Permian Basin

Marathon Petroleum Corp. outlined a $4.2 billion 2016 capital investment plan at an investor meeting on Thursday, just two days after the company said MarkWest Energy Partners LP unitholders overwhelmingly approved a merger with MPC’s master limited partnership (MLP), MPLX LP.

At about 10 a.m. CST Thursday a fire broke out at the 300 MMcf/d Ramsey Natural Gas Processing Plant in the Delaware Basin near Orla, TX. The plant is owned by Western Gas Partners LP, a unit of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Houston-based Blue Whale Energy North America, formed by a Chinese holding company to acquire U.S. oil and natural gas projects, on Monday said it had completed its $1 billion-plus purchase of more than 78,000 net acres in the Permian Basin of Texas from two private equity-backed producers. Blue Whale to date this year has paid $1.4 billion to accumulate a Permian portfolio across 85,000 net acres.

Light crude oil from the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales as well as the Permian Basin is making its presence felt in Energy Information Administration (EIA) data on the character of U.S crude production.

Denver-based Resolute Energy Corp. agreed sell its Gardendale assets in the Midland Basin of West Texas to an undisclosed buyer for $177.5 million. Proceeds will reduce debt and fund development in the Delaware Basin and in the Aneth Field of southeast Utah, the company said.

Northeast pipeline constraints and falling rigs in other regions are affecting the natural gas production growth outlook of Barclays analysts. Meanwhile, the rig count for the week ending Nov. 20 sees North America dropping 20 units.

Fresh from completing a semi-annual borrowing base redetermination, and with an eye on its liquidity, Linn Energy LLC reported a slight decline in total production for the third quarter and indicated that it could spend slightly less on capital expenditures (capex) in 2016.

Concho Resources Inc. reported record production from the core Permian Basin during the third quarter, thanks to improved efficiencies through enhanced completions and longer laterals, as it continues to trim its rig count. Meanwhile, the Midland, TX-based independent is reportedly seeking to acquire one of its basin rivals.

Every component of the Texas Petro Index (TPI) was down again in September — except for crude oil and natural gas production volumes. And the economist who compiles the TPI warned that industry job losses could be even greater than his previous estimates.