Permian Basin

Pioneer Natural Resources Co.’s fourth quarter production was dinged by about 6,000 boe/d due to severe winter weather in Texas that affected mainly the Permian Basin region. Operations are now back to normal, the company said Tuesday in a production update.

In the latest issue of its Beige Book, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) said energy demand and production remained strong across the country, with natural gas production on the rise in three of its 12 districts, onshore and offshore oil drilling up in another three, and the Permian Basin a “bright spot” for oil production growth in 2014.

Natural gas and oil production from wells in six domestic shale plays/basins will continue to edge higher in February, buoyed in large part by the Marcellus, Eagle Ford and Bakken, according to estimates released Tuesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) said it plans to hire an in-house seismologist, presumably to study the seismic events that have occurred in the Barnett Shale in North Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale in the southern part of the state.

Texas oil and natural gas production during October continued to climb from year-ago levels, according to preliminary data released by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC). Drilling permit activity is down slightly from a year ago, but the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale regions continue to lead the pack for permits issued.

BHP Billiton’s U.S. shale business will grow liquids production to 200,000 b/d in fiscal 2017, based on planned annual investment of $4 billion, while the company’s total onshore U.S. production reaches 500,000 boe/d over the same period, Tim Cutt, president of the BHP’s petroleum and potash business said in Houston Tuesday.

Two independent producers unveiled their capital expenditure budgets this week and gave an early update on production guidance for 2014 in basins stretching from Texas to the Rocky Mountains.

Plains All American Pipeline LP plans to spend about half a billion dollars on multiple pipeline projects to expand Permian Basin crude oil capacity over the next few years, the partnership said.

QEP Resources Inc. subsidiary QEP Energy Co. is acquiring oil and gas properties in the Permian Basin for $950 million from EnerVest Ltd. and plans to sell noncore Midcontinent assets as it becomes more oil- and natural gas liquids-focused, the company said Monday.