015, extending a ten-month recovery as energy companies boost spending to take advantage of a recovery in crude prices since OPEC agreed to cut production late last year. Drillers added eight oil rigs in the week to March 10, bringing the total count up to 617, versus 386 rigs a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday.
Big Oil Revels in Trump Triumph
The U.S. energy industry on Wednesday reveled in Republican Donald Trump's presidential victory, expecting him to be a strong advocate for more oil and gas output and to cut red tape that has held back billions of dollars of investment in new projects. The world's largest energy market saw a boom in oil and gas output under Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, as improved technology…
Oil Industry Workers Split Between Trump and Clinton
U.S. oil and gas industry workers have contributed only slightly more money to the campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton than to Republican Donald Trump since the two clinched their parties' nominations for the White House, according to Reuters' review of federal disclosures. The nearly even support suggests ambivalence in the industry between two rivals who have put forward wildly different energy visions.
Does OPEC Deal spell Relief for U.S. Shale?
It was a moment U.S. shale oil producers have been waiting on for more than two years: OPEC nations finally agreed to cut production on Wednesday in a move that lifted low prices ravaging their budgets. Two sources in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the group would reduce output to 32.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from current production of 33.24 million bpd, by around half the amount of global oversupply.
U.S. Shale's Achilles Heel is Mending
Since the beginning of the U.S. fracking revolution, oil producers have struggled with a vexing problem: after an initial burst, crude output from new shale wells falls much faster than from conventional wells. However, those well decline rates have been slowing across the United States over the past few years, according to data analysis provided exclusively to Reuters. The trend, if sustained…
With Oil Near $50, U.S. Shale Producers eye Growth
Two years into the worst oil price rout in a generation, large and mid-sized U.S. independent producers are surviving and eyeing growth again as oil nears $50 a barrel, confounding OPEC and Saudi Arabia with their resiliency. That shale giants Hess Corp, Apache Corp and more than 25 other companies have beaten back OPEC's attempt to sideline them would have been unthinkable just months ago, when oil plumbed $26 a barrel and collapses were feared.
U.S. Drillers Turn to Fracking Technology
Fifty-stage frack jobs. Fifteen-foot cluster spacing. More than 2,000 pounds of proppant concentrate per foot. Top U.S. shale producers are pushing fracking technology to new extremes to get more oil out of their wells, as they weather lower-for-longer oil prices. While the impact of the techniques may be scarcely noticeable on current U.S. output with so few wells in operation, it could mean drillers are able to accelerate production more fiercely than ever once prices recover.
U.S. Shale to OPEC: Above $40, We are Coming Back
For leading U.S. shale oil producers, $40 is the new $70. Less than a year ago major shale firms were saying they needed oil above $60 a barrel to produce more; now some say they will settle for far less in deciding whether to crank up output after the worst oil price crash in a generation. Their latest comments highlight the industry's remarkable resilience, but also serve as a warning to rivals and traders: a retreat in U.S.
Hess: Saudi Arabia, Not U.S. Shale, World's Swing Oil Producer
OPEC leader Saudi Arabia, not the United States and its shale fields, is the world's true swing oil producer, able to start or stop production quickly in response to demand, the chief executive of Hess Corp said on Tuesday. The frank admission from the head of one of America's largest oil producers comes as the industry grapples with crude at decade-low prices, which many blame on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' decision in late 2014 to hold production steady.
Goldman Sachs: Shale Drillers Add to Glut
Goldman Sachs has diagnosed a new reason for the sudden slump in energy industry sentiment this week: talk of agility, not agony, among leading U.S. shale oil producers speaking at the Wall Street bank's closed-door conference. In a research note following its Jan. 5-7 Global Energy Conference in Miami, which was closed to the media, the analysts said that investor sentiment "deteriorated further" during the event for three reasons…
