Tag Archives: shale

After a brush back in the second week of the year, the US land rig count surged ahead last week. 2017 E&P budgets and drilling programs are kicking in and we expect continued strength over the next 4-6 weeks. Take out a free trial below to see our full analysis of …

On a conference call in 2011, the always eloquent Clay Williams of National Oilwell Varco (then CFO, now CEO) said: The unconventional shale model is utterly unlike drilling a generation ago, which saw fleeting glimpses of precious darcy reservoir rock here or there, elusive four-way closure, a rare and fortuitous geologic …

Two years into the downturn and at oil prices just half of prior highs, the US tight oil industry has begun to stage a recovery. We’ve all seen this new optimism in the tangible data. Rig count, capex, headcount, frac utilization – these are just a few of the US …

In the US, the O&G industry has begun to hire staff again for the first time in two years. We snapped this encouraging photo in front of a Halliburton completions yard while touring the Permian Basin in early-December. Source: InfillThinking.com Given what we know about the ongoing recovery and a …

While the rest of the world focused on OPEC on November 30, US operators were focused on making their tight oil wells more effective with cutting edge innovation. We spent OPEC day in Houston with 35 senior US completions executives at the Darcy Completions Forum, squarely focused on emerging technologies …

Since inception, hydraulic fracturing and shale exploitation have been fraught with controversy. Initial opposition mostly came from the far left and environmentalists. So called “fracktivists” include bands of protesters, lobbyists pushing for regulation, and filmmakers documenting mythical terrors. These outsiders have presented challenges for the industry ranging from mild annoyances to outright banishment …

BP and Shell updated their spending outlooks Tuesday morning. The two Majors echoed recent reports from their peers by again lowering planned capex spending. As Independents selectively spend a little more in 4Q16 and prepare to reverse their budget cuts next year, the Majors continue to systematically lower their total spend. Optically, …

Saipem won 30 years of new land rig backlog in Saudi Arabia today. In the US, we estimate about 28 rig-years of land drilling backlog have been added in total since the bottom. We compare the Saudi and US drilling markets, and estimate backlog created in the young and tender recovery. …

Anadarko made a big splash on Monday afternoon, announcing the $2bn buyout of Freeport McMoRan’s deepwater GOM assets. It’s a big deal for the GOM and for Anadarko’s position in the GOM. But what we found most interesting about the announcement is how Anadarko spun the deal into an onshore growth narrative. …