E&P

Schlumberger Ltd. is working “actively” with North American customers to lower drilling costs and to renegotiate contracts, with a big push toward technology and efficiency offerings, CEO Paal Kibsgaard said Friday.

In a move to further protect its balance sheet from eroding commodity prices, Range Resources Corp. has cut its previously announced spending plans for this year from $1.3 billion to $870 million.

An unprecedented level of uncertainty exists for North America’s upstream sector this year, but upside exists for operators to trim service costs, high grade their portfolios and improve efficiencies, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd.

A recent swarm of modest earthquakes in the Irving, TX, area drew a substantial amount of media attention, and much of it pointed a finger at Barnett Shale drilling activities such as hydraulic fracturing and the injection of drilling waste into disposal wells. It’s too soon to lay any blame, said a seismologist writing in the Dallas Morning News.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released the results of what it believes to be “the most comprehensive radiological study of the oil and gas industry ever conducted,” finding in most cases that the radioactivity of shale rock is of little danger to the public and workers.

Antero Resources Corp. exited 2014 with production averaging a little more than 1 Bcfe/d, exceeding the midpoint of its guidance and demonstrating that it is positioned to handle the downturn in commodity prices, at least through the first part of this year.

The United States could sustain strong economic growth, add more jobs and improve global energy security by expanding crude oil exports, ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance said Wednesday.

North Dakota officials Wednesday reported a big drop in Bakken Shale sweet crude oil prices and a rig count that has fallen to 158, the lowest in six years.

If oil prices stay at $50/bbl or lower for five months or longer, North Dakota’s revenue stream from the oil patch could be cut by as much as $100 million per month, state energy and tax officials said Wednesday.