Daily Brief podcast: Automation's role in business continuity during the pandemic

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic is affecting how oil and gas companies do business day-to-day, from dealing with social distancing challenges to maintaining efficient operations in the face of whipsawing commodity prices. More »

Gyrodata sells its directional drilling business to Intrepid Directional Drilling Specialists

The sale includes effectively all of Gyrodata’s directional drilling personnel, as well as its high-performance drilling motors and MWD tools. This combination doubles Intrepid’s directional drilling capabilities in North America while also expanding its presence into certain Latin American countries. More »

Oil continues climb on signs of a coming demand recovery

Oil jumped for a second day as global production cuts deepened and signs of a fledgling demand recovery emerged. More »

China’s state producers slash $19 billion from 2020 capex budgets

Despite marching orders from China’s top leader Xi Jinping to maximize oil and gas production, the energy sector is bending to the reality of the pandemic-fueled market collapse. More »

Saudis’ 43MMbbl oil flotilla will clog more than U.S. storage tanks

A fleet of supertankers carrying Saudi oil will add to the growing congestion at U.S. ports in coming weeks at the same time producers are shutting in output as they run out of space to store unwanted supplies. More »

Trump may announce loan program for oil companies this week

The Trump administration may announce as soon as Thursday a plan to offer loans to the ailing oil industry possibly in exchange for a financial stake, according to two people familiar with the matter. More »

Daily Brief podcast: Is China the cause of, and the solution to, the oil demand crisis?

Kurt and Cameron look at PDVSA's ambitious overhaul, "glimmers of hope" for Canadian production, and possible bridge loans for U.S. oil companies on the horizon. More »

Texas produced 1.5 Bboe in February 2020

Crude oil and natural gas production as reported to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) for February 2020 came from 170,960 oil wells and 86,698 gas wells. More »

Daily Brief podcast, Wednesday, April 29th

Kurt and Cameron look at PDVSA's ambitious overhaul, "glimmers of hope" for Canadian production, and possible bridge loans for U.S. oil companies on the horizon. More »

Ample storage and a recovering China insulate Petrobras from the oil glut

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant, is plowing through a global oil glut expecting that exports to China will soon rebound, and with extensive storage capacity helping it endure in the meantime. More »

Canadian producers see markets stabilizing, offering hope for a rebound

While global oil prices remain near multi-decade lows, the heads of two major Canadian crude producers see reasons for hope that the market will rebound in the months ahead. More »

Texas produced 1.5 billion barrels of oil in February 2020

Crude oil and natural gas production as reported to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) for February 2020 came from 170,960 oil wells and 86,698 gas wells. More »

Sasol South Africa appoints Wood as engineering partner in five-year deal

Wood will provide integrated services to Sasol from feasibility studies and front-end engineering design, through to engineering, procurement and construction. The partnership framework approach is a new way of working for Sasol. More »

DNV GL approves Aker Solutions’ carbon capture technology

Novel elements of Aker Solutions’ carbon capture technology and potential technological risks were evaluated and mitigation identified. Documentation was reviewed to provide a better understanding of the technology and the specific application and conditions. More »

PDVSA considers dramatic changes to revive Venezuelan oil production

New leadership at Petroleos de Venezuela SA is considering a major overhaul that could see the company streamlining its oil business and even forsaking decades of state monopoly, according to people familiar with the matter. More »

Oil prices rise as production cuts begin worldwide

Key pricing contracts in the North Sea and Russia have rallied in recent days, though there are still concerns that the world is on the brink of filling its storage capacity. Major producers were due to start output cuts on May 1, but some, including Saudi Arabia, are now curbing output early. More »

Falling oil price crushes Texas equipment manufacturers

Manufacturing plummeted in Texas in April as the joint shocks of the coronavirus pandemic and a collapse in oil prices suppressed demand for the state’s products, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. More »

Continental Resources sued over failed $200MM oil deal

Continental Resources Inc. is being sued by a closely held oil driller that accused the shale giant of walking away from a $200 million deal following an historic collapse in crude prices. More »

Futures contract moves endangering WTI prices again

Crude whipsawed near $11 a barrel after a major index tracked by billions of dollars in funds bailed out of near-term contracts for fear prices may turn negative again. More »

Maxed-out capacity in South Korea intensifies scramble for oil storage

South Korea has run out of commercial storage space for oil, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a development that’s likely to intensify a global scramble for tankers to store crude and fuels. More »

Demand collapse puts 30,000 UK oil and gas jobs at risk

“The outlook is bleak compared to the picture of steady growth seen only two months ago, before the grip of the pandemic became clear,” industry trade body Oil and Gas UK said in a report published on Tuesday. More »

Daily Brief podcast, Monday, April 27th

Harold Hamm's force majeure raises eyebrows, Diamond Offshore declares Chapter 11, Saudis cut production ahead of schedule, and the investment community feels the heat on Arctic activity. More »

Neptune Energy makes gas and oil discoveries in Germany

Neptune Energy announced two important hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in northwestern Germany. More »

Wall Street is feeling the pressure to stop Arctic oil funding

The latest front in the war against drilling for oil in Alaska’s rugged wildlife refuge isn’t Washington -- it’s Wall Street. More »

Acoustic Data debuts remote downhole monitoring deployment solution in response to COVID-19

Acoustic Data has developed a remote deployment model for its SonicGauge Wireless Monitoring System to overcome travel restrictions relating to COVID-19. The solution enables operators to self-install their real-time wireless downhole monitoring system without requiring specialist engineers onsite. More »

Oil slips below $15/bbl as production cuts begin

Oil dropped back below $15 a barrel as swelling global crude stockpiles made it more difficult for leading producers to balance the market by curbing output. More »

Diamond Offshore files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., the rig contractor controlled by Loews Corp., filed for bankruptcy amid an unprecedented crash in crude prices that’s wrecking demand for oil exploration at sea. More »

An analysis of the 20-minute span that changed the oil market forever

It was evident from the very beginning on April 20 that the oil market was headed for trouble. For the industry, it was a grimly symbolic moment: The fossil fuel that helped to build the modern world, so prized it became known as “black gold,” was now not an asset but a liability. More »

Saudis join three other OPEC+ nations cutting output early

Saudi Aramco began reducing oil production earlier this week ahead of the May 1 start date for OPEC+ output cuts, according to a Saudi industry official familiar with the matter. More »

Daily Brief podcast, Friday, April 24th

Kurt and Cameron wrap up an historic week for oil prices, the prorationing debate, Canadian production, and outside-the-box approaches to storing excess crude. More »

Onshore drilling in the U.S. drops the most in 14 years

As the financial wreckage piles up from cratering fuel demand and Covid-19 lockdowns around the world, drillers have idled 45% of U.S. oil rigs since mid March -- the worst-ever six-week decline. More »

NOIA elects Chairman Galen Cobb, Halliburton, and Vice Chairman Matt McCarroll, Fieldwood Energy

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Board of Directors has elected Galen Cobb, Vice President of Industry Relations of Halliburton, as Chairman and Matt McCarroll, President and CEO of Fieldwood Energy, as Vice Chairman for the 2020-21 term. More »

Texas RRC commissioners assess $1.1 million in penalties

The Railroad Commission of Texas assessed $1,141,580 in fines involving 212 enforcement dockets against operators and businesses at the Commissioners’ Conference this week. More »

Chesapeake swallows ‘poison pill’ following oil crash

Chesapeake Energy adopted a poison pill to thwart any takeover attempts after the oil-price crash and coronavirus pandemic sent the debt-burdened shale pioneer’s shares tumbling. More »

Continental Resources declares force majeure on some oil deliveries

Shale explorer Continental Resources Inc. told at least one refiner it couldn’t make an oil delivery after the global pandemic sent prices plunging, a move refiners called the “height of hypocrisy” following billionaire founder Harold Hamm’s calls to limit foreign imports. More »

U.S. Treasury considers federal lending for troubled oil companies

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he’s considering the creation of a government lending program for U.S. oil companies, which are looking for federal aid as they cope with a devastating plunge in prices. More »

Kuwait’s oil minister begins OPEC+ cuts ahead of schedule

The fourth-biggest member of OPEC “felt responsibility to respond to market conditions” and acted on its own, Oil Minister Khaled Al-Fadhel said, according to the official Kuwait News Agency. More »

Wild Well Control offers IADC WellSharp Live as distance learning training

WellSharp Live has been developed as a temporary solution to support ongoing training and learning in the oil and gas industry during the COVID-19 crisis. The option allows for instructor-led delivery, an interactive learning environment, and real-time quality monitoring throughout the course. More »

Tullow shares jump as Uganda sale to Total finalizes

Tullow Oil concluded a years-long process to sell its Uganda assets to Total SA, the first step in an asset-sale program that’s crucial to reducing its debt. The shares jumped the most on record. More »

U.S. investigating multimillion-dollar trading fraud via OPEC+ insiders

The U.S. is investigating whether traders with inside information on Russia’s negotiations with other oil producing nations made hundreds of millions of dollars from illegal wagers on crude price swings, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. More »

Oil price recovery continues as glut concerns linger

Oil extended its recovery from Monday’s plunge below zero, but trading remains volatile with the market under intense pressure from a swelling global glut. More »

Daily Brief podcast - Wednesday, April 22nd

The coming oilfield debt reckoning, North Sea operators contend with Brent weakness, and a brewing Iran conflict adds further uncertainty to oil futures. More »

Creditors are delaying bankruptcies to avoid owning distressed oil assets

Free oil won’t last. But it may linger long enough to persuade some creditors of bankrupt energy drillers to freeze their court fights awhile so they don’t wind up running a company with a product no one wants to buy. More »

Weatherford Vero automated connection integrity successfully completes 100 runs

Weatherford's automated connection integrity system has successfully completed 100 runs and 33,000 tubular connections in operations worldwide. More »

U.S. halts Chevron in Venezuela with end to sanctions waivers

Chevron will be forced to effectively wind down its operations in Venezuela, dealing the Maduro regime’s crumbling oil industry another blow as U.S. President Donald Trump maneuvers for regime change in the Latin American nation. More »

Oil rout looks to break shale’s global oil dominance

A historic crash in crude prices is driving U.S. shale into full-on retreat with operators halting new drilling and shutting in old wells, moves that could cut output by 20% for the world’s biggest producer of oil. More »

Brent nears a 21-year low under demand and storage pressure

Oil in London traded near a 21-year low as the global benchmark was sucked into the rout that sent U.S. futures below zero for the first time ever this week. More »

Tullow shares jump as Uganda sale to Total finalizes

Tullow Oil concluded a years-long process to sell its Uganda assets to Total SA, the first step in an asset-sale program that’s crucial to reducing its debt. The shares jumped the most on record. More »

U.S. investigating multimillion-dollar trading fraud via OPEC+ insiders

The U.S. is investigating whether traders with inside information on Russia’s negotiations with other oil producing nations made hundreds of millions of dollars from illegal wagers on crude price swings, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. More »

Oil price recovery continues as glut concerns linger

Oil extended its recovery from Monday’s plunge below zero, but trading remains volatile with the market under intense pressure from a swelling global glut. More »

Kuwait’s oil minister begins OPEC+ cuts ahead of schedule

The fourth-biggest member of OPEC “felt responsibility to respond to market conditions” and acted on its own, Oil Minister Khaled Al-Fadhel said, according to the official Kuwait News Agency. More »

Wild Well Control offers IADC WellSharp Live as distance learning training

WellSharp Live has been developed as a temporary solution to support ongoing training and learning in the oil and gas industry during the COVID-19 crisis. The option allows for instructor-led delivery, an interactive learning environment, and real-time quality monitoring throughout the course. More »

Daily Brief podcast - Wednesday, April 22nd

The coming oilfield debt reckoning, North Sea operators contend with Brent weakness, and a brewing Iran conflict adds further uncertainty to oil futures. More »

Creditors are delaying bankruptcies to avoid owning distressed oil assets

Free oil won’t last. But it may linger long enough to persuade some creditors of bankrupt energy drillers to freeze their court fights awhile so they don’t wind up running a company with a product no one wants to buy. More »

Weatherford Vero automated connection integrity successfully completes 100 runs

Weatherford's automated connection integrity system has successfully completed 100 runs and 33,000 tubular connections in operations worldwide. More »

Weatherford Vero automated connection integrity system successfully completes 100 runs and 33,000 tubular connections

Weatherford's automated connection integrity system has successfully completed 100 runs and 33,000 tubular connections in operations worldwide. More »

U.S. halts Chevron in Venezuela with end to sanctions waivers

Chevron will be forced to effectively wind down its operations in Venezuela, dealing the Maduro regime’s crumbling oil industry another blow as U.S. President Donald Trump maneuvers for regime change in the Latin American nation. More »

Oil rout looks to break shale’s global oil dominance

A historic crash in crude prices is driving U.S. shale into full-on retreat with operators halting new drilling and shutting in old wells, moves that could cut output by 20% for the world’s biggest producer of oil. More »

Brent nears a 21-year low under demand and storage pressure

Oil in London traded near a 21-year low as the global benchmark was sucked into the rout that sent U.S. futures below zero for the first time ever this week. More »

TRRC chairman Christian discusses proration, establishment of task force

On Tuesday, April 21st, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) continued discussion on the issue of proration, ongoing relief initiatives of the agency, and the formation of a Blue Ribbon Task Force for oil economic recovery. More »

Texas regulator decides not to decide on crude production limits for two weeks

One day after WTI crude closed at -$37.01, the Texas Railroad Commission declined to vote on a proposal to set limits on oil production in the state. In political parlance, the commission kicked the proverbial can down the road for two weeks. More »

Trump working on funding plan to preserve U.S. oilfield jobs

President Donald Trump said his administration is working on a plan to make money available to the oil industry to prevent the loss of jobs after prices plunged below zero. More »

Research shows digital twins, smart asset management drive cost savings

A digital twinning and smart data asset management tool from Bureau Veritas can save between 9% and 15% on total decommissioning project costs, research has revealed. More »

OPEC+ mega-deal rendered meaningless by demand destruction

The most ambitious bid to rescue the global oil industry ever seen has been swept aside by a brutal wave of demand destruction. More »

Oil price collapse spreading as June WTI futures drop 24%, Brent falls

The meltdown in oil markets widened, with huge losses spreading beyond contracts affected by technical anomalies as the world runs out of places to store unwanted crude. More »

“Capacity almost completely sold out,” says world’s largest oil storage firm

The world’s biggest independent oil storage company said that space for traders to store crude and refined fuels has all but run out as a result of the fast-expanding glut that Covid-19 has created. More »

Trump wants to add 75 MMbbl to SPR, considers blocking Saudi shipments

President Donald Trump said he wants to add as much as 75 million barrels of oil to the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, taking advantage of record low prices for crude, and that he’ll consider blocking imports of crude from Saudi Arabia. More »

Daily Brief podcast - The oil industry enters Day One of the negative-price era

With oil at -$37.00/bbl, Kurt and Cameron explore how market forces are compelling action on a state, federal and international level, and what can be expected on Day Two of the negative oil price era. More »

WTI crude price goes negative for the first time in history

A perfect storm of weak demand, unbridled production by warring producers, and an exhaustion of storage capacity drove West Texas Intermediate crude to its lowest closing price in modern history. More »

Stress Engineering, RPS develop sustainability scorecard to measure environmental impact

Stress Engineering Services has developed a sustainability scorecard with RPS to assess the emissions, carbon footprint and environmental impact of systems, sub-systems and facilities in the upstream, downstream and midstream sectors, in addition to manufacturing plants, power plants, wastewater systems and processing systems. More »

U.S. Oil import tariffs are still a possibility after OPEC+

U.S. tariffs on oil imports haven’t been dismissed even after the latest OPEC+ supply deal, according to a senior U.S. government official. More »

Canada attaches stricter environmental rules to oilfield support funds

Canada’s plan to spend $1.2 billion to help clean up the country’s derelict oil wells comes with strings attached: tougher environmental rules for the energy-rich province of Alberta. More »

Daily Brief podcast: The impact of oil prices and politics on oilfield service companies

Kurt and Cameron talk about how oil prices, state and federal politics are impacting oilfield service companies, and how positions taken today will affect a market recovery. More »

Saudis to sell 600,000 bbl of oil a day to the U.S. in April

Saudi Arabia is set to sell about 600,000 barrels a day of crude to the U.S. in April, the highest volume in a year, according to a Saudi industry official familiar with allocations to American refiners. More »

U.S. debates paying its producers to leave oil untapped during glut

The Trump administration is considering paying U.S. oil producers to leave crude in the ground to help alleviate a glut that has caused prices to plummet and pushed some drillers into bankruptcy. More »

ADNOC terminates Dalma gas project with Petrofac

Petrofac received notice of termination from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) of two recently awarded contracts for the Dalma Gas Development Project. More »

Weak demand, diminishing storage pushes oil below $19/bbl

Oil fell below $19/bbl in New York after a wave of gloomy demand forecasts and a cratering physical market outweighed an unprecedented deal to cut output. More »

Saudi Arabia, Russia appear open to cuts beyond OPEC+ deal

Saudi Arabia and Russia signaled they may be open to further output cuts after the latest OPEC+ deal to curb global oil supplies failed to stem crude’s downward spiral. More »

OPEC projects lowest crude demand since 1989

OPEC expects demand for its crude will fall to the lowest in three decades as the coronavirus outbreak freezes the global economy, underscoring the urgency of its promised production cuts. More »

ConocoPhillips curtails U.S., Canadian production, extends spending cuts

ConocoPhillips is voluntarily curtailing 225,000 gross boepd, and reducing cash usage by more than $5 billion in 2020. More »

Oilfield service companies feeling the strain of shale’s collapse

No one is feeling the pain of an oil collapse more than the shale producers. Except, perhaps, their suppliers. More »

U.S. Oil import tariffs are still a possibility after OPEC+

U.S. tariffs on oil imports haven’t been dismissed even after the latest OPEC+ supply deal, according to a senior U.S. government official. More »

World Oil analysis: Texas Railroad commissioners face difficult decision on prorationing

The three Railroad commissioners are faced with what may be the major decision of their professional lives—whether to prorate or not. And, in tandem, the fate of many industry companies and individuals’ jobs could be hanging in the balance. More »

It’s already too late for OPEC+ cuts to save the physical oil market

The physical oil market, where millions of barrels of real cargoes are traded each day, needed OPEC+’s historic cuts to global crude production months ago. More »

Daily Brief podcast - An in-depth look at the TRRC prorationing hearing

Kurt and Cameron discuss oil's crossing of an important psychological milestone, what the Saudis are doing in advance of the OPEC+ cuts taking effect, and an in-depth look at the historic TRRC meeting, and the long-range impact of a decision by the regulator either for or against prorationing. More »

PEMEX expects its oil hedges to generate $311 million this year

Pemex hedged its crude exports at an average of $49 a barrel using Asian put-spread options with monthly maturities for the period between Dec. 16 last year and Dec. 15 this year. More »

Oxy pays Warren Buffet’s dividend with shares to save cash

Occidental Petroleum opted to pay Warren Buffett in shares on the preferred stock he owns as the indebted oil producer seeks to preserve cash amid the worst crude-price crash in a generation. More »

Weatherford tallies three deepwater firsts offshore Brazil

Weatherford International saved an operator 27.5 hours of deepwater rig time with an Integrated Completion Solution it developed to install downhole equipment in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. More »

Clean energy transition plans imperiled by oil’s crash

The pain felt by Big Oil from the coronavirus-led plunge in demand may derail global efforts to cut pollution, the International Energy Agency said. More »

Oil slips below $20/bbl as demand projections continue to fall

Oil demand will drop by over 9 MMbpd this year, wiping out a decade of consumption growth, the IEA said, exhausting storage by mid-year. More »

Oklahoma opens its own inquiry into state oil quotas

Oklahoma is joining Texas in formally contemplating crude output curtailments to cope with a collapse in prices as some producers in the oil-rich state press for action. More »

Saudis keep oil flowing before new OPEC+ agreement kicks in

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf suppliers may have agreed to cut oil production again starting next month, but by all indications the taps are set to remain wide open until then -- swelling crude stockpiles for at least a few more weeks. More »

Gardner Denver introduces cost-efficient VX hydraulic fracturing pump fluid end

The VX represents an economical alternative to the SGWS fluid end while utilizing many of the existing SGWS internals such as valves and seats, Redline consumables, patented Falcon Technology, and suction cover retainers. More »

DOE working to lease out 23 MMbbl of Strategic Petroleum Reserve capacity

The U.S. Energy Department is negotiating with nine companies to rent about 23 million barrels of oil storage capacity in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a Trump administration bid to help drain the country’s growing glut of crude. More »

China should follow Mexico’s oil hedging strategy, says CNPC researcher

A researcher at China’s biggest oil company said the country’s drillers should copy the hedging strategies of Mexico and shale firms in the U.S., which use financial derivatives to protect against falling oil prices. More »

Saudi discounts oil to Asia, defending market share after OPEC+ cuts

Saudi Arabia might have just signed off on one of the most notable oil output deals in history, but challenges lie ahead as the kingdom faces keen competition from rival suppliers to the prized Asian market. More »

Collapsing demand pulls oil down despite output cuts

Oil erased earlier gains as the demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic outweighed planned output cuts from the world’s biggest producers. More »

Daily Brief - Markets, regulators and trade association reactions to OPEC+

Kurt and Cameron talk about how the market has reacted to the OPEC+ deal in the first day of trading, the RRC's open meeting to discuss prorationing in Texas, and how trade associations are reacting to the market. More »

Sitton: RRC should be “open to evaluating any path” at Tuesday’s hearing

"I have not advocated for Texas to prorate. I have advocated that we consider it. I felt that we should be open to evaluating any path that helps to bring the international oil community together in a global deal," Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton said in an emailed statement Monday. More »

Saudi energy minister leaves door open for more cuts in June

Saudi Arabia is ready to cut oil production further if needed when the OPEC+ alliance meets again in June, the kingdom’s energy minister said. More »

Weaker U.S. shale producers will bear the brunt of OPEC+ compliance moves

President Donald Trump said the “big Oil Deal” sealed on Sunday will save hundreds of thousands of American jobs. But the agreement he brokered depends on a sharp downturn in shale that will likely bring about a wave of bankruptcies and job cuts. More »

Will the OPEC+ agreement be enough to reverse global oversupply?

Oil timespreads are showing the opposite of what was expected after a historic deal among global producers to slash output. More »

By prioritizing domestic output, Mexico’s AMLO emerges as oil war’s winner

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador scored a political victory on Sunday by convincing oil nations to let him cut production far less than other OPEC+ members, reinforcing his nationalist project to revive state-owned producer Pemex. More »

OPEC+ production cuts won’t save traders from storage squeeze

The global oil glut is making it harder for traders to even out imbalances in the market, and the plunge in crude, down about half this year, is making matters worse. More »

Russia paid a heavy price to end the oil price war

Putin had catapulted Russia into a dominant role in global energy politics and drove a wedge between the U.S. and its Saudi ally, as the two marshaled producers to limit supplies. But it’s now clear he overplayed his hand when he refused to meet Saudi demands to double output cuts just five weeks ago. More »

Détente in oil price war as OPEC+ agrees to 9.7MMbpd cut

The world’s top oil producers pulled off a historic deal to cut global crude output and work towards an end to a devastating price war. More »

Mexico-Saudi standoff shifts focus to exports versus production

As a standoff between Saudi Arabia and Mexico threatens to thwart a historic deal to cut oil production, the solution may be to shift the goalposts: measure exports rather than output. More »

Saudis delay crude pricing, again, as production cut talks continue

Saudi Arabia delayed a key pricing decision for its crude exports yet again as talks to secure an agreement among global producers for an unprecedented joint supply cut entered a fourth day. More »

OPEC+ negotiators racing to finalize deal before markets open

A global deal to cut oil supply and stem a historic price rout hung in the balance on Sunday as negotiators raced to find an agreement with just hours to go until the market opens. More »

Oil glut closes Middle East’s largest crude terminal

With the coronavirus choking fuel demand and the world awash in surplus crude, even the Middle East’s main oil-trading hub has run out of room to store unwanted barrels. More »

Mexico’s secret weapon in the oil price war

As Mexico and Saudi Arabia fight over a deal to bring the oil-price war to an end, Mexico has a powerful defense: a massive Wall Street hedge shielding it from low prices. More »

Daily Brief podcast - An in-depth look at the global oil and gas industry post-OPEC+

Analyst and author Simon Watkins, and World Oil EIC Kurt Abraham take and in-depth look at the opportunities, the compromises, and the challenges facing every major oil and gas player following this week's OPEC+ production cut agreement. More »

Mexico accepts oil output deal, says Trump resolved its impasse with OPEC+

Mexico said it has reached an agreement with OPEC+ for deep oil-production cuts, after an intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump resolved an overnight impasse. More »

Trump calls OPEC+ deal a “very acceptable agreement”

“They’re getting close to a deal,” Trump said Thursday evening at a White House press briefing. Trump held a conference call with with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman just before the remarks. “It was a very good call.” More »

OPEC+ deal threatened as Mexico walks out, refusing to participate in cuts

An agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia for record oil-production cuts was endangered late on Thursday as Mexico refused to participate in the curbs and left the meeting without approving the deal. More »

Saudi Arabia and Russia end their oil-price war with output cut agreement

Saudi Arabia and Russia ended a devastating oil price war on Thursday, agreeing to slash output together with other members of the OPEC+ alliance in an effort to lift the market from a pandemic-driven collapse. More »

Alberta’s premier sees oil tariffs gaining traction in North America

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the idea of the U.S. and Canada placing tariffs on OPEC crude imports is gaining traction as a way to protect North American energy producers from the market’s collapse. More »

Trump got the oil deal he wanted – by not dealing at all

With Saudi Arabia and Russia agreeing on the contours of an unprecedented plan to slash crude output, President Donald Trump is on the verge of getting the global oil deal he wanted -- without taking steps to ratchet down U.S. production. More »

Oil gains hold as OPEC+ agreement aligns with expectations

Oil clung to gains as an OPEC+ supply-curb proposal during a virtual meeting Thursday was in line with previous expectations. More »

OPEC and allies agree to 10 MMbpd production cut

Major oil producers agreed to slash output as feuding members of the OPEC+ coalition buried differences in an effort to lift the market from a pandemic-driven collapse. More »

Oxy wants financial aid, not market support, for U.S. oil companies

Occidental Petroleum wants U.S. government financial aid for the oil industry even as the biggest producer of Permian Basin crude urges Texas regulators not to interfere with market forces. More »

Trendsetter Vulcan Offshore experts collaborate to develop coronavirus PPE

Trendsetter Vulcan Offshore (TVO), a developer of innovative solutions for the offshore industry, has collaborated with local pulmonary and critical care physician Luis E. Chug, MD, to introduce personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. More »

WFS, AeonX team up to deliver asset integrity, flow assurance in Nigeria

AeonX Limited (Nigeria) has signed a partnership agreement with WFS to promote and deliver the full range of state-of-the-art Seatooth products for asset integrity and flow assurance monitoring to existing and new clients in Nigeria. More »

G-20 plans to monitor implementation of OPEC+ agreement to ensure compliance

The Group of 20 plans to create an ad hoc group to ensure that steps to stabilize oil markets expected to be agreed on Thursday and Friday are implemented, according to a draft of the communique circulated to member countries. More »

Demand decline hits hardest among smaller U.S. shale drillers

U.S. shale drillers are engaged in a bitter test of wills as sinking oil prices force the weakest operators to retreat just as OPEC urges the world’s biggest source of crude to help rescue a market roiled by the coronavirus pandemic. More »

Oil rally continues as Russia holds promise for an agreement Thursday

Crude extended gains in Asia after Russia said that it was prepared to reduce output to help stabilize the market before a meeting of top producers later on Thursday. More »

Trump administration opposed to royalty relief for oil companies

President Donald Trump has told aides he doesn’t support a broad plan to temporarily stop charging energy companies royalties for oil and gas produced on federal lands and waters, according to two people familiar with the matter. More »

Oil extends rally as Russia agrees to production cut

A global supply-curb agreement may be sealed at the OPEC+ emergency virtual meeting on Thursday after Russia said that it is ready to cut oil production by 1.6 million barrels a day, or about 15%. More »

Daily Brief podcast, Wednesday, April 8th

Kurt and Cameron take on the fallacy of a "free market" for oil, what non-OPEC+ members are ready to do for a deal, and who (if anyone) the U.S. Department of Energy is trying to help in all this. More »

Marathon’s ‘frac holidays’ in Q2 will cut 2020 CAPEX spend

Marathon Oil is reducing its capital spending this year to about half of 2019 levels, joining a parade of shale drillers doing the same with oil prices trading at depressed levels as demand suffers due to coronavirus. More »

Siemens and Uniper develop joint decarbonization plan for power generation

One focus of the planned cooperation is the production and use of “green hydrogen” – in other words, hydrogen from renewable energy sources. The companies intend to implement projects in this field together, addressing the entire value chain. More »

Norway greenlights new wind farm to power offshore production platforms

By reducing the use of gas turbines on the fields, the project will help reduce CO2 emissions by more than 200,000 tons per year, corresponding to annual emissions from 100,000 private cars. More »

Pemex plans to double its well count in spite of oil price crash

Petroleos Mexicanos aims to nearly double drilling to 423 wells this year and accelerate development of 15 recent discoveries, even though experts say many are unprofitable at current prices. More »

Possibility of output cuts helps oil prices inch higher

Oil rose as investors weighed whether output cuts being discussed by the world’s top producers will be enough to offset the demand destruction wrought by the coronavirus. More »

Russia signals distrust in a U.S. contribution to global production cuts

Russia cast doubt on the proposed U.S. contribution to a global deal to reduce oil production, potentially throwing a spanner into delicate negotiations the day before a virtual OPEC+ meeting. More »

Offshore drilling innovator Larry Robert Gardner passes at 79

Larry Robert Gardner, 79, engineer of pioneering shallow- and deep-water drilling rigs utilized around the world, passed away early Saturday morning, March 28, 2020. He had been courageously battling multiple varieties of debilitating cancer for many months. More »

Possible output cuts help oil prices inch higher

Oil rose as investors weighed whether output cuts being discussed by the world’s top producers will be enough to offset the demand destruction wrought by the coronavirus. More »

India buying millions of barrels of Saudi crude for strategic reserves

India, the world’s third biggest oil consumer, is set to snap up millions of barrels of Middle East crude for its strategic reserves, signaling its support for global efforts to rescue the energy market. More »

Exxon takes deep cuts in shale plays to cut spending by 30%

Exxon Mobil Corp. is targeting its premier shale assets for deep cuts as it slashes worldwide spending to a four-year low and delays major projects to adapt amid the worst oil-price rout in decades. More »

Total divests of $400 million in exploration, production and distribution assets

In line with its strategy of actively managing its asset portfolio and its objective to divest $5 billion in assets in 2019-2020, Total is pursuing the divestments of several non-core assets in both Exploration-Production and Marketing and Services. These divestments represent a global value of more than $400 million. More »

A look at the major players in this week’s “OPEC++” meeting

A deal between the world’s oil powers is far from certain, as is U.S. participation in talks. Here’s look at the latest positions, with OPEC data compiled by Bloomberg and non-OPEC from the International Energy Agency. More »

Oil continues its climb as an output deal draws nearer

Oil resumed gains on signs that the world’s biggest producers are moving toward a deal to end their price war and cut output as the coronavirus eviscerates energy demand. More »

Gulf of Mexico operators move proactively to keep oil flowing during pandemic

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, offshore operators have stepped up screening and cleaning, lengthened job assignments and subjected workers to isolation periods. Some officials have even gamed out hypothetical scenarios that include shutting down operations if the pandemic spreads. More »

Progress continues, slowly, toward an historic global oil deal

The world’s largest oil producers are pressing ahead with talks for an unprecedented deal to mitigate the devastating impact of the coronavirus crisis on their industry, even as their leaders exchange barbs. More »

Permian gas flaring declines as production slows

Collapsing oil prices are having at least one positive side effect: less flaring in North America’s biggest shale field. More »

Evaporating demand leading aggressive crude price cuts worldwide

From Russia’s northeastern coast of Sakhalin to the Permian basin in the U.S., oil is going cheap as sellers slash prices in a desperate attempt to attract buyers. More »

Crude production limits become more appealing to Texas operators

The largest U.S. oil-producing state hasn’t restricted crude production in almost 50 years, but a growing chorus of explorers and related industries are advocating just such a move. More »

Shale downturn claims more Halliburton jobs in Oklahoma and Texas

Halliburton is making reductions to its field staff in Oklahoma and Texas, including its Duncan field camp, as the company continues to adapt to a new market normal following a crash in shale exploration. More »

Daily Brief podcast, Monday, April 6th

Kurt and Cameron discuss the expanding OPEC+ negotiations, Canada's emerging role in production cuts, and the API's support (or lack thereof) for the broader oil industry. More »

Kurita Water merges U.S. subsidiaries to improve performance and sustainability

“Our goal is to become the leading provider of integrated water treatment solutions in North America by providing new technologies and sustainable solutions that optimize system performance, reduce water and energy use and improve profitability for our customers,” stated Masahiko Mitsuta, chairman of the new Kurita America. More »

U.S. reports “productive discussion” with Saudis, to continue at G20 meeting

U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, agreed to continue talks through a meeting of G20 energy ministers that will be held “in the near future.” More »

Trump sees an oil price solution that doesn’t involve tariffs

President Donald Trump said he doesn’t think he’ll have to impose tariffs on imported oil to blunt the impact of a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, but held out the option to protect U.S. oil producers. More »

Oil negotiators race for pact, with U.S. role in the balance

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other large oil producers are racing to negotiate a deal to stem the historic price crash as diplomats said some progress was made on Sunday. More »

Alberta to join OPEC+ call, pledges to “keep an open mind” on cuts

Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage will participate in an OPEC+ call next week aimed at resolving the global oil price war and will “keep an open mind” on how the province can participate in a solution, Premier Jason Kenney said Friday. More »

Norway says it may follow OPEC+ lead on production cuts

Norway, the biggest oil producer in western Europe, said it would consider cutting its output if there was a broad international agreement to curb supply. More »

Aramco delays oil pricing ahead of possible OPEC+ talks

Saudi Arabia is delaying the release of its closely-watched monthly oil-pricing list until later this week as the kingdom spars with Russia over a potential meeting of global producers that would aim to halt the collapse in crude. More »

Trump renews tariff threat on growing Saudi-Russian divide

President Donald Trump ramped up threats to use tariffs to protect the U.S. energy industry from a historic glut of oil, as efforts to forge a global deal to cut output appeared to lose momentum. More »

Saudi, Russian blame game stalls Monday’s OPEC+ meeting

The OPEC+ meeting to try to end the oil price war is unlikely to go ahead on Monday as previously expected, as Riyadh and Moscow trade barbs about who’s to blame for the collapse in oil prices. More »

Daily Brief podcast, Friday, April 3rd

Kurt Abraham and Cameron Wallace review all the developments in Washington, Moscow and Riyadh this week, and what they mean for the emergency OPEC+ meeting on Monday. More »

Oil continues climb on hopes for global agreement on output cut

Oil extended its biggest-ever surge in New York, though the advance was tempered by skepticism over whether a producer meeting Monday would deliver output cuts large enough to avert a glut. More »

Putin to meet Russian producers ready to agree on oil cuts

Russia’s oil industry is ready to agree cuts to production together with Saudi Arabia and other major producers in a desperate bid to halt the slide in prices, according to five people familiar with the efforts. More »

Putin’s government rewriting budgets for $20 oil in 2020

President Vladimir Putin’s government is rewriting its budget to prepare for oil prices at $20 a barrel this year despite U.S.-led efforts to get major producers to rein in production. More »

Cryopeak LNG Solutions breaks ground on new LNG production facility

Cryopeak LNG Solutions Corporation, based in Richmond BC, has begun construction of a new LNG production facility located in Fort Nelson, BC, capable of producing up to 90,000 gallons of LNG per day. More »

TDI-Brooks completes MSGBC basin field data acquisition program offshore West Africa

TDI-Brooks International, under contract to TGS, has completed its offshore “seep-hunting” surface geochemical analysis and geotechnical campaign of the MSGBC Basin, from Northern Senegal through The Gambia and AGC zone, into Guinea-Bissau down to the Guinea transform fault. More »

Trump faces bitterly divided companies in his bid to save shale

In the U.S., there are more than 6,000 oil drillers -- everything from tiny wildcatters in the shale patches of Texas and North Dakota to global giants like ExxonMobil. That would seem to make formulating a coherent U.S. negotiating stance next to impossible. More »

OPEC+ members seek to broaden coalition in output cut plan

The OPEC+ coalition is pushing for other major oil producers to join it in a deep reduction of global crude output to stem the historic rout in prices. More »

Oil’s surge continues as 10% global production cut gains traction

Oil advanced above $32 a barrel in London as OPEC+ scheduled an urgent meeting next week to try and stem the crude market’s rout, with an output cut of 10% of global production being discussed. More »

Texas RRC Chairman applauds President Trump on energy negotiations

Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Wayne Christian More »

Daily Brief podcast, Thursday, April 2nd

World Oil makes a digital shift, Trump shows off his ability to make dramatic moves in the oil market, and OTC goes dark for 2020. More »

Saudi Arabia calls for an urgent meeting of OPEC+ following Trump phone call

A statement released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency read, in part, “the Kingdom calls for an urgent meeting of OPEC + and a group of other countries, with the aim of seeking a fair agreement that will restore the desired balance to the oil markets.” More »

Organizers cancel 2020 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston

“As we navigate these difficult and uncertain times, it is with a heavy heart that the OTC Board of Directors has determined that it is in our best interest to cancel OTC 2020. Our priority is the health and safety of our attendees and exhibitors, and we have taken federal, state, and local guidelines into account in making our decision,” states Cindy Yeilding, OTC chairperson. More »

Trump expects Saudi, Russian oil production cuts after phone call

President Donald Trump said he expects Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut oil production by about 10 million barrels after he spoke by phone with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Thursday. More »

Upstream project pipeline takes a hit as oil rout deepens

Global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie believes that of the 50+ projects identified with potential to go ahead this year, only 10 have a chance of proceeding, and all are at risk. More »

ExxonMobil joins COVID-19 fight, helping develop multi-use PPE for clinical settings

ExxonMobil is applying its deep knowledge and experience with polymer-based technologies, in partnership with the Global Center for Medical Innovation, to facilitate development and expedite third-party production of innovative safety equipment that can be sterilized and worn multiple times. More »

Oil crash kills Vaca Muerta’s potential as the next shale hotspot

The Argentine region is often compared with the Permian basin in the U.S., with the promise to push out a million barrels of oil a day and turn around an economy on course for a third straight contraction this year. More »

Oil’s crash starts claiming victims across the industry

The unprecedented collapse in global oil markets is wreaking havoc in all corners of the North American crude industry, pushing shale drillers, deepwater-equipment haulers and oil-sand miners to desperate measures. More »

Rail cars latest target for traders hunting cheap oil storage

Oil companies are turning to rail cars to stash the crude they can’t sell, as the world runs out of places to store a growing glut of cheap barrels. More »

Trump to talk tariffs, Jones Act with oil executives Friday

Oil company executives reeling from a massive drop in prices were set to meet with President Donald Trump Friday as the administration seeks ways to help the beleaguered industry. More »

China’s strategic crude reserve buy extends oil’s rebound

Oil surged more than 12% as China planned to start buying up cheap crude for its strategic reserves, adding to tentative signs of growing risk appetite across financial markets that’s propelling prices higher. More »

Trump says the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia to meet on oil price crash

President Donald Trump said the U.S. would meet with Saudi Arabia and Russia with the goal of staunching an historic plunge in oil prices. More »

Bakken shale leader Whiting Petroleum files for bankruptcy

The unprecedented collapse in global oil markets brought another driller to its knees, forcing a champion of what was once the premier U.S. shale field to seek protection from creditors. More »

Goldman Sachs sees shale ultimately victorious in the oil war

The bruised and battered U.S. shale industry is poised to emerge from the oil crash a winner, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. More »

A new World Oil for a new industry

Over the past couple of years, World Oil has prepared the ground for, and invested in, our digital offerings and how we deliver our content. Through considerable industry research and audience feedback, we are experiencing a clear demand for a more digitally oriented product. More »

Trump may rent Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage to U.S. drillers

The U.S. Energy Department is considering renting space in the nation’s emergency oil reserve to domestic producers awash in crude, according to three people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified before a formal announcement. More »

Apache’s organizational change returning better-than-expected cost savings

“We have made substantial progress on our organizational redesign initiative, which began in the fall of 2019. This is enabling more flexible resource allocation and increased collaboration while delivering cost savings that are critical in the current environment,” said John J. Christmann, Apache’s chief executive officer and president. More »

Oil holds near $20 as Saudis surge, Russia stands pat on output

Oil held near $20 a barrel as Saudi Aramco’s output surged above 12 million barrels a day, but Russia said it would refrain from further production hikes. More »

Russians open door to talks, as Saudis charge ahead with 12 MMbpd output

Saudi Arabia showed no sign of bowing to pressure from President Donald Trump to dial back the oil-price war with Russia as the kingdom pushed crude supply to record levels. More »

Trump says the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia to meet on oil price crash

President Donald Trump said the U.S. would meet with Saudi Arabia and Russia with the goal of staunching an historic plunge in oil prices. More »