The President of one of Canada’s biggest oil and gas producers warned the oil sands industry that they must cut costs or face a “death spiral”. The drop in oil prices is an “opportunity” for every part of the industry to cut costs and eliminate inefficiencies that crept into the system during years of high… Keep reading →
What time is it? Credit: Shutterstock Many analysts agree that as US oil companies pullback capital spending, lay down rigs and drill fewer new wells, production will inevitably decline, supply and demand fundamentals will rebalance and oil prices will increase. But that’s where the agreement ends. International benchmark crude oil prices have recovered a bit… Keep reading →
The fallout from declining oil prices continues materializing on a daily basis – several companies announced workforce reductions this week – and Baker Hughes is one of the latest to make that difficult decision. “This is what I hate about this industry, frankly, is these brutal cycles we have to go through,” said Martin Craighead, chief executive… Keep reading →
The extremely steep and fast oil price decline is hitting companies hard, with projects cancelled and workers being laid off. As analysts scramble to evaluate which companies are most vulnerable in the lower oil price environment, some are trying to figure out when oil prices might recover some of their recent losses. For his part,… Keep reading →
Tesla and SolarCity’s Elon Musk told utility executives at the Detroit auto show that utilities and solar power can get along just fine. “Rive’s cousin and SolarCity investor Elon Musk sought to assuage such fears further at the Detroit auto show. Speaking about utilities’ role in the future of the energy mix, he said: ‘Long-term,… Keep reading →
There is abundant speculation about how much further oil prices might fall and when US oil production growth will begin to decline. The consensus among analysts and investors is that oil prices are likely to reverse course and start trending upward sometime later this year or next. With US land-based rig counts trending down over… Keep reading →
Oil prices have plummeted over 30% since June, but the sky is not falling on US producers just yet. There has been a lot of conjecture about how lower oil prices are making unconventional wells uneconomic to drill and complete. What does this mean for US oil production volumes going forward? While companies will adjust… Keep reading →
Major oil and gas companies’ recent record of bringing large projects on stream within projected timeframes and budgets leaves much to be desired. Ernst & Young analyzed the performance of 365 megaprojects – those costing over $1 billion – and found 64% face cost overruns and 73% face delays. See Kashagan in Kazakhstan as one… Keep reading →
First, BP dropped plans to invest in a refinery in Qinzhou. Then PetroChina delayed plans for it’s Kunming refinery, part of a larger plan that includes a pipeline linking Southwestern China to the Bay of Benegal through Myanmar (bypassing the Malacca Straits). Now, two of the largest Chinese national oil companies (NOCs) are paring back… Keep reading →
One emerging theme at CERA Week, currently underway in Houston, is the need for major oil companies to reduce capital expenditure amid range-bound oil prices and escalating costs. Chevron CEO John Watson reportedly said “One hundred dollars per barrel is becoming the new $20, in our business.” So ostensibly oil prices need to increase by… Keep reading →
