Shale

U.S. drilling permit activity climbed sharply in July, led by the Eagle Ford Shale, Powder River and Permian basins, but the overall numbers are still short from the pre-pandemic days of July 2019, according to Evercore ISI. The energy analyst team led by James West uses federal and state data to compile a monthly review…

Norwegian state player Equinor ASA logged lower overall U.S. oil and natural gas production in 2Q2021 primarily because of its recent Bakken Shale exit, but that decline was offset by growth in the gassy Marcellus Shale. Average daily equity production of liquids and gas was 391,000 boe/d in 2Q2021 compared with 405,000 boe/d in the…

A small decline in the oil patch and a small gain in natural gas-directed drilling left the combined U.S. rig count unchanged at 470 during the week ended Friday (June 25), according to the latest figures from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). One natural gas rig was added and one oil rig exited…

Occidental Petroleum Corp. is selling off 25,000 net acres in its West Texas holdings in the Permian Basin, along with the production, to private equity (PE) sponsored Colgate Energy Partners III LLC. The $508 million deal by Oxy, as it is better known, includes 25,000 net acres in Reeves and Ward counties within the Delaware…

A mix of gains and losses in the U.S. onshore, including an uptick in the Permian Basin and a drop in the Marcellus Shale, saw the domestic rig count finish at 457 units as of Friday (May 28), up two week/week, according to Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). The addition of three oil-directed rigs in the…

Gains in land drilling offset a decline in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to send the U.S. natural gas rig count two units higher to 455 for the week ended Friday (May 21), according to the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Four oil-directed rigs were added in the United States for the week,…

Canadian independent Enerplus Corp. reported lower year/year production for the first quarter but it is poised to resume growing output in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota following a pair of recent acquisitions. Natural gas production for the firm, which also has assets in the Marcellus Shale, dropped to 255.7MMcf/d in the first three months…

New measurements released last week by Kayrros quantifying emissions across the Appalachian Basin show the region is the biggest source of methane in the United States. Kayrros, which uses satellites and other methods to track emissions, said methane from Appalachia exceeds even the country’s most active oil and gas fields in the Permian Basin. But…

Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources Co., whose focus has long been in the Permian Basin Midland, is plunking down $6.4 billion to build its base with the takeover of West Texas competitor DoublePoint Energy LLC.  The deal, a cash-and-stock split, would add 97,000 net contiguous acres directly offsetting and overlapping Pioneer’s existing footprint. The mostly undrilled…