Oil

The U.S. natural gas rig count held flat at 94 during the week ended Friday (April 23), while a small contraction in oil-directed drilling saw the combined domestic tally ease lower, according to data from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). Oil rigs fell one unit to 343 in the United States for the week, lowering the…

Schlumberger Ltd.’s management team on Friday said it returned to form in the first quarter, with the expectation global oil and natural gas activity could return to pre-pandemic levels by 2022. CEO Olivier Le Peuch held court during a conference call from Houston, where he shared an optimistic vision for the world’s No. 1 oilfield…

The U.S. Interior Department ceased new oil and gas lease sales on federal lands and offshore through at least June as officials this week extended a review of the program’s impact on climate change. Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said it is “exercising its discretion to not hold lease sales” through the second quarter.…

As demand eased, stockpiles of U.S. oil increased last week and ended a previous three-week run of inventory decreases, federal data show. In its Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said domestic crude inventories for the week ended April 16 rose by 600,000 bbl from the previous week. The total,…

Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland has revoked a series of energy-related secretarial orders (SO) issued under the Trump administration and established a climate task force to coordinate across the department. Haaland did so last Friday by signing two SOs of her own, reflecting a see-saw pattern of executive action that is becoming…

While opponents of Energy Transfer LP’s Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) have been seeking a shutdown of the line after a federal judge vacated a key permit last year, advocates of the controversial oil conduit are warning of major economic damage to stakeholders should operations cease. In a filing submitted Monday to the U.S. District Court…

Alberta and Saskatchewan oil producers stand to gain committed customers, reliable tolls and shipping capacity growth from the hotly contested service overhaul proposal for their chief conduit to markets across Canada and the United States, according to Enbridge Inc. The Calgary pipeline conglomerate predicted the benefits in a 94-page response to industry furor ignited by…

BP plc said it has struck oil at the Puma West prospect offshore Louisiana near its Mad Dog platform in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM).  The well in Green Canyon Block 821 was drilled by BP, operator and owner of the block, on behalf of co-owners Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Talos Energy Inc., each…

Eight of North America’s oil and gas producers filed for bankruptcy during the first three months of this year, the highest quarterly total since 2016, according to Haynes and Boone LLC. The law firm, which has monitored North American producer Chapter 11 filings since 2015, on Thursday issued its latest report covering 1Q2021. It also…