Rig Count

Calling it a “five-alarm fire,” North Dakota’s chief oil and gas regulator on Friday reported record oil and gas production declines during May among a sea of inactive or under-active Bakken Shale wells. May oil production fell 30% to 26.6 million bbl (858,000 b/d), compared to 36.6 million bbls (1.2 million b/d) in April. Natural…

The U.S. natural gas rig count climbed one unit to finish at 76 for the holiday-shortened week ending Thursday (July 2), while declines in the Permian Basin led a modest drop-off in the oil patch, according to the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). After accounting for a three-rig decline in oil-directed rigs, the…

The United States dropped one natural gas-directed rig as an uptick in oil activity led to a small increase in Baker Hughes Inc.’s tally for the week ended Friday.

Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd. said the Eagle Ford Shale has become the largest producing field in its petroleum and potash division for the year ending June 30, but the company plans to scale back its rig count and spend less on capital expenditures (capex) in the United States in 2014.

Despite record daily production levels, overall oil and natural gas production in North Dakota leveled off in June compared with May, the state Department of Mineral Resources said Thursday.

At a torch-passing of sorts Wednesday, both outgoing and incoming CEOs for Marathon Oil Corp. had plenty to say about the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale plays, but new CEO Lee Tillman spoke more loudly about future opportunities during a second quarter earnings conference call in which results were said to be up sharply.