Upstream

The second quarter proved to be no better than the first three months of the year for the two largest U.S. oil and gas operators, with No. 1 ExxonMobil Corp. recording a 60% slump in year/year profits and Chevron Corp. recording its third straight loss in a row, this time for $1.5 billion.

Devon Energy Corp. is selling almost $1 billion of natural gas-weighted upstream assets in East Texas, the Permian Basin’s Midland sub-basin and in the Anadarko Basin’s Granite Wash formation, which together produce about 37,000 boe/d.

Florida’s highest court has overturned a decision by state regulators to allow Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) to charge ratepayers for costs related to its investment in upstream development in Oklahoma’s Woodford Shale.

Upstream operators may be scrutinizing their dwindling finances, but they haven’t stopped investing in digital technologies to improve well completions and capital efficiencies, according to a new global survey.

Royal Dutch Shell plc, which less than four months ago launched an unconventional natural gas and oil resources arm to build its expertise, has decided to roll the business back into upstream operations. U.S. operations chief Marvin Odum, who oversees the unconventional unit, also is stepping down.

Royal Dutch Shell plc announced a major revamp of its upstream business on Tuesday, which would separate operations into three businesses, including a new unconventional unit to oversee shale, tight natural gas/oil and oilsands exploration and development worldwide.

Upstream operators may be looking for cost reductions averaging up to 30% on projects in the low commodity world, but squeezing the oilfield services sector may only achieve a savings of 10-15%, which means investments will take a back seat until prices rebound, Wood Mackenzie said Monday.

ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the largest natural gas and oil producers in the United States, posted their worst quarterly performances in years following the extended decline in commodity prices, signaling what is looking like a prolonged downturn across the sector.

The global upstream industry’s capital expenditures totaled $720 billion in 2013, 18% higher than a year before, but margins were squeezed as costs escalated and profits declined, an IHS Inc. analysis has found.