Oil And Gas

Setting up to be Colorado’s largest pure-play, Bonanza Creek Energy Inc. and Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. have agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at around $2.6 billion. The combined exploration and production (E&P) company, to be called Civitas Resources Inc., would operate across roughly 425,000 net acres in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin.…

The U.S. natural gas rig count surged seven rigs to 103 during the week ended Friday (May 7), overshadowing gains in the oil patch and helping to power continued growth in overall domestic drilling activity, according to data from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Two oil-directed rigs were added in the United States for the period,…

Calgary production giant Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) scored a comeback in the first three months of 2021, reversing losses inflicted a year earlier by Covid-19 and the slump in oil and gas prices. “As the global vaccine distribution increases and crude oil demand recovers, especially in the United States, we are seeing improved commodity…

Mexico’s Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) reported a steep rise in the flaring and venting of its natural gas in its first quarter earnings call. Natural gas production was 3.70 Bcf/d in the first quarter of 2021, down slightly compared to the 3.71 Bcf/d reported in 1Q2020. But natural gas flaring shot up to 712 MMcf/d, from…

The outlook for oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) in Latin America is improving as demand and prices strengthen, according to the first quarter earnings reports by the top three oilfield services (OFS) titans. Schlumberger Ltd, Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Co. each reported sequential revenue increases from the region, with management teams forecasting…

Moving closer to an all-out ban, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed regulators to start a regulatory process for banning new permits for drilling using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) by January 2024.  The governor said he chose the regulatory route after a legislative attempt earlier this month again failed. He has directed the Department of Conservation’s…

North Dakota’s Bakken Shale could experience up to 400,000 b/d of shut-ins for an interim period if a federal court hearing set for Monday results in the forced closure of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), the state’s chief oil and gas regulator said Thursday. Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, made…

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Tuesday formally raised its expectations for global oil demand in 2021, citing expectations for a recovery from the pandemic and stronger economic growth. In its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), the cartel projected demand would rise by 5.95 million b/d this year, a nearly 7% increase…

Mexico’s antitrust watchdog Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica (Cofece) has sent a letter to Mexico’s Congress decrying proposed changes to the nation’s Ley de Hidrocarburos, or Hydrocarbons Law. “We recommend the reform to the Hydrocarbons Law isn’t approved,” President Jana Palacios said on Twitter. She suggested the proposed changes would be damaging to competition in…