E&P

Laredo Petroleum Inc. has locked in pricing for most of its oilfield services operations through the rest of this year to counter inflation, but costs for the diesel fuel and chemicals needed to sustain them remain harder to predict. “We worked with our service partners to lock in 85% of expected drilling, completions, equipment and…

A big surge in oil-directed drilling, headlined by gains in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, helped lift the U.S. rig count 14 units higher to 728 during the week ended Friday (May 20), according to the latest figures published by Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Thirteen oil-directed rigs were added in the United States…

ExxonMobil on Thursday said goodbye to the Barnett Shale in North Texas after securing $750 million from Denver-based BKV Corp. for the natural gas-rich portfolio in North Texas. The transaction, set to be completed by the end of June, would require additional payments to ExxonMobil contingent on future natural gas prices. The deal includes 160,000…

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is modeling sizable natural gas production increases from several major plays next month, including the Appalachian Basin and the Haynesville Shale. Total natural gas production from seven key onshore regions is set to climb 750 MMcf/d from May to June, reaching 91.750 Bcf/d, the agency said in its latest Drilling…

U.S. oilfield services (OFS) and equipment sector employment reached an estimated 622,309 jobs in April, its highest level since September, the Energy Workforce & Technology Council reported in early May. “Oil and gas demand has continued to increase, and global demand will continue to rise as more countries cut off imports of Russian energy resources,”…

North Dakota’s tally of active oil and natural gas drilling rigs and hydraulic fracturing (frack) crews has risen to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic, the state’s top oil and gas regulator said Friday. The rig count stood at 40 as of Friday, the highest since March 2020, North Dakota Department of…

The Ballymore oil and natural gas project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which would be developed using a three-mile subsea tieback to reduce costs, has gotten a thumb’s up to proceed.  The Mississippi Canyon prospect, with design capacity of 75,000 b/d of crude oil, would be tied back to the Chevron-operated Blind Faith…

Denver-based Centennial Resource Development Inc., whose operations are focused on the Permian Basin, is sticking to its guidance of upping production by 10-15% this year. In an earnings call, CEO Sean Smith said the company was holding to its current two-rig program. “Should we want to add a third rig in the future because prices…

U.S. producers boosted output back up to the 2022 peak, but domestic demand also accelerated last week and is expected to continue climbing as Americans increase travel during the summer months. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday production for the period ended May 13 totaled 11.9 million b/d, up by 100,000 b/d from…