Shale

Tulsa-based Unit Corp., which sought bankruptcy protection in late May, has completed restructuring with enhanced financial strength, CEO David T. Merrill said. The Lower 48 explorer’s exit from Chapter 11 was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.  “Our successful financial restructuring positions us to handle current challenges…

Denver-based Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. is set to become the third largest oilfield services operator in North America after clinching a deal to take over Schlumberger Ltd.’s massive hydraulic fracturing business. In the agreement, the Houston-based giant is contributing its onshore OneStim completions business in exchange for a 37% stake in Liberty. OneStim provides pressure…

Strength in numbers emerged Monday as a survival strategy for depressed fossil fuel prices and the Covid-19 pandemic among independent Canadian oil and gas firms as announcements of a merger and a proposal for a second pairing were made. Whitecap Resources Inc. and NAL Resources Ltd. made a corporate marriage deal valued at C$155 million…

After curtailing production in the second quarter amid the extraordinary disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Continental Resources Inc. (CLR) expects to boost cash flow at $40/bbl West Texas Intermediate (WTI) pricing as it looks to ramp up output through the end of the year, management said. The Oklahoma City-based independent in its 2Q2020 earnings…

The U.S. natural gas rig count increased one unit to 69 for the week ended Friday (July 24) as the latest Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) numbers offered further indication that domestic drilling activity is leveling off following the Covid-induced collapse earlier this year. The overall U.S. rig count finished unchanged at 251 for the week,…

Apache Corp. has no plans to raise rigs again in the Permian Basin “unless oil prices recover well into the $50s,” CEO John Christmann said Thursday. The Permian, which in recent years had been the Houston independent’s No. 1 prospect, continues to deliver “highly competitive economics,” Christmann said. However, “other areas within our portfolio offer…

Further retrenchment in natural gas-directed drilling dropped the overall U.S. rig count two units to 251 for the week ending Friday (July 24), but the domestic oil count edged higher for the first time in months, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). The United States added one oil-directed rig for the…

Natural gas production in Argentina decreased by 9.2% year/year in May to 124.4 million cubic meters/day (MMm3/d), or 4.39 Bcf/d, according to the latest report by the IAE Argentine Energy Institute. Analysts blamed the movement restrictions in place because of Covid-19 leading to lower activity and reduced demand. Argentina has had one of the strictest…

A drop-off in the Utica and Haynesville shales saw the U.S. rig count fall five units to finish at 253 for the week ending Friday (July 17), according to the latest figures from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Four natural gas-directed rigs exited the patch in the United States during the week, joined by one oil-directed…