Investors Brace for Poor US Shale Earnings
Investors are bracing for weaker results from U.S. shale players in coming days as lower oil and natural gas prices and cost-cutting measures have weighed on third-quarter operations.Major shale producers ConocoPhillips and Concho Resources this week kick off quarterly earnings reports for a…
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…
U.S. Shale Producers Cut CapEx as Oil Prices Lag
U.S. shale producers have started to trim their 2017 capital spending budgets, a tacit acknowledgement that such plans were too aggressive when crafted months ago before commodity prices weakened. This week alone, Anadarko Petroleum Corp, ConocoPhillips, Whiting Petroleum Corp and Hess Corp cut a combined $750 million from their capex plans…
Whiting Petroleum Slashes 2017 Budget after Quarterly Loss
Whiting Petroleum Corp, the largest oil producer in North Dakota's Bakken shale region, slashed its 2017 budget by 14 percent on Wednesday, the latest company to curtail spending due to weak commodity prices. Whiting said it would cut spending to $950 million this year from a prior estimate of $1.1 billion.
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.
Whiting Petroleum Posts Bigger Quarterly Loss
Whiting Petroleum Corp, North Dakota's largest oil producer, posted a bigger quarterly loss as production fell and expenses rose. The company's net loss available to common shareholders widened to $173.3 million, or 59 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $98.7 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier.
Third Point Adds New bets on Energy, Cuts Stake in Dow
Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb's hedge fund Third Point added new bets in the energy and information technology sectors with investments in Whiting Petroleum Corp., Facebook and Activision Blizzard Inc, according to regulatory filings on Friday. Third Point, which invests roughly $16 billion and is widely followed because of its years of strong returns…
Whiting Petroleum Quarterly Loss More Than Doubles
Whiting Petroleum Corp, North Dakota's largest oil producer, posted a quarterly loss on Wednesday that more than doubled as production fell and crude prices dropped. The company posted a second-quarter net loss of $301 million, or $1.33 per share, compared with a net loss of $149.3 million, or 73 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Devon Ready to Boost Drilling, Spending if Oil Prices Keep Climbing
Devon Energy Corp will ramp up drilling and spending if oil prices continue to recover, executives said on Wednesday, joining a growing list of companies expecting an increase in activity as the commodity price picture improves. The Oklahoma City-based oil and gas driller could start adding incremental…
U.S. Energy CEOs Ready to Drill as Oil Rebounds
After cutting spending and staff levels to the bone, U.S. oil executives say they are getting ready for new drilling projects as a 50 percent increase in crude prices since February leads them to believe the worst of the downturn may be over. Any price rise above $50 per barrel could fuel a resurgence in the U.S.
Hess Would Add Bakken Rigs When Oil Nears $60/Barrel
Hess Corp said on Wednesday it would add drilling rigs in North Dakota's Bakken shale basin, its largest area of operations, if oil prices approach $60 per barrel, a level executives believe offers the best chance to return to profitability. The update came after the U.S. oil producer reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss…
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.
Whiting Expects More than $1 Bln in Credit Line Cuts
Whiting Petroleum Corp expects its credit line to be cut by more than $1 billion in an early May borrowing base redetermination, the latest industry fallout from low oil prices, Chief Executive Jim Volker said on Thursday. Whiting, the largest oil producer in North Dakota's Bakken shale formation, had $2.7 billion left on a loan revolver at the end of 2015.
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…
US Oil Drillers Cut Rigs for 10th Straight Week
U.S. energy firms this week cut oil rigs for an 10th week in a row to the lowest levels since December 2009, data showed on Friday, as some producers focus more on completing their drilled but uncompleted wells instead of drilling new ones. Looking forward, analysts forecast the rig count will…
US Shale Oil Producers Pummeled after OPEC Decision
Shares of U.S. shale oil producers tumbled on Friday after OPEC failed to agree on a unified output cap, effectively letting its 13 members pump at will in a step likely to further depress prices and advance the group's aim of squeezing out U.S. rivals. OPEC ministers ended their policy meeting in Vienna on a discordant note…
Occidental's North Dakota Deal Changes Oilfield Landscape
Occidental Petroleum Corp's move to sell its North Dakota acreage likely removes a logjam that had impeded U.S. oilfield deals for much of the year, though the deal's price sets an unusually low bar for future deals and gives buyers the advantage over sellers. Oxy is selling all of its roughly 300…
North Dakota Oil Output Jumps in May
North Dakota's daily oil production rose 3 percent in May, state regulators said on Friday, hinting that the state's Bakken shale formation may be more resilient to sliding crude prices than expected. The state's well count hit a record high in the month with producers deciding to hydraulically fracture more freshly drilled wells…
Shale Drillers Return as Oil Teeters at $50
A handful of optimistic U.S. shale drillers are sticking with plans to deploy more rigs in the coming months even as oil prices take a sharp dive well below many producers' $60-a-barrel breakeven point. On Wednesday, Pioneer Natural Resources Co. Smaller shale oil producer WPX Energy Inc, whose operations are focused on North Dakota's Bakken shale…
In Bet on Oil Prices, WPX Plans to Add Bakken Rigs
Drilling rigs are coming back to North Dakota. WPX Energy Inc, a small oil producer in the No. 2 U.S. crude state, said on Thursday it will add two rigs this year, becoming the first since the crude price downturn to announce concrete steps to boost output. Though only the 11th-largest North Dakota oil producer…
