Archive for category: Industry News

Oil prices skyrocketed on Monday morning as U.S. President Donald Trump’s health appears to have improved after testing positive for the coronavirus on Thursday evening.

At 11:06 a.m. EDT, the price of the WTI benchmark had risen by 6.15% to $39.33. While the gains are substantial for the day, they are still under the $40 per barrel mark, and still under where prices were just a week ago, as both major benchmarks stumbled on Friday as reports came in that President Trump had tested positive.

But by Monday, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows suggested that the President was improving, and was ready to return to work as usual. Meadows also indicated that President Trump could return to the White House later today. The U.S. President also took a few moments out of his hospital sequestration on Sunday to appear in a motorcade to wave to his supporters.

While Trump took criticism for his brash move on Sunday, his appearance instilled confidence in the markets.

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Source: Oil Price

Almost anything that could go wrong in 2020 did go wrong. The year started with the Russian/Saudi oil price war and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and the rest of the world, which caused dramatic drops in crude demand and extreme price volatility. As a result, the confluence of these events led to an unprecedented wave of bankruptcies and restructurings throughout the upstream oil and gas industry.

As more companies contemplate bankruptcy or restructuring arrangements, could the time be right for onshore drilling rigs and assets to be snagged at bargain prices? With a known capital outlay, plus other ancillary costs and limited downside, what players are willing to acquire these assets and not leave them as paperweights? The risk-takers? The risk-averse? Oil and gas producers themselves?

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Source: JD Supra

Analysts at Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research have outlined in a new report that they do not expect 5G to have a significant role in oil and gas operations in the next five years, as low oil prices have reduced the capital expenditure outlook.

In the report, which was sent to Rigzone on Tuesday, the analysts noted that the promise of 5G would fit multiple areas of both upstream and downstream operations but highlighted that overall investment in the industry would be limited over the next half decade.

“Historically, in periods of low oil prices in addition to investment reduction, the oil and gas industry’s focus turns to improving efficiency,” the analysts stated in the report.

“Based on our five-year Brent forecast, oil prices across the period will average well below recent years, a sign that increased investment across the industry will likely be lower than in the recent past. The lower oil price outlook will both limit overall investment and push the industry to greater efficiency by reducing costs and improving productivity,” the analysts added.

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Source: Rigzone

The oil industry in South America is in sever need of positive stimuli – the Argentinian shale wonder has just survived a near-collapse of its government only to be stalled by the coronavirus, Venezuela is falling ever lower, whilst Colombia is struggling to kickstart its oft-lauded shale bounty. Suriname, a Dutch-speaking nation of some 600 000 people, might become just that, South America’s next drilling hotspot. The previous Guyana has had a phenomenal string of successes with its exploratory wells, up until 2020 18 out of the total 20 wells spudded wielded commercially exploitable reserves. Could neighboring Suriname follow in Guyana’s footsteps with an equally awe-inspiring drilling tally? So far it seems that there is every reason to believe it can.

There are two major differences between Suriname and Guyana. The first, and perhaps less important, is that Suriname has been producing some crude from onshore assets since the 1930s, thus oil would not come as an entire novelty for the South American nation’s authorities. The second is that Suriname has had to struggle its way through initial disillusionment, the path to success was by no means immediate and linear. Just as Guyana’s Liza discovery was heating up interest towards the Guyana-Suriname basin, Kosmos Energy drilled the Anapai and Pontoenoe wildcats in 2017 – the first encountered high quality reservoirs but no hydrocarbons, whilst the second found hydrocarbons but was water-bearing. Apache, too, had had unsuccessful wildcats in 2015 and 2017 at Block 53 before starting off a string of high-profile discoveries.

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Source: Oil Price

All homes and schools in Colorado should be protected from new oil and gas drilling by a 2,000-foot buffer or setback – four times the current standard for urban areas, a majority of the members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said.

In a session Wednesday to review proposed rule changes on setbacks, four of the five commissioners voiced support for an extended setback to protect public health and safety, as well as reduce nuisances such as odors, noise and heavy traffic.

The one commissioner expressing reservations about the 2,000-foot setback was Bill Gonzalez, a former oil and gas industry executive. “I don’t think that is the right number and the right way of going about it,” he said.

Jeff Robbins, the commission chairman, said that the expanded setback was in line with the COGCC’s change in mission — defined in Senate Bill 181 — from promoting oil and gas development to the protection of public safety, health, welfare and the environment in regulating the oil and gas industry.

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Source: The Colorado Sun