Capex

Targa Resources Corp. brought online a handful of expansion projects in the third quarter, with the bulk of the expansions taking place in the Permian Basin, management said during a conference call to discuss 3Q2019 earnings.

Tulsa-based Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P), which warned in July that Lower 48 drilling still had room to decline, has reduced its capital spending through the rest of the year.

Low commodity prices have led Alberta-based Arc Resources Ltd. to slash capital spending and defer a British Columbia (BC) natural gas processing project for at least a year.

Global exploration expenditures are forecast to increase by 7.7% this year, down from earlier estimates, but still building on a 9% increase in 2018 and 3% increase in 2017, according to a survey by Evercore ISI.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) is boosting capital expenditures (capex) for 2019 after reporting record net income during a solid first quarter that included a new high of 900,000 b/d in crude oil volumes from its marine terminals, management said Wednesday.

Consolidation, capital discipline and natural gas prices in the Permian Basin are likely to be high on the list of investor queries during the first quarter conference calls, as the earnings season begins in earnest.

Global oil and gas capital spending had been on the rise for two straight years, but the collapse in oil prices late last year puts a kibosh on a “massive escalation” in expenditures anytime soon, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Permian pure-play Parsley Energy Inc. said it will increase its development activity in a portion of the Midland sub-basin in 2019, as it reaffirmed plans to reduce capital expenditures (capex) and still grow production.

Continental Resources Inc. broke ranks with its fellow explorers and announced plans to raise capital spending to $2.6 billion in 2019, as it looks to grow its Lower 48 oil and gas production and generate enough cash flow to reach a goal of reducing its net debt to $5 billion.