Oil

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) plans to propose streamlining environmental reviews and permitting for oil and gas leasing in the forests and grasslands it manages, which it said should lead to expedited leasing decisions.

Oil and gas producers working in the Permian Basin increased their 2020 oil basis hedge positions by 431% during the second quarter, a sharp uptick that may signal doubts about 2019 target dates for key pipeline projects, Wood Mackenzie analysts said Tuesday.

The Lone Star State’s oil and natural gas output in June retreated from a year ago and month/month, with production at the lowest level in 16 months, according to preliminary data by Texas regulators.

Natural gas and oil production from the United States’s seven most prolific onshore unconventional plays, which began an upward swing 21 months ago, will continue that trend in September, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Commodity trader Trafigura Group Pte Ltd. is proposing to build a deepwater port in South Texas near Corpus Christi to load oil supertankers, a piece of the puzzle so far missing in efforts to expand domestic exports.

Three natural gas rigs packed up shop in the United States for the week ended Friday as overall domestic drilling activity pulled back, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI).

A lack of licensed trucks and drivers in Appalachia has left more than 100,000 bbl of crude oil produced by Antero Resources Corp. in West Virginia’s Marcellus Shale to pile up as the volumes wait for transportation, and has forced the company to curtail 100 MMcfe/d of production.

Even in the midst of increased prospects for profit growth overseas, New York City-based Hess Corp.’s narrowing U.S. onshore portfolio remains firmly tied to its assets in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota, senior executives said Wednesday.

Despite missing investor expectations for the second quarter, Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources Inc. said late Monday it expects total production to be at the top end of its full-year production guidance and the forecast 2018 exit rate.