Oil

Productivity gains made in U.S. unconventional oilfields were solid last year and now are melding into more quality driven gains, improved by optimizing targets and increasing fractures, Goldman Sachs & Co. said Wednesday.

In the wake of their conditioned approval earlier this month, Iowa regulators refused to be rushed, and denied a request from Energy Transfer Partners’ (ETP) Dakota Access Pipeline to expedite approval of a permit to begin construction of a crude oil interstate pipeline that is primed to break ground in three other states.

Oil prices began to move higher in the last few days on an announcement that producers from in and outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will hold talks in mid-April to consider freezing output — news that may be favorable as U.S. operators meet with their lenders to redetermine their borrowing abilities.

Rex Energy Corp. detailed a difficult fourth quarter late Tuesday in its year-end financial results, offering little information about financial initiatives to generate more liquidity and postponing the usual conference call.

Liquids and natural gas production in West Virginia took a major leap forward in 2014, the latest year for which data is available, with the Marcellus Shale driving gas volumes to more than 1 Tcf for the first time in the state.

With just days left in West Virginia’s annual legislative session, a suite of oil and natural gas-related bills that would benefit the industry appear headed for defeat.

U.S. light tight oil (LTO) production should be on a downward slope through 2017 before an expected rebound in prices resets growth from 2018 through 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Monday.

ExxonMobil Corp. added 1 billion boe of proved oil and natural gas reserves in 2015, which replaced 67% of production and included a 219% replacement ratio for crude oil and other liquids, the supermajor said Friday. However, natural gas reserves fell, reflecting lower prices.

The U.S. rig count has been falling so fast in recent weeks it’s hard to keep up. On Feb. 5 the count was 571; then it dropped to 541 the following week before coming to rest a week later at the current tally of 514, according to Baker Hughes Inc.