Oil

The extraordinarily harsh blast of frigid temperatures blanketing much of the Lower 48 crippled power grids and sent natural gas spot prices soaring on Tuesday, extending a surge that began the previous week. Futures also jumped Tuesday amid widespread reports of rolling blackouts and production freeze-offs. According to Tuesday’s MidDay Price Alert, NGI’s Spot Gas…

End of 2020 statistics showed North Dakota’s Bakken Shale production holding relatively steady and other indicators, including oil prices, turning upward. But the state’s chief oil and natural gas official said production likely will drop for January and February. “The drilling rig count [15 as of last Friday] is substantially short of what we need…

Equinor ASA, an enthusiastic buyer in the early days of the Lower 48 unconventional oil and gas revolution, has put the portfolio in reverse, with the Bakken Shale the latest to change hands. The Norwegian major said Wednesday it agreed to sell its North Dakota and Montana assets to EnCap Investments-backed Grayson Mill Energy for…

Domestic petroleum demand jumped last week, eating into inventories of crude and refined products, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday. U.S. commercial crude oil inventories for the week ended Feb. 5 — excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — decreased by 6.6 million bbl from the previous week, according to EIA’s Weekly…

Employment in the U.S. oilfield services (OFS) and equipment sector climbed for the fifth consecutive month in January, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and analysis by the Energy Workforce and Technology Council. “After shedding nearly 102,000 jobs from March to August due to pandemic-related demand destruction, the upstream oil…

Oil consumption will rise in 2021 alongside a global economic recovery and increased travel, though demand this year is not likely to match the levels prior to the pandemic, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. In a supplement to its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) report, the agency forecast global oil consumption would gather…

The Lower 48’s ample supply of drilled but uncompleted wells, aka DUCs, is coming down at a quick pace and is expected to reach “normal” levels by year’s end, tightening the oil supply according to Raymond James & Associates Inc. In a note to clients, Raymond James analyst John Freeman made the case that the…

Just days before ConocoPhillips’ Alaska division was slated to begin construction of the long-planned Willow oil project, a federal judge ordered a delay in response to a lawsuit by environmental groups that alleges former President Trump’s administration overlooked wildlife and climate change impacts. In a decision issued on Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason…

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon is pushing to build up the state’s economic recovery through proposals and initiatives that he said would add value to the agriculture, tourism, and energy sectors.  Taking an “all the above” approach, Gordon said he would seek to further bolster Wyoming’s energy and mining sectors. The governor supports bills allowing severance…