Capex

Permian Basin pure-play operator Parsley Energy Inc. said fourth quarter production fell short of expectations while capital expenditures (capex) in the final three months were the highest for the calendar year. It also said 2018 had started at a lower production level because of cold weather.

Chevron Corp. is ramping up its capital spending in the Permian Basin next year, while total global expenditures are set to decline for the fifth year in a row.

Nine of the largest natural gas-focused U.S. onshore explorers remain “fully committed” to aggressive capital spending plans they laid out earlier this year, with total 2017 spend increased by 59% year/year to $8.87 billion, according to an analysis by RBN Energy LLC.

The 50 largest U.S. explorers demonstrated their commitment to resource acquisition and development last year despite low commodity prices, with plowback percentages that exceeded the five-year average of 132%, according to a new reserves study.

Driven by drilling and completion efficiency gains in the Permian’s Delaware sub-basin and in the Midcontinent during the first half of the year, Devon Energy Corp. is trimming its 2017 capital expenditure (capex) budget by $100 million, reflecting an emphasis on returns over growth.

Global producers, led by U.S. operators, are opening their wallets again, but oil prices still may not be high enough to support sustainably stronger investments beyond 2017.

Less than a year after filing voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Houston-based Ultra Petroleum Corp. last Wednesday set a $500 million capital expenditure budget for this year and said it expects to exit from Chapter 11 next month.

Whiting Petroleum Corp., one of the largest oil producers in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, has nearly doubled its capital expenditures (capex) budget for 2017 with an eye to develop core acreage in the Williston and Denver-Julesburg (DJ) basins.

North America will spearhead a recovery in global upstream investment in 2017, with U.S. spending — weighted on the onshore — forecast to jump by 24.5%, while Canada outlays will be 9.5% higher, according to an annual survey by Evercore ISI.