Oil & Gas Exploration

The state regulator reported on Tuesday that North Dakota oil drillers currently operate 29 rigs compared to 32 in June. Operators continue to use more efficient drilling technology. The ability to drill more efficiently allows operators the opportunity to extract more oil with less capital. Nathan Anderson, Director of the Department of Mineral Resources in Washington State said that the decline in rig counts does not mean there is less rock being drilled. The state Industrial Commission reported that oil production in North Dakota dropped 61,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May to 1.1million bpd. The price environment in May...

Baker Hughes, an oilfield services provider, surpassed Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter profit on Tuesday as it benefitted from a robust demand for natural gas services. Energy industry benefits from a rise in natural gas demand, primarily due to LNG exports, and an increase in electricity consumption, mainly because of higher temperatures, data centres, and AI operations. Baker Hughes is trying to leverage the Industrial and Energy Technology (IET portfolio) to drive growth in its natural gas and LNG sector. Baker Hughes says it's well-positioned to meet or exceed its $1.5 billion three-year order target earlier than expected....

Chevron is about to enter Guyana's offshore oilfields, which will solve one of its biggest problems: how it will grow beyond the next couple of years. The U.S. oil company closed a $55 billion deal to acquire Hess, one of the biggest oil and gas transactions ever. It also acquired the stake that Hess held in Guyana's Stabroek Block following a legal battle with Exxon Mobil. Chevron had seen its oil and gas reserves drop to their lowest level in more than a decade. The Stabroek block contains at least 11 billion equivalent barrels of oil and is one the...

Wall Street was preparing for a calm start to the weekend, as investors considered a week full of mixed economic indicators and earnings reports. Netflix's record-breaking profit also failed to elicit much enthusiasm. At 8:15 am. S&P E-minis rose 4.5 points or 0.07%. Nasdaq E-minis gained 11.75 points or 0.05%. Dow E-minis increased 52 points or 0.12%. Wall Street's record run continued overnight as the S&P and Nasdaq climbed to new highs on the back of upbeat sentiment. Retail sales Jobless Claims The Federal Reserve can now pause to watch for inflation driven by tariffs. Netflix The success of the...

The use of giant shovels, driverless vehicles and a robot that looks like a dog have helped Canada's Oil Sands companies, including Imperial Oil and Suncor, become some North America's low-cost oil producers. This has been achieved despite the fact that U.S. Shale costs rose due to the highest inflation rates in decades. Canada's oil sands sector is in a strong position as the global oil market enters a downward spiral due to economic uncertainty caused by U.S. Tariffs and OPEC+ pumping out more barrels. International oil majors such as BP, Chevron, and Total sold their oil sands interests after...

On Wednesday, drones carrying bombs attacked oilfields in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Two fields operated by Norway’s DNO had to stop production. DNO, the oil and gas company that operates the Tawke-Peshkabir fields in the Zakho region, bordering Turkey, has temporarily suspended production following explosions which caused no injuries. Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism agency posted a Facebook message that three drones were used to attack the fields, but no one was injured. Only material damage occurred. DNO stated that "the damage assessment has begun and the company anticipates restarting production as soon as the assessment is complete." Later, another oilfield operated by U.S....

According to a court filing, an agreement reached with environmental groups will allow the Trump administration to delay the final rule by two years. The rule would protect the endangered Rice's Whale in the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas drilling area. The National Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S. Commerce Department and the green group Natural Resources Defense Council have agreed to give the government agency until 15 July 2027 to finalize the geographical area that is considered critical to the survival of the Rice’s whale. The agreement was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of...

A poll on Monday showed that analysts have slightly raised their oil price predictions after the recent flare-up in tensions in the Middle East. However, rising OPEC+ supplies and a tempered outlook for demand continue to weigh down on crude. In a survey conducted by 40 economists and analysts, a June estimate of Brent crude at $67.86 per barrel in 2025 was higher than the $66.98 estimate made in May. U.S. crude, on the other hand, is forecast to average $64.51 per barrel, which is above last month's $63.35 estimate. According to LSEG, prices have averaged around $70.80 and $67.50...

MEG Energy, a Canadian oil company, urged Monday its shareholders to reject Strathcona Resources' hostile takeover bid of nearly C$6 Billion ($4.42 Billion), calling it inadequate and not in the best interests of their shareholders. The board launched a review of strategic alternatives to MEG's plan to become a separate company. Strathcona Resources, a Canadian oil and natural gas company, announced in May that it would launch a hostile bid to take over MEG Energy. Strathcona Resources valued MEG Energy's shares at C$23.27 each. MEG's closing price was C$25.71. MEG later advised its shareholders not to take any action regarding...

Intercontinental Exchange, parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced on Monday that it would list both on NYSE Texas. This will add to a long list of listings at the bourse in an effort to stay ahead of its competition. NYSE Texas opened its doors in March. It offers a new trading and listing venue for businesses attracted by Texas' business-friendly environment. According to ICE, in the first three month, 10 companies have listed both on the Dallas-based exchange. These include oilfield services company Halliburton and Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, as...

The wildfires in Canada's oil producing province of Alberta has reduced Canada's daily crude output by approximately 7%. The following is a list of oil production sites that have been affected so far. CENOVUS Energy - CHRISTINA LAKE SITE: On May 29, Cenovus began to shut down production of approximately 238,000 barrels a day at its Christina Lake facility south of Fort McMurray in Alberta. The company stated that it was not aware of any damages to its infrastructure, and anticipates a full site restart in the near future. CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES – JACKFISH LAKE: Canada’s largest oil-and-gas producer announced...

Calculations show that wildfires in Canada's oil producing province of Alberta affected the production of more than 344,000 barrels of oil sands per day, or approximately 7% of Canada's total crude oil output. Over the weekend, at least two thermal oil-sands producers south of Fort McMurray, the hub of the industry in Canada's north, evacuated their workers and shut down production. Canadian Natural Resources announced that it had evacuated its Jackfish 1 site and halted production of approximately 36,500 Bpd. Cenovus Energy announced that it had evacuated all non-essential staff from the Christina Lake oil sands facility and had shut...

Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen announced on Wednesday that the country will resume natural gas exports once its military deems it safe. The air battle between Israel & Iran is now in its sixth day. Since June 13, two of Israel's three natural gas fields, Leviathan operated by Chevron and Karish owned by Energean, off its Mediterranean coastline that provides the bulk of the exports to Egypt & Jordan have been closed. The older leaves are still in use Field used mostly for domestic supply. Cohen stated that he had been in touch with Egpyt, Jordan and Jordan regarding the...

After agreeing to the first reduction in output in 2022, OPEC+ producers have implemented three levels of cuts. Eight OPEC+ oil producers have begun to increase production this year and unwind the most recent tranche. Sources said that the 22-member OPEC+ group will meet online on Wednesday. This meeting is not expected change policy on output. Eight OPEC+ members plan to meet on Saturday and decide on a July production increase. Algeria, Iraq and Kuwait are the eight countries that have met earlier this year to discuss their production targets. They raised them by almost 1 million barrels a day...

A senior executive at Mubadala Energy said that the company would be happy to provide all of the natural gas produced in its South Andaman Block for Indonesian domestic consumption, and do so at the best possible price. Indonesia wants producers of gas to increase their supplies to domestic consumers as the demand is increasing. The producers have been focusing on exports of LNG and asked the government to revise price caps for domestic gas. They argue that it is not a good business decision when spot LNG prices are so high. Abdulla Bu Ali (President Director of Mubadala Energy...

ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance stated on Tuesday that U.S. shale production will plateau if oil prices stay where they are and will begin to decline when oil prices reach $50 per barrel. "The breakeven has probably not moved much." "I think that long-term if oil prices are in a range where they're comfortable - perhaps in the 70s or 65-75 - we will still see modest growth from the U.S.," Lance said, speaking at Qatar Economic Forum. We see a plateauing of production in the U.S. by the end of this year, unless we have a technological breakthrough. Don't bet...

The company announced on Tuesday that Alfred Stern, Chief Executive Officer of Austrian oil-and-gas group OMV, has decided to not run for reelection when his current term expires on August 31, 2026. Stern is CEO of the Vienna-based firm since September 2021. He previously ran the Borealis division, and tried to steer it away from fossil fuels toward sustainable fuels and chemical. In March, he oversaw the merging of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company with OMV's Polyolefin business, creating Borouge International, a chemical powerhouse with a $60 Billion enterprise value. The merger should be completed in the first quarter 2026....

The companies announced on Friday that North Sea oil producer EnQuest would not make an offering for UK-based Serica Energy as they could not reach an agreement on favorable terms in time due to market volatility. At 1623 GMT, EnQuest shares fell about 5% to 13.14 pence. Serica shares rose 0.3% to 127 pence. Serica announced in March that it was in discussions with EnQuest regarding a potential deal. The termination comes amid an economic wave of uncertainty caused by the sweeping tariffs that U.S. president Donald Trump has imposed around the world. Energy prices have been dragged down by...

Bloomberg News reported Monday that Woodside Energy was in discussions with an overseas division of Kuwait Petroleum about selling a stake in their Louisiana liquefied gas plant. The report was based on people familiar with the matter. Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration is also looking at securing LNG from the project. Other companies are interested in both LNG and equity, according to the report. Woodside Energy and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration did not respond immediately to comments. Woodside, Australia’s largest gas producer, agreed earlier this month to sell a 40 percent stake in its Louisiana Liquefied Natural Gas plant to U.S....

Executives at the CERAWeek Conference in Houston explained that artificial intelligence has accelerated oil and gas drilling, and prompted companies to reconsider areas they previously deemed too expensive or difficult to develop. AI was a major topic in several sessions of the largest energy conference. Oil producers are looking for ways to stay profitable amid a plummeting price of oil and concerns that U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs may slow down global energy demand. Ann Davies, BP’s senior vice-president of wells, revealed that the UK oil giant BP uses AI to predict problems and steer drill bits before they occur....

On Wednesday, Turkish Energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on the social media platform X that TPAO, Turkey's national oil company, had signed a joint-venture agreement with U.S. producer Continental Resources for the development of shale deposits in Diyarbakir Basin. This cooperation will contribute greatly to our goal to bring Turkiye’s oil and natural gas resources into our economy. "I hope that this agreement will benefit all parties, as it opens up a new phase in Turkiye's exploration," he wrote in the blog. The Turkish oil and gas industry is not very large. Continental Resources CEO Doug Lawler stated in an...

S&P Global Commodity Insights (Platts), a commodities reporting agency that provides information on commodity prices, stated Monday that the dated Brent crude oil market is working well since U.S. WTI was added to it. Further changes are not expected, Platts said. The first year that WTI Midland was included in the Brent benchmark date after its inclusion in the basket began in May 2023 due to falling North Sea production, was also the first year in which it was the first crude oil grade outside of the North Sea. Platts announced on Monday that Brent oil 2024 is a smooth...

The European Union has suspended sanctions against Syria, including those relating to energy, banking and transport, with immediate effect. The EU has implemented a number of sanctions against individuals and sectors in Syria. After the insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), an islamist group, ousted Bashar al Assad from his position as president in December, European leaders began to rethink their approach. On Monday, the EU Foreign Ministers met in Brussels and agreed to suspend sanctions against the oil, gas, and electricity sectors, as well as the transport sector. The Syrian Central Bank has also been exempted from restrictions...

According to a press release from the president's offices, Lebanon President Joseph Aoun told Qatari Premier Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday that he hoped TotalEnergies would soon resume oil exploration off the coasts of Lebanon. In 2023, the state-owned QatarEnergy will join France's TotalEnergies (ENI.MI), and Italy's Eni in a consortium of three to search for oil and natural gas in two marine blocks off Lebanon's coast. Two sources who were directly involved in the matter said that no hydrocarbons had been found after the exploratory drilling offshore in 2023. TotalEnergies didn't respond to a comment request...