Coronavirus

U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in April plunged to the lowest monthly level on record, reflecting the sudden drop in petroleum consumption that coincided with government-imposed business lockdowns and travel restrictions as the coronavirus pandemic took hold. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report Friday CO2 emissions totaled 307 million metric…

U.S. midstream management teams doubled down on cost cuts and reduced capital expenditures (capex) during second quarter earnings season. However, many also struck generally optimistic tones about improving volumes and a gradual recovery from the energy slump imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, “the messaging was really good, particularly around considerably less capex going forward,…

Natural gas futures soared higher Tuesday as traders attempted to close the massive gap between the front of the curve and the winter contracts. Despite little change in the fundamental backdrop, the September Nymex futures contract jumped 7.8 cents day/day to settle at $2.417. October climbed 8.0 cents to $2.556. Spot gas prices were mixed…

Nearly all of the curtailed U.S. onshore oil volumes shut-in as Covid-19 hampered demand are set to return by the end of the third quarter amid stronger oil prices and a generally brighter market outlook, according to a new analysis by Rystad Energy. The Oslo-based consultancy analyzed the curtailment reactivation schedules of 25 publicly traded…

Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. is throttling back from growth to ensure it can build cash flow to pay down some big debt maturities due in 2021, CEO Vicki Hollub said Tuesday. The company, better known as Oxy, has set spending priorities on maintenance, debt reduction and eventually a sustainable dividend before expanding, Hollub said during…

Bankruptcies in the North American oil patch “have substantially picked up pace” so far in 2020, due largely to the impact of Covid-19 on prices and demand, according to a new report published Tuesday by Haynes and Boone LLP. The Dallas-based international corporate law firm has been tracking bankruptcy filings in the exploration and production…

Weakened commodity prices and lower production volumes dragged EOG Resources Inc. into the red in the second quarter, as the super independent pulled back on drilling and slashed capital expenditures (capex) in response to the demand destruction created by the coronavirus pandemic. The Houston-based company, which works in the Lower 48, Trinidad and China, said…

Aggressive cost-cutting helped prop up the bottom lines in the second quarter of two big Lower 48 midstream operators, Enable Midstream Partners LC and EnLink Midstream LLC, and expense control remains a high priority amid the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic and the demand destruction it created. Oklahoma City-based Enable said it moved swiftly to…

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has adopted a mill levy rate increase in order to balance its budget amid revenue shortfalls caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent downturn in commodity pricing. Mill levies, the regulator’s main source of revenue, are property taxes whose rates are expressed in mills, which are equal…