E&P

Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. has decided to sell what remains of its oil/natural gas business by the end of next year, CEO David Emery reported during a 3Q2017 earnings conference call on Friday. Included are San Juan Basin and Powder River Basin assets.

A long-standing willingness by exploration and production (E&P) companies to outspend their cash flow may butt up against concerns about leverage and commodity uncertainty as 2018 capital spending budgets are planned, according to Raymond James & Associates.

The energy industry continues to step up efforts to help Texas and Louisiana residents impacted by Harvey, with millions of dollars in relief effort pouring into charities.

Linn Energy Inc., which emerged from the commodity price downturn smaller but still energized, on Wednesday agreed to combine forces with a private operator to create Roan Resources LLC, whose goal is to accelerate development in Oklahoma’s prolific Anadarko Basin.

With a combined $1.25 billion in commitments, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Houston’s Encino Energy LLC on Wednesday launched an exploration company to hunt for oil and natural gas assets in the U.S. onshore.

The Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas auction held Wednesday attracted two high bids for more than $20 million and four others for $10 million-plus, a sure sign that the energy industry is suiting up for a dive back into the offshore.

The oil and natural gas bust beginning in 2015 was worse than many thought, fueling a spike in the U.S. default rate that rivaled the telecom industry collapse in the early 2000s, both in recorded bankruptcies and low creditor recoveries, Moody’s Investor Service said.

Nearly 40% of the proppant capacity in the U.S. drilling industry, an estimated 20 million tons of sand and resin-coated proppants (RCP), have been idled or reduced over the past year, leaving little wiggle room for growth this year, industry suppliers lamented during recent quarterly conference calls.

Anyone looking for a silver lining for the U.S. natural gas and oil business should not think it will come from the oilfield services (OFS) sector, as management teams are less optimistic than they were even a few months ago.