Decline

Bakken Shale oil and natural gas production declined in September but North Dakota’s top oil and gas regulator said Tuesday the numbers could reverse in the next report covering October.

Surging onshore oil production wrested from wells using unconventional drilling techniques may have reached its maximum level and could decline as producers deal with well interference and “rock quality deterioration.”

The U.S. rig count fell by five units for the week ended Friday thanks to a drop in both oil and natural gas activity, including declines in the Haynesville and Eagle Ford shales and in the Williston Basin, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc.

The last North American rig count of 2017 went out with a whimper instead of a bang as the number of rigs actively drilling for oil and gas for the week ending Dec. 29 declined by two units to 929, according to Baker Hughes data.

ConocoPhillips 3Q2017 earnings were up for a second consecutive quarter, even as production declined, according to the Houston-based independent, which said Thursday it has cut its 2017 capital expenditures (capex) budget by 10%.

A pullback in oil-directed drilling fueled an eight-rig decline in the U.S. rig count for the week ended Friday, according to data released by Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI).

Driven by a sharp drop in natural gas drilling, five U.S. rigs packed up for the week ended Friday (Aug. 11), according to data released Friday by Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI).

Production from Mexico’s leading principal natural gas basins — Burgos, Sabinas, Burro-Picachos and Veracruz — is at a 15-year low, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) reported this week.

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) reported a smaller financial loss for 2016 than 2015. Natural gas production also declined while imports from the United States climbed.