Permian Basin

Marathon Oil Corp. said stabilization in commodity prices enabled the company to raise its full-year oil production outlook even as it keeps costs in check and further lowers its capital expenditure (capex) plans. Houston-based Marathon — which works in Oklahoma, the Delaware Basin and the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales — raised slightly its 2020…

Yet another round of losses in the oil patch saw the U.S. rig count slide four units to 247 for the week ended Friday (Aug. 7), according to updated numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Total oil-directed rigs in the United States fell four units to 176, while natural gas-directed rigs held steady at 69.…

Permian Basin heavyweight Pioneer Natural Resources Co. is raising its 2020 oil production guidance by 2.5%, but it is keeping most of the oil volumes curtailed during the second quarter offline until commodity prices improve, management said Wednesday. The Irving, TX-based independent curtailed about 7,000 b/d of net oil production during 2Q2020 and said it…

Natural gas futures buckled under pressure Thursday after a slightly larger-than-expected storage injection sapped the momentum prices had earlier in the week. The September Nymex futures contract settled at $2.165, down 2.6 cents day/day. October also slipped 2.6 cents to $2.305. Spot gas prices softened across the board as well, dragging down NGI’s Spot Gas…

The Lower 48 oil and natural gas business that BP plc carved out under a separate umbrella took a tumble in the second quarter, with the rig count falling from 13 working during the first three months of the year to only one at the end of June. The primary production focus of Denver-based BPX…

Aggressive cost-cutting helped prop up the bottom lines in the second quarter of two big Lower 48 midstream operators, Enable Midstream Partners LC and EnLink Midstream LLC, and expense control remains a high priority amid the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic and the demand destruction it created. Oklahoma City-based Enable said it moved swiftly to…

After a two-day rally that added roughly 40 cents to the price of September natural gas, Nymex futures stalled Wednesday as recent cooler shifts in the weather data were too much to ignore. The September Nymex contract settled two-tenths of a cent lower at $2.191. October was nearly unchanged at $2.331. Spot gas prices also…

Texas oil and gas regulators are looking for ways to reduce natural gas flaring, a particular problem  in the Permian Basin, by providing incentives and requiring operators to justify why they need exemptions. Draft rules were approved Tuesday by the three-member Railroad Commission (RRC), and will now undergo a 30-day comment period. Chairman Wayne Christian…

Lower 48 stalwart Devon Energy Corp. is working with fewer rigs and completion crews across its four core holdings in the Lower 48, but stronger oil production still is in sight for the year, along with a special dividend payment from former natural gas juggernaut, the Barnett Shale. CEO Dave Hager led a conference call…