Eagle

Oil-directed drilling continued to push the U.S. rig count higher during the week ended Friday, driving a net five-rig increase on the strength of gains in Texas and Oklahoma, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI).

A top shareholder of Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. is urging the Houston explorer to sell its South Texas portfolio or merge with a Permian Basin competitor to increase its value.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co., whose fortunes today are centered in the Permian Basin, said Tuesday it is selling more of its Eagle Ford Shale acreage to Sundance Energy Inc. for $102 million.

Domestic natural gas and oil production from the seven biggest basins in the onshore is predicted to move higher in March from February in nearly every field, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Monday.

With its exploration attention trained in Texas, SM Energy Co. late Tuesday said it would sell nearly all of its Powder River Basin (PRB) properties for $500 million.

Lower oil prices and the company’s ongoing push to cut costs find Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. exiting the Eagle Ford Shale in two separate deals that are expected to close next year, leaving the company with its core Marcellus Shale properties and exploratory prospects.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is focused on getting leaner next year with two “front and center” goals of spending within cash flow and keeping optionality in its expansive onshore portfolio by approaching core development through the lens of “big data analytics.”

Texas energy employment expanded in September by 4,100 to roughly 222,000, with oil and gas extraction jobs increasing for the first time since April, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Houston-based EP Energy Corp. said full-year production remains on track, despite losing roughly 900 boe/d during the third quarter because of impacts from Hurricane Harvey.