Infill Thinking Lifting the O&G knowledge curve

E&P operators announced their spending cuts a week or two before most of the oilfield service industry (OFS). We are tracking the E&P capex pullbacks in real-time here, and their planned rig releases and frac crew releases too. Now it’s OFS’s turn to activate the downturn playbook and announce cost …

Earlier this week we outlined 10 key debates that will commence as soon as the oilfield market bottoms. How will we know when the bottom is here? On what kind of stage will these debates play out? What are reasonable expectations for oilfield activity when the floor is reached? In …

The US rig count is down 170 units in three weeks. On a percentage basis, (-22%) that is the… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get …

In addition to the personnel exposure benefit, the elimination of the drying process has a very real impact on energy consumption and the resulting emissions. Converting an annual operation that pumps 360,000 tons of sand dried by natural gas to a wet sand operation would reduce CO2 emissions by at …

Putting numbers to it, the total US rig count (land and offshore) fell by 108 rigs over the last two weeks, or a 14% decrease. Here’s how this crash stacks up against 70 years of US rig count history… Login to see the full update… To read this update and …

One beaten-down reader told us last week that we need to start a virtual happy hour after every newsletter we send these days. We understand – the subject matter is indeed depressing. Recent newsletters haven’t been easy for us to ship, for we know that our writings reflect the pain …

For most of the oilfield business people we know and interact with, the price of oil is noise until it isn’t. It’s one of those things that doesn’t matter until it does. And right now, it certainly does. And here’s what caught our eye in this historic week… Login to …

We recently caught up by phone (observing social distancing) with the management team of a new entrant in the emerging mobile-mini frac sand plant market. Here’s what we learned about their plans and what they are doing differently… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive …

One week ago, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the state-line area of Texas / New Mexico. The strongest in the area since 2017, it was reportedly felt by thousands as far away as Odessa. Quakes often lead to hasty and uninformed conclusions about causes involving oilfield activity. Today’s guest post …

This piece charts the capex cuts daily so far in what can only be described as a historic, no dystopian, E&P crisis response. We also discuss what happens next with capex spending and frac crew releases and the bigger picture… Login to see the full update… To read this update …

A desperate bid by two Permian operators to put a floor under the price of oil and stabilize and save the US E&P industry… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, …

We track Xmmtpa of frac sand production capacity online in the MidCon today. We now believe that frac sand demand could sink south of Xmmtpa on an annual run rate as mid-year approaches. Here’s how local plants are reacting… Login to see the full update… To read this update and …

  Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven analysis and commentary New angles on stories you’ll only find here No advertisements, no …

An important E&P capex update this week reads distinctly negative for anyone hoping for an oilfield spending increase in 2020. Here’s the relevant excerpt: Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, …

While you fight for the survival of your business, the assessor is doing his/her job and preparing notices of property assessments. Those assessment notices will reflect the idyllic conditions back on January 1, 2020. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you …

Frac disruption and inefficiency is on the rise as workers show symptoms or test positive for COVID-19… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get Exclusive research …

Unfortunately, thousands of extremely talented and dedicated oilfield business people are being let go right now through no fault of their own. So this week, Infill Thinking will begin offering 90-days free access to any oilfield business people let go from their position in these uncertain times. By offering furloughed …

Here’s what we heard during phone calls with many of our oilfield contacts over the past 7 days: Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get Exclusive …

Friday March 20, 2020 is the day the land rig count collapse began. Last Friday, rig count was down 20 units with the Permian leading the way down (-10 rigs). Here’s what the market leader said in reaction to the beginning of this unprecedented crash…. Login to see the full …

  Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven analysis and commentary New angles on stories you’ll only find here No advertisements, no …

Earlier this week, another trucking company’s nuclear verdict made headlines, this one outside of the frac sand hauling industry but notable none-the-less. While definitions can vary, a “nuclear verdict” is generally thought of as a jury award where the penalty exceeds $10 million. Nuclear verdicts have driven insurance premiums for …

The Baker Hughes US land rig count on Friday (+3) did not yet reflect the releases that operators are planning. Calm before the storm? Here’s everyone that’s disclosed plans to release rigs…. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be …

As last week wore on, we had hoped it would get better. It did not. We had also hoped that our initial concern expressed on Tuesday was overstated when we wrote then that the swiftest shale pullback in history could be imminent. It was not. As the week wore on, …

If this virus can can shut down Major League Baseball and Disney Land, why should we expect that frac sites will be any different and stay open as virus reaction spreads? If this virus can empty dormitories because of spreading risk in close quarters, what about man camps? Here’s what …

When Phil Baxter recently asked me if I had looked into the big changes that were made in January to the FMSCA’s drug and alcohol policies (and the impact they could have on hauling capacity in the frac supply chain), I perked up and asked if he’d chime in on …

On March 9, 2020, National Public Radio’s Marketplace show aired a segment across >800 US radio stations about the oil price fall-out’s impact on US oilfield activity. Their piece draws insights from our research update published for Infill Thinking subscribers earlier that day titled “On Black Monday, A Double Black …

It’s been 36 hours since the oil industry’s D-Day equivalent, and US E&P operators are wasting no time cutting activity… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members …

There is one less independent wellsite storage firm operating in the Lower 48 today after a legal battle culminated in a takeover that will see the fleet change hands. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If …

“It’s always darkest before it goes completely black.” – Sen. John McCain We digest the implications of the market fallout and think through some things that matter for business leaders in the oilfield at its darkest hour… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our …

Guest Contributor Introduction From Joseph Triepke: Today’s guest post has been three years in the making. Allow me to explain…. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members …

Within minutes of the transcript of the Exxon analyst day being released, we shared this summary of what’s new in the company’s Permian Basin Drilling & Completion outlook…. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your …

In a separate update earlier this week, we quantified a new kind of flaring intensity index. Today we explore the qualitative side of this trend, distilling over 1,000 executive/investor conversations about flaring over the past decade and a half into this 5-minute-read summary. Login to see the full update… To …

EOG said recently that better pairing of origin and destination vs. 2019 will help them achieve targeted well cost savings. We wonder if this is simply better availability of local sand near their wells or possibly mobile mini plant adoption? Here is the key quote as well as other interesting …

Here’s what one energy CEO very candidly told investors in Vail this week about how he thinks the broader public and O&G industry is overreacting to fear surrounding the coronavirus… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. …

We take a look at some notable comings and goings. The frac talent pool continues to play musical chairs. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get …

In this update we study a different kind of flaring intensity – the flaring conversation intensity. This is not a new issue, but the conversation is heating up and evolving. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. …

“We are signing up operators that want to move away from outdated and unsafe………….” That’s what one growing wellsite storage provider in the frac supply chain had to say about their wellsite storage solution displacing the competition on their conference call this week…. Login to see the full update… To …

From the datapoint deluge this week, we’ve extracted these critical pieces of oilfield water market intelligence. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get Exclusive research update newsletters …

One week ago today, we quantified the reduction in force trend using 2019 headcount data from the 15 companies that had filed annual reports up to that point. Today, we’ve added another 22 companies that have released annual reports since then, and the number of jobs lost in US shale …

In this week’s regular rig count update, we take a look at what a large rig contractor said about customer plans… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) …

Here are the key bits of market intel that we picked out remarks made by three market share leaders in the wellsite storage game last week… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial …

We take a look at WaterBridge’s acquisition history and comment on their latest deal in this update… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get Exclusive research …

We did some digging after an E&P CEO’s damp sand frac patent claim last week sent a ripple through frac sand inner circles. Here is what we have uncovered… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If …

Last week, Hi-Crush said on their 4Q19 earnings call that January 2020 was the strongest month of sand sales in any January in company history. This datapoint is inline with our recent stream of reporting on stronger than expected frac activity – and sand demand – starting with this update …

A large E&P operator has firmly planted a legal flag of conceptual ownership in damp sand. This raises lots of questions for the broader adoption of the practice, including applications in in-field frac sand mining… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, …

This earnings season, a morbid data set is emerging from the shadows and becoming visible. Everyone in the oilfield is well aware of the reduction in force (RIF) trend that swept across the US onshore oilfield last year and continues this year. But the true extent of the damage has …

New pictures and a schematic have come to light as one of the first movers on the in-field mining trend continues making moves. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew …

We live blogged our key takeaways from a critical TX RRC report release via webinar on Tuesday afternoon February 19, 2020… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) …

Today we are giving readers a look behind the curtain at an important part of our research process. We’ve summarized the key themes we believe will be highly influential in shaping oilfield market fundamentals in 2020. Until now, these ideas have just lived on our whiteboard and post-it notes… Login …

There are new developments today in the Uintah Basin local frac sand story. Our analysis of the new facts that have come to light can be found here… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your …