Coronavirus

The decline in the U.S. oil and natural gas rig count may be close to a bottom, and the current commodity strip could allow activity to grind higher, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc. Analysts Praveen Narra and Kirk Presley Sr. in a note to clients said most of the pain of the downturn…

Houston-based Hi-Crush Inc., one of the leading Lower 48 northern white sand providers, is seeking voluntary bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 to reduce its debt. The operator filed for protection on Sunday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, noting it has a prearranged restructuring support agreement with creditors. The agreement, if…

Deflating oil and natural gas production from seven of the most prolific U.S. onshore unconventional plays is expected to continue in August, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).  Total oil production from the Anadarko, Appalachian and Permian basins, and the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Niobrara formations is expected to decline to 7.49 million…

Oil and natural gas operators that work through the midsection of the country faced dire activity levels during the second quarter and don’t expect much of an uptick through the rest of the year. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, aka the Kansas City Fed, every quarter traces energy activity in the Tenth District,…

The three-member North Dakota Industrial Commission headed by Gov. Doug Burgum has unanimously voted not to impose oil and natural gas production cuts, citing similar moves by Texas and Oklahoma. The commission, which also includes the state’s attorney general and agricultural commissioner, said producers were doing a good job reacting to the double whammy of…

Although economic activity and oil demand are recovering from the first wave of Covid-19, a resurgence of the pandemic in regions such as North and South America “is casting a shadow over the outlook” for the oil market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday. “Only time will tell if the economic impact will be…

The number of North American exploration and production (E&P) companies seeking bankruptcy protection continues to rise, with 23 operators filing since the start of the year, according to Haynes and Boone LLP. This is four more than what the law firm reported last month, and included former heavyweight Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Permian pure-play Lillis…

A slightly bullish storage print and ongoing expectations for strong cooling demand proved too little to offset skepticism about excess supply, export weakness and ongoing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The August Nymex contract lost 4.5 cents day/day and settled at $1.779/MMBtu on Thursday. September fell 5.5 cents to $1.821. Boosted by waves of summer…

U.S. producers have played a critically important role in rebalancing the global oil market after Covid-19 and will continue to do so going forward, according to Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo. Although tensions have long simmered between the Saudi-led cartel and the Lower 48 onshore segment, “there is…