Oil

The U.S. rig count climbed one unit to reach 403 for the week ending Friday (March 5) as gains in Texas offset a slowdown in North Dakota, according to the latest figures from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). One oil-directed rig was added overall in the United States for the week, while the total number of…

Midstreamer NuStar Energy LP has unveiled plans to boost capacity by 6,000 b/d on a 293-mile refined products pipeline that runs from the Panhandle in Texas to Albuquerque, NM. The San Antonio-based limited partnership said Wednesday it would upgrade pump stations on the 17.2 million b/d Amarillo-to-Albuquerque Pipeline, which it jointly owns with Phillips 66…

Domestic crude oil inventories increased by more than 20 million bbl last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday, as demand leveled off, production rose and Gulf Coast refinery utilization rates nosedived. In its Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), EIA said overall demand in the week ended Feb. 26 ticked up 0.4% week/week…

After a partial shut in during early 2020 amid reduced producer activity, Crestwood Equity Partners LP’s Arrow system in the Bakken Shale achieved record volumes in natural gas, crude and water in the final quarter of the year, with “a lot more activity” expected in 2021, according to management. “The Bakken play remains extremely economic…

BP plc’s ambitious reinvention, to move from fossil fuels toward carbon-free resources, was launched only days before the world began to shut down last year, but instead of shelving the plans, the company doubled down on the energy transition, CEO Bernard Looney said Monday on the opening day of CERAWeek by IHS Markit. The weeklong…

The frigid temperatures that descended into Texas in February and paralyzed the state’s energy grid caused the largest reduction in Gulf Coast refinery operations in nearly five years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a research note Monday. Gulf Coast refinery runs decreased by 2.4 million b/d, or 28%, to 6.3 million b/d…

Continental Resources Inc. expects to generate positive free cash flow (FCF) for a sixth straight year in 2021 amid an improving outlook for oil prices, according to management. During a Feb. 17 conference call to discuss the firm’s 2020 earnings, Executive Chairman Harold Hamm cited “unprecedented challenges” faced in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic,…

Crude oil production in the United States plummeted but so too did demand amid last week’s bitter freeze that caused an energy crisis in Texas. Stockpiles ticked up as a result, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) on Wednesday. U.S. commercial crude inventories for the week ended…

The harsh winter weather encountered in Texas last week took a bite out of Permian Basin giant Pioneer Natural Resources Co.’s oil production, but the company should make up the loss and more in 2021, CEO Scott Sheffield said Wednesday. The winter storm last week knocked out about 30,000 b/d of oil output, but most…