Upstream

Global exploration operators are ready to get back to business in oil and natural gas onshore and offshore, with the international players likely to shell out more funds this year than their Lower 48 compadres. Energy analysts in recent weeks have begun offering their takes on the likely pace of activity and potential capital expenditures…

Amid large gains in the Permian Basin and the Marcellus Shale, the U.S. rig count surged 9 units higher to 360 for the period ending Friday (Jan. 8), according to the latest weekly numbers published Friday by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). The rise in domestic drilling included an increase of eight oil-directed…

Devon Energy Corp. has completed its all-stock merger of Lower 48 rival WPX Energy Inc., giving the independent an even bigger toehold in the Permian Basin’s Delaware formation. The combined company, operating under the Devon moniker, would continue to be headquartered in Oklahoma City. The takeover of WPX was announced in September.  The transaction gives…

Denver-based Ovintiv Inc. surpassed its fourth quarter guidance for oil and condensate production and is almost halfway toward a goal to reduce total debt at the end of 2021 by at least $1 billion, the North American exploration giant said Monday. Fourth quarter liquids production jumped above 210,000 b/d, ahead of initial guidance of 200,000…

As 2020 draws to a close, the door remains closed for new exploration and production (E&P) contracts in Mexico’s oil and gas sector, with little visibility as to when they might resume. With bid rounds, farmout tenders and service contract migrations frozen until further notice by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, upstream activity will in…

Private firms operating in the Mexican upstream oil and gas sector have maintained their commitment to the country despite the impacts of coronavirus and have even upped exploratory activity this year. This is according to a panel of experts who spoke during a virtual event last week organized by the #WeTweetEnergy group, an online community…

The release of a new five-year plan by Mexican Energy Ministry Sener could be a sign that future exploration and production (E&P) bid rounds for private sector operators are in the offing. That’s according to analysis done by Mexican consultancy Talanza.  E&P bid rounds have been frozen since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador came to…

Notable increases in both oil and natural gas drilling sent the U.S. rig count surging 15 units higher to 338 during the week ending Friday (Dec. 11), according to figures from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). The United States added 12 oil-directed rigs along with four natural gas-directed, partially offset by a decline…

Federal onshore oil and gas leases awarded through competitive auctions have generated substantially higher production volumes and government revenues in recent years than noncompetitive federal leases, according to new analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Lease sales are conducted by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), either via auction…