Upstream

The U.S. natural gas rig count climbed three units to 76 for the week ending Friday (Nov. 20), while a slowdown in the oil patch dragged the overall domestic tally slightly lower, according to the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). The combined U.S. rig count fell two units overall to 310 after a…

“I think that we still have a window of time to explore and develop our natural riches, but we need to do so now,” said Sergio Pimentel, Commissioner at Mexico’s Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH). “If not, we are leaving these resources in the ground and could be depriving future generations of Mexican citizens of…

Driven by declines in the oil patch, the U.S. rig count fell two units to 310 for the week ending Friday (Nov. 20), according to the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). After a five-rig decrease in oil-directed drilling, partially offset by the addition of three natural gas-directed rigs, the overall domestic tally finished…

Oil production from U.S. shale plays is likely to hit a floor in 2021 with no further declines expected in a $40 to $45/bbl West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price environment, according to new analysis by Rystad Energy. Output is expected to fall by an estimated 3.1% year/year to 7.5 million b/d in 2020 from 7.7…

Upstream investor Kimmeridge Energy Management Co. LLC has the U.S. exploration sector in its sights and is calling out the industry for its “lack of alignment” between the executive management teams and their shareholders. The New York City-based private equity (PE) firm said in a white paper that executive compensation for the exploration and production…

U.S. explorers during October increased their oil and gas permit requests for the third month in a row, with an uptick in developing leaseholds on federal lands, according to Evercore ISI. The analyst firm each month provides data using state and federal sources regarding permits for oil and gas wells, plugging and abandoned (P&A) wells…

Colorado regulators have given preliminary approval to a rule change that would make it the first Lower 48 state to prohibit routine venting and flaring of natural gas by upstream operators.* The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) last week voted 5-0 in favor of the Rule 903 changes, which are to go before…

Employment in the U.S. oilfield services (OFS) and equipment sector rose in October for the second consecutive month, after sustaining massive losses of more than 90,000 jobs earlier this year because of Covid-19, the Petroleum Equipment & Services Association (PESA) said Monday. Despite the recent uptick in jobs, the Houston-based trade association cautioned that the…

Haynesville Shale giant Comstock Resources Inc. “went back to work” in the third quarter to try to cash in on expected higher natural gas prices by accelerating seven well completions and by adding two horizontal drilling rigs, CEO Jay Allison said Thursday. “We have advantaged access to the demand market of the Gulf Coast,” Allison…