Oil

Overall drilling activity in the United States held steady to close out 2021, with the combined domestic count finishing unchanged at 586 for the week ended Friday (Dec. 31), according to updated figures published by Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Total oil-directed rigs in the United States held steady at 480, while natural gas-directed rigs were…

Domestic consumption of gasoline and other petroleum products climbed last week, and producers boosted output to a 2021 high to meet the mounting demand, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed. The increases for the week ended Dec. 24 came even as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spread rapidly throughout the Lower…

Executives in the energy breadbasket of the country are forecasting Henry Hub natural gas prices to average $4.06/MMBtu at the end of 2022, according to the latest quarterly survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The Dallas Fed, as it is known, every three months surveys exploration and production (E&P) companies and oilfield services…

Egypt’s importance to the portfolio of APA Corp. is advancing after the Houston independent and its Chinese partner secured updated production sharing contracts (PSC). The PSCs between exploration unit Apache Corp., 66% owner, and minority joint venture (JV) partner China Petrochemical Corp., aka Sinopec, consolidated 90% of gross production into a single concession and refreshed…

A coalition of state financial officers, many from resource-rich states and all Republicans, is pushing back against climate change-combating banks that have adopted corporate policies cutting off financing for the coal, oil, and natural gas industries. “These industries – which are engaged in perfectly legal activities – provide jobs, paychecks and benefits to thousands of…

Using biosurfactants in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) yields benefits from an environmental, social and governance (ESG) perspective, according to Creedence Energy Services, which has plans for the compounds in the Williston Basin. “The Williston Basin holds a vast reserve of trapped oil,” said President Kevin Black. “In fact, most experts suggest only 10-15% of oil…

With inflation surging, led by lofty oil and natural gas prices in 2021, Federal Reserve policymakers this week said they would hasten their drawdown of pandemic aid and signaled they could raise interest rates multiple times in 2022. While the shift presents potential downsides for energy companies in the year ahead – notably, higher borrowing…

U.S. oil output last week held strong by pandemic standards, but demand for petroleum products surged during the period and inventories declined, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday. Production for the week ended Dec. 10 was flat at a 2021 high of 11.7 million b/d. It had climbed by 100,000 b/d each of…

After reserving power to order oil production cuts without needing to use it for 13 months, the Alberta government plans to let the emergency curtailment policy expire at the end of this month. “The market is now working as it should,” said Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage.  “Oil production has reached pre-pandemic levels but is…