Growth

Recent spot price weakness and fewer sanctions expected this year for export projects have not changed the overall long-term supply and demand picture for liquefied natural gas (LNG), Baker Hughes Co. CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said Wednesday.

Plentiful oil production growth from countries that are not members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should adequately supply “any likely level” of demand through 2020, helping to contain prices for consumers in a “vulnerable” global economy, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Devon Energy Corp. has increased its projections for Lower 48 oil production growth to 17% from 2018, up 200 basis points from previous guidance, on improving well productivity and capital efficiencies, particularly in the Permian Basin.

Facing an oversupply that has been compounded by associated gas growth in the Permian Basin, natural gas prices could be headed for a “down year” in 2019 as demand is unable to keep up, according to analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Natural gas demand emerged as the global fuel of choice last year, particularly in the United States and China, as energy consumption worldwide increased by 2.3%, the fastest pace this decade, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Monday.

MDU Resources Group Inc. senior executives earlier this month promised to expand the midstream pipeline and construction business units following a “solid” performance in 2018 by all of the businesses.

The tenacious natural gas production growth that has characterized the Appalachian Basin over the last decade finally appears to be slowing as an epic pipeline buildout nears its conclusion, demand ebbs and operators realign their visions for the future.

North American exploration spending in 2019 is tracking higher for the third consecutive year, albeit at a slower pace, with natural gas-heavy budgets poised to reset higher, while oil operators weigh the implications of extended lower prices.

Mexico’s economy grew 3.6% year-on-year in the third quarter on the back of broad-based growth, including in the industrial sector. The forecast for the year remains steady at 2.1%, according to the Federal Reserve Board of Dallas.