Infill Thinking Lifting the O&G knowledge curve

This week, we put a spotlight on drilling activity trends in the Canadian rig market… 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 …

Listening to the FTSI call this week, here’s what stood out to us as far as market intel takeaways for the Lower 48 pressure pumping market… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free trial …

In addition to the other research we’ve posted this week, here’s an assortment of interesting odds and ends that crossed our desk and will be of interest to Infill Thinking members… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a …

This week, we had a chance to catch up with another mobile mini plant pioneer to learn about their approach. This is the third mobile mini plant provider we’ve profiled since writing a deep dive on the theme a month ago, which got folks talking and has drawn out new …

With fewer greenfield projects actively under construction now than at any time in the past three years, we believe that nameplate capacity activations at large-scale fixed local frac sand plants are mostly in the rear-view mirror now. Here’s a data-driven assessment of local sand mine activity in the Lower 48, …

While waiting for deal flow to pick back up, we dusted off our water M&A database this 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 has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Members get Exclusive …

A look at a leading indicator in a key southwest market is the subject of this weekly rig count data spotlight.. 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.) …

This week, two large pressure pumpers hosted 4Q19 earnings calls. Here are our takeaways from their remarks as it pertains to the 2020 pressure pumping market…     Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your …

2019 was a record year for M&A deals in oilfield water. Will 2020 be able to keep up the pace? 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 …

If you are at HFTC or NAPE in Houston this week instead of the Permian Basin, count your lucky stars. If you are in the Permian on Wednesday, there’s a high probability you are: a) trying to reschedule your trip (or your meetings) because all flights have been cancelled b) …

In a meeting on Wednesday morning, county officials approved the latest… 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 …

We are able to put some important context around the first newsbyte about Hi-Crush’s mobile mine solution beyond their official announcement about the new division launch last week. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your …

  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 …

Permian sand plant staffing reductions effectively de-rated production capacity in 4Q19. The trend in this chart helped set up the supply crunch we’ve dubbed Sandemonium when customer budgets reset seasonally in January… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be …

It’s been a week and a half since we first reported “Sandemonium” when the Permian surprisingly “ran out” of 100 mesh frac sand. Here’s an update on where things stand today followed by our answers to the most common questions Infill Thinking members are asking us as this situation continues …

This morning both Chevron and Exxon hosted conference calls. These are our key takeaways… 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 …

Every once in a while, laughter is the best medicine. So on a Friday when disruption potential is once again at the top of mind for the collective frac sand industry, we offer the following bit of levity. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive …

Since we first published this in-depth primer on Jan. 17, 2020 about the “in field” frac sand mining opportunity, the industry’s public conversation about mobile-mini plants has gone from zero to sixty in a heartbeat. We have begun to hear directly from other first movers with their own mobile-mini plant concepts. These solutions …

On Tuesday, we hosted 50+ Infill Thinking members for coffee and conversation at one of our favorite Houston coffee houses. Special thanks to the Siphon Coffee team and patrons for letting us invade your space and putting up with us – we sort of took over the place! The event …

Hundreds of oilfield decision makers came to our member meet-ups in 2019 (these are included with your subscription). Will you be there when the industry’s smartest minds and leading executives gather again with us in 2020? Login to get the details on our first gathering of the new year and …

From strength to strength in January for this important West Texas drilling activity indicator.. 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 …

Just when everyone assumed the Permian was hopelessly oversupplied with sand comes a supply crunch that will make everyone question their beliefs! 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 …

With the days of large-scale in-basin mine construction vanishing, we wonder if the miniaturization trend this chart reveals is a precursor to the rise of mobile-mini plants? Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If your free …

A new entrant sand miner launched last last year is quickly advancing a brand new local frac sand mine project for the Bakken through the local permitting process in North Dakota. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a …

Sustainable business models in oilfield water management will be a hot topic at The Oilfield Water Markets 2020 Conference coming up this May in Dallas. We’ll be there and hope to see many of you there… The Rolling Stone feature story on oilfield water that we flagged for our readers …

In this asset-intensive business, talent shifts are often ignored. But people matter. Talent shifts affect how business is done and competitive advantage, and here are ten moves that matter for how business is done in the sectors we cover in early 2020… Login to see the full update… To read …

Here’s just what you really need to know from the Halliburton US onshore outlook provided on Tuesday morning… 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 …

A quadfecta is a set of four events. The following four items aren’t really events yet, they are futuristic concepts that we know some very smart folks with various levels of access to capital are looking at and working on at the moment. Whether any of these (or a combination) …

A datapoint this week emphasizes the disruptive impact that a combination of automation software and depressed rate sheets is having on the frac sand hauling industry as another large carrier rolls up and…. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must …

4Q19 earnings season is officially underway in the oilfield with Schlumberger’s call kicking things off this morning. Three months ago, their last earnings conference call prompted us to ask: What Is Schlumberger Going To Do With Their North America Business? Since then, we’ve all heard the speculation that… Login to …

On New Year’s eve, we sent a newsletter. Despite the holiday, it was one of our most opened and shared newsletters of 2019. Why? It introduced a new idea with disruptive potential. Just when we all thought the frac sand was sufficiently disrupted by the advent and maturation of in-basin …

Please pardon our publishing silence over the past 24 hours or so… our research team is busy working on deep dive. One might say that our head is buried in the sand. It’s topical. It’s controversial. And it has massive implications for value creation / destruction in the frac supply …

In addition to the in-depth research we’ve published this week, several datapoints crossed our desk that advance the narrative on stories we’ve recently covered. We are sharing these followups in the five-point list below: Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you …

The widespread pandemonium we recently documented in frac sand’s last mile during Christmas and New Years has died down somewhat now that we are two weeks into the new year, according to our latest channel checks. However… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our …

In 2017, we recognized Reeves the “most drilled” and “most improved county in the Permian in this update, which we titled: “More Rigs Have Been Activated In Reeves County In 2017 Than In The Entire Bakken.” Here in 2020, we find ourselves writing a very different assessment of activity in …

In a recent year-end review, we shared our top 19 stories from 2019 in frac sand and oilfield water as measured by membership interest. Before we leave 2019 behind and fully focus on the new year, we have one more year-in-review recap for you. This one summarizes the installments in …

A couple of months ago, we analyzed the E&P industry response to frac ban rhetoric by the democratic primary candidates. We also quantified drilling activity on Federal lands, estimating that O&G wells spud on Federal Land have comprised approximately X% of US onshore drilling activity. The next logical questions to …

In addition to the in-depth updates published over the past week, these “quick hit” datapoints also crossed our desk and are worthy of a mention… 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 …

Infill Thinking first wrote about Atlas Sand’s conveyor project back in May 2019 (see point 10). The cat is out of the bag now and the mainstream media is feasting on a BLM press release about a new permit application filed by Atlas Sand. Atlas Sand isn’t commenting about the …

For the US land rig count, December 2019 was pretty mundane. Considering the downtrend in activity that dominated much of 2019 and the typical holiday headwinds that December brings, a boring month for the rig count was welcome! Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our …

2020 starts off much the same as 2019 ended in the oilfield water management industry: with M&A news. Two acquisitions were announced on Monday from undisclosed sellers (although we have heard some guesses about who one of those might be). Meanwhile, oilfield water M&A this year has a different feel …

Panic in frac sand. This is not hyperbole folks… 2020 is off to anything but a smooth start. High class problem though? Here’s what all the fuss is about…. Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If …

With 2019 in the books, we spent some time over the weekend becoming more encouraged about 2020 as we updated our data on… 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 …

Bang! 2020 is off to a dynamic start. Geopolitical risk has again taken the center stage, driving out-performance in crude oil prices and oilfield equities vs. the broader market in early-year trading. And this week’s developments on the global state punctuate a big question for the US oilfield this year, …

During a dynamic 2019, Infill Thinking: shipped 100 e-newsletters to active members, shipped 45 data-driven e-newsletter to Analyst Plan members, published 370 original written research updates, hosted 4 member meet-ups in key oilfield cities, conducted 4 field trips to put boots on the ground in key oilfield markets and gather market …

In our last Friday’s in December guest post of 2019, a “reformed Northern White Sand apologist” penned an op-ed piece on disruption in the frac sand industry. It hinted at something we’ve been hearing about for several months… something could be the next disruptive wave in frac sand supply… Login …

The oilfield industry has many similarities to sports. Both are cyclical. Both have lots of turnover in winning strategies and players. Both have their fair share of larger than life characters and dynastic franchises. And a continual evolution of best practices in both sports and the oilfield is fueled by …

In late-October, we noted that Patterson-UTI’s CEO Andy Hendricks predicted a modest increase in drilling activity in late-December. Andy might be preparing to take a victory lap now… Last week’s bounce is notable for three key reasons: it breaks… it’s bigger than… it bucks… Login to see the full update… …

Plenty of water deal news continues to cross the wires as 2019 draws to a close. And what a year it’s been for water midstream M&A. This week deals announced by three buyers take the deal count we track up to X significant water midstream transactions in 2019 vs. only …

With lumps of coal in every oilfield stocking this holiday season, it’s easy to overlook the bright spots. There are some bright spots though. Not every E&P operator plans to slash investment next year. In fact, some are planning to increase spending, or at least talking optimistically about their growth …