Exploration

Mexico’s upstream regulator Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) has approved the development plan for the Trion ultra-deepwater oil and gas project planned by Australia’s Woodside Energy Group Ltd. and Mexican state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The plan calls for capital expenditures of $7.2 billion, with first oil targeted…

A proposed rule by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to increase bonding requirements, royalty rates and minimum bids for natural gas and oil producers was met with criticism from the industry.  The draft rule would increase economic returns for the country while ensuring oil and natural gas companies are environmentally responsible…

Cuts in the Permian Basin and in the Eagle Ford Shale saw the combined U.S. rig count tumble six units to finish at 669 for the week ended Friday (July 21), according to the latest tally from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Declines in the United States for the period included seven oil-directed…

Extending a multi-week stretch of steep cuts to domestic drilling activity, the U.S. rig count plunged 15 units to 696 for the week ended Friday (June 2) amid a slowdown in the oil patch, according to the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Natural gas-directed drilling was unchanged domestically for the period, with oil-directed…

A consortium led by Germany’s Wintershall Dea has made a “significant oil discovery” at the Block 30 exploration license in shallow waters off Mexico’s southeastern coast, the company said.  Preliminary estimates indicate the Kan exploration prospect may contain 200-300 million boe of oil and gas in place, the company said.  Wintershall Dea holds a 40%…

A sharp increase in natural gas-directed drilling saw the U.S. rig count rise eight units to 754 during the week ended Friday (March 17), according to the latest tally from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Total natural gas-directed rigs increased by nine domestically, partially offset by a decline of one oil-directed unit. Land drilling increased by…

Bakken Shale natural gas prices remain at pandemic-era lows amid an overall softening of the North American market, according to North Dakota’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). The price of natural gas delivered to TC Energy Corp. and Oneok Inc.’s Northern Border pipeline system at Watford City, ND, stood at $2.08/Mcf as of Wednesday (March…

“We are the first private producers to develop gas in the Burgos Basin and connect to Cenagas,” Roberto Gutierrez, vice president of commercial sales at Verdad Exploration Mexico LLC, told NGI’s Mexico GPI in a phone interview. On February 22, Verdad connected their gas production from a block in the Burgos Basin to the Sistrangas…

Southwestern Energy Co. said Friday it would drop drilling rigs this year in the Appalachian Basin and Haynesville Shale, joining other natural gas-focused producers that have announced plans to curb activity in response to falling prices. “Given near-term market conditions, we have proactively moderated activity, resulting in slightly lower expected production for 2023, and have…