Helmerich & Payne, the clear first mover in the last rig technology cycle, has been more “middle of the pack” this time. Until now. This week, H&P bought their way into the high tech drilling conversation with the acquisition of MOTIVE Drilling Technologies. The last time H&P press released an …
Read More »
Although the drilling rig itself is only about 10% of total onshore well costs these days, it has become the epicenter of the industry’s latest technology craze: automation, digitization, and big data. As market leaders embark on a new technology cycle, drilling days/well are poised to keep trending down. One day …
Read More »
About a month ago, we noticed a material spike in permitting activity for horizontal wells in the Permian Basin. Based on historical data, the March spike suggested that the Permian horizontal rig count could increase further 25%. We look at what’s happened since then, and update our permitting analysis for April data in this …
Read More »
On Thursday, Patterson-UTI said it will take delivery of newbuild rigs again during 2017. In the downturn, Patterson-UTI suspended their newbuild program and last took took a delivery in 4Q15. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our …
Read More »
Each winter, we look forward to unwrapping the annual rig census report released by National Oilwell Varco. With it’s uniquely comprehensive rig market history, the report provides good perspective on the competitive landscape for drilling rigs around the world. There were no surprises on the demand side this year – …
Read More »
Land drilling / pressure pumping hybrids Patterson-UTI and Seventy Seven Energy have agreed to join forces as 2016 draws to a close. Patterson-UTI will purchase Seventy Seven Energy for $1.76bn in an all-stock deal that includes the assumption and repayment of $336mm of net debt. This deal isn’t a bargain, as …
Read More »
We are in Midland/Odessa this week for meetings and site visits. The vibe here now is very different from our last visit 10 months ago. There is more field traffic on I-20, parking lots are fuller, and there is a stirring in the yards. In this post we discuss firsthand intel from …
Read More »
Although it may seem early to some, another fleet improvement cycle is underway for the US land rig fleet. We covered the specific upgrade programs of several leading land drillers last week in this post. It’s a relatively humble reconstruction cycle financially speaking, involving more discrete equipment upgrades than overhauls or …
Read More »
Infill Thinking Lifting the O&G knowledge curve
