Given the global political, economic, and corporate forces involved in drilling for oil in the Arctic it is… cute that 13 Greenpeace activists and a “coalition of kayaks” think they can effect meaningful change. Yesterday, Greenpeace choked off the shipping channel on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon to stop Royal Dutch Shell from getting… 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 →
US oil production continues to improve despite the recent drop in oil prices and a declining rig count. The reason? Improved drilling productivity, particularly in shale. “The headline U.S. oil rig count offers little insight into the outlook for U.S. oil production growth,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Damien Courvalin wrote in a Feb. 10… Keep reading →
General Electric (GE) and Norway’s Statoil have announced a strategic collaboration to advance more environmentally friendly and economically sustainable technologies for oil and gas production. GE and partially state-owned Statoil have a long history of working together and both share a commitment to improving their environmental footprints, which is a goal increasingly valued by investors… 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 →
This is the first installment in our Energy Executive Insight Series that gives executives at major energy companies an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences about the energy industry, their careers and their organizations. What has been the biggest positive energy industry change since the start of your career? Historically the oil and gas industry has… 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 →
Alarmist media reports regarding oil’s foray into bear market territory could easily leave you thinking the oil industry is gasping its last breath. It certainly is not, as companies involved in the global oil complex are accustomed to commodity price volatility and most have experienced similar, if not worse, market corrections. In fact, over the… Keep reading →
It’s been said that one certainty regarding oil price forecasts is they will always be wrong. While there are certainly exceptions, the oil & gas industry’s history is littered with business cycle shifts that caught even the most seasoned analysts and executives flatfooted. Look at what’s happened with the US refining complex, LNG import projections… Keep reading →
What does the term “fracking” mean to you? Chances are there are numerous answers to that question because the term has vaulted into US vernacular and political debates virtually overnight, along with the astonishing domestic oil and gas production increases to which hydraulic fracturing is directly related. Fracking is a fairly complex hydrocarbon well-completion technology… Keep reading →
