Friday, April 25, 2025

Shale Oil News

Baker Hughes reports that US drillers added oil and gas rigs in the US for a second consecutive week.

Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that U.S. firms added oil and gas rigs this week for the second consecutive week for the first since February. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, increased by two in the week ending April 25. Baker Hughes reported that despite this week's increase in rigs, the total count is still 26 or 4% lower than this time last year. Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs grew by two this week to 483 while gas rigs grew by one to 98.

Local media report that Argentina's YPF has ruled out building a land-based LNG facility

YPF, Argentina's state-run energy company, has ruled out the construction of an onshore liquefaction facility for natural gas. Instead, it will rely on floating vessels to carry out this process. Horacio Marina, CEO of Rio Negro LNG, said in an interview that there will be no onshore plants and the three phases of its plan to export LNG will be done by ship. Marin explained that the timeframes are shorter than for a land-based facility, and all projects are turnkey so you will know exactly how much they cost.

Enverus: Weak oil prices and limited shale acres will impact energy M&A by 2025

Enverus, an analytics firm, said that the U.S. Upstream Oil and Gas M&A Market is bracing itself for the most challenging conditions in the past decade, as oil prices plummet and prime acreage disappears, despite the fact that dealmaking surged last quarter, making it the second best start to the year ever, despite the fact that the number of deals jumped to the highest level since 2018. After a string of record-breaking takeovers of oil and gas companies in recent years that culminated with a $192 billion deal in 2023…

Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have added oil and gas rigs to their fleet for the first time in 4 weeks.

Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. added oil and gas rigs this week for the first time since four weeks. The number of oil and gas rigs, a good indicator of future production, increased by two in the week ending April 17 to 585. Baker Hughes published the rig counts report one day earlier on Thursday, due to Good Friday. Baker Hughes reported that despite this week's increase in rigs the total count is still 34 rigs or 5% lower than this time last year.

Occidental Petroleum announces higher oil and gas prices in Q1

Occidental Petroleum, a U.S. shale company, said that the prices received by the firm for its oil and gas production in the first quarter of this year were higher than the previous three months. Benchmark Brent crude averaged $74.98 per barrel in the first quarter of 2018, up 1.3% compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, U.S. Natural Gas prices increased 30% due to a higher demand because of a cold winter. Exxon Mobil, the industry leader…

US refiners are unlikely to spend large amounts to process more domestic crude oil

It can be expensive and time-consuming to change refinery configuration. The margins and yields of refineries can be affected by using different types of crude. By Arathy S. Analysts and industry sources said that U.S. refiners do not plan to invest heavily to process more crude oil domestically and less oil imported from Canada and Mexico. This is a major obstacle to President Trump’s plan to increase oil production. Trump's pledge of unleashing U.S. production and lowering prices for consumers focused on increasing domestic drilling.

Executives say that AI will lead to cheaper and faster oil production. CORRECTED.

Executives at the CERAWeek Conference in Houston explained that artificial intelligence has accelerated oil and gas drilling, and has prompted companies to reconsider areas they previously deemed too expensive or difficult to develop. AI was a major topic in several sessions of the largest energy conference. Oil producers are looking for ways to stay profitable amid a plummeting price of oil and concerns that U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs may slow down global energy demand.

Executives say AI will lead to cheaper and faster oil production.

Executives at the CERAWeek Conference in Houston explained that artificial intelligence has accelerated oil and gas drilling, and is prompting companies take a second glance at areas they previously deemed too expensive or difficult to develop. AI was a major topic in several sessions of the largest energy conference. Oil producers are looking for ways to stay profitable amid a plummeting price of oil and concerns that U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs may slow down global energy demand.

Sinopec certifies reserves of 1.3 billion barrels at East China Shale Oil Plays

Sinopec Corp announced on Monday that the Chinese government had certified new geological resources of about 180 million tons or 1.3 billion barrels at two of their shale-oil plays. Sinopec announced that the new reserves had been tapped in the Xinxing Field in the Jiyang trough in the Bohai Bay Basin and in the Qintong Field in the Subei Basin. The shale formations of Xinxing are buried between 2,900 and 4,000 metres beneath the surface, while those in Qintong are buried 3,430 to 4,560 meters deep.

Shale producer APA misses fourth-quarter profit estimates

APA Corp, a U.S. shale oil producer, missed Wall Street's expectations on Wednesday for its fourth-quarter profits as low commodity prices offset a higher production. Brent crude futures declined 3% in 2020 as the economy of the major consumer, China, remained weak. The OPEC+ producer's group also postponed their planned supply increases to 2026 and extended the deep cuts in output until the end of the year. The company produced 488,000 barrels equivalent to oil per day (boepd) in the fourth quarter.

Inpex CEO: Buyers' interest in Indonesia's Abadi Liquefied Natural Gas exceeds planned production

Inpex Corp., Japan's largest oil and gas exploration company, said it received interest in buying liquefied gas from its $20 billion Abadi project in Indonesia, which exceeds the planned output. Inpex expects the long-delayed LNG project to drive growth. It is aiming to make a final investment decision by 2027. He said that Inpex would proceed with the marketing and finance talks. Inpex holds a 65% share in the Abadi Project in eastern Indonesia. Shell will purchase Shell's remaining 35% in 2023.

Diamondback Energy exceeds profit expectations for the fourth quarter on higher production

Diamondback Energy, a U.S. shale oil producer, surpassed Wall Street's expectations for the fourth quarter profit on Monday as higher production offset lower prices. In extended trading, shares were up 3% to $159.95. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the total oil production of the United States reached a record 13.6 million barrels a day (bpd), as increased efficiencies allowed producers to pump more oil. Diamondback's fourth quarter production nearly doubled…

Local news reports say that Equinor is planning to sell its assets in Argentina.

Mas Energia, a Mas Energia-published online magazine, reported that the Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor was looking to sell their onshore assets located in Argentina's Vaca Muerta Region, citing anonymous sources. Equinor has appointed Bank of America as the agent to sell its 30% stake in Bandurria Sur and 50% in Bajo del Toro Norte. However, no decision on the divestment has been taken yet, according to the report. Mas Energia said that the Norwegian company has no plans to sell its stakes offshore licenses in Argentina.

Local news reports say that Equinor is planning to sell its assets in Argentina.

Mas Energia, citing anonymous sources, reported that Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor was looking to sell their onshore assets located in Argentina's Vaca Muerta Region. Equinor has appointed Bank of America as the agent to sell its 30% stake in Bandurria Sur and 50% in Bajo del Toro Norte. However, no decision on the divestment has been taken yet, according to the report. Mas Energia said that the Norwegian company has no plans to sell its stakes offshore licenses in Argentina. A spokesperson for Equinor declined to comment.

Diamondback Energy reports lower oil prices in the fourth quarter

Diamondback Energy, the U.S. producer of shale oil, announced on Monday that its production prices were lower in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months. Crude oil prices dropped about 6% during the quarter of October-December, due to a patchy recovery from the pandemic, China's slow economy, and an excess supply worldwide. Prices are down nearly 12% compared to a year earlier. The company reported that the average realized price…

Occidental Petroleum received lower prices for oil it produced in the fourth quarter

Occidental Petroleum, a U.S. shale oil producer, said that the prices received for oil produced in the fourth quarter of 2014 were lower than those for the previous three months due to a weakening global demand. The crude oil prices fell by about 6% sequentially in the fourth quarter of last year due to a patchy recovery from the pandemic, China's slow economy, and an excess supply worldwide. Prices dropped nearly 12% compared to a year earlier.

Hess CEO gives upbeat forecast on oil demand, but says Guyana has only scratched the surface of its potential

HOUSTON, January 7 - Hess Chief Executive John Hess said on Tuesday that he believes the oil market is closer to being in balance than it is oversupplied, despite concerns about China's demand and increased production by non-OPEC and U.S. producers. In remarks made to investors at Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech and Utilities Conference, he expressed an optimistic outlook on the shale market and Guyana's prospects as an oil producer. Hess warned that the market may be volatile in 2018, citing political risks in Iran and Venezuela.

AI's hunger for energy fuels geothermal startup but rivalry over natgas clouds the future

The number of geothermal energy startups is on the rise, as Big Tech companies look to power their AI data centers with natural gas. However, long-term investment remains uncertain because oil majors are doubling down on natural gases. Meta and Alphabet’s Google are two of the tech companies that have partnered with startups to create geothermal energy to power their data centres. The energy demands of artificial intelligence are being met by large datacenter operators, who are also accelerating the adoption of a variety of clean technologies.

Sechin, Rosneft CEO, says that OPEC+ cuts in output made the US the top energy exporter.

Igor Sechin, head of Russia's biggest oil producer Rosneft, said that the OPEC+'s decision to reduce oil production in 2016 and 2020 has helped the U.S. shale sector and made it a major global energy exporter. Sechin said, at a forum held in the United Arab Emirates that Russia and its partners had made the most significant contributions to stabilising the global energy markets in the last 10 years. Sechin, a long-time ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, has expressed scepticism in the past about Russia's collaboration with OPEC.

Oil Slips as U.S. Gasoline Stocks Surprise

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday as a large, surprise build in U.S. gasoline stocks outweighed easing supply concerns from a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.Brent crude futures fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $723.69 a barrel by 10:40 a.m. ET (1540 GMT) and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 eased 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $68.64.U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 3.3 million barrels in the week to 212.2 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said…

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