Bakken Shale

North Dakota’s Bakken Shale could experience up to 400,000 b/d of shut-ins for an interim period if a federal court hearing set for Monday results in the forced closure of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), the state’s chief oil and gas regulator said Thursday. Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, made…

Lower 48 player Diamondback Energy Inc. has raised its production guidance for 2021, reflecting the acquisition of two Permian Basin operators earlier this year. The company said Monday it was targeting 2021 oil production of 218,000-222,000 b/d, or 360,000-270,000 boe/d, following the completion of its purchases of Guidon Operating LLC in February and QEP Resources…

Continental Resources Inc. said Tuesday it is on track to meet or exceed its 2021 full-year oil and natural gas production guidance. The Oklahoma City-based exploration and production (E&P) company also indicated that it has lowered its total debt by 10% since the end of 2020. In an update ahead of its 1Q2021 earnings call…

San Antonio-based Ecoark Holdings Inc. plans to begin beta testing a cryptocurrency mining approach in May that would be powered by natural gas that is constrained by a lack of infrastructure. The diversified holdings company established a strategic initiatives team in February to analyze ways to deploy capital for the test project. Led by CFO…

Well completions in North America have nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with hydraulic fracturing jobs reaching a 12-month high in March, according to Rystad Energy. Nowhere are completions climbing faster than in the Permian Basin, analysts said. The data is borne out by the rising rig count in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The…

Hess Corp. is selling off some of its Bakken Shale acreage in North Dakota to Calgary-based Enerplus Corp. for $312 million. The deal, set to be completed in May, includes the Little Knife and Murphy Creek acreage. The Hess assets are spread across 78,700 acres in the southernmost portion of its Bakken position. Total net…

Another round of healthy gains in the oil patch pushed the U.S. rig count six units higher to 417 for the week ended Friday (March 26), according to data from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). After adding nine rigs in the previous week, the domestic oil patch picked up an additional six rigs…

Oasis Petroleum Inc. and Oasis Midstream Partners LP (OMP) on Monday announced a simplification agreement through which OMP is acquiring the producer’s remaining interests in two development companies or “DevCos” that own midstream infrastructure assets in the Bakken Shale and Permian Basin. The agreement follows Oasis’ restructuring and emergence from bankruptcy last November. OMP is…

As the Biden administration further examines the ramifications of its pause on oil and natural gas leases on federal lands, it will find North Dakota’s Bakken Shale has a “unique story to tell,” according to Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) Director Lynn Helms. Most of the federal lands in North Dakota are split estates, where…