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More Rigs, Less Gas
“Rigzone” reports that while the number of rigs looking for natural gas has nearly doubled since last August, actual natural gas production in the lower 49 states has dropped by 1.1%. High inventories as a result of an unseasonably warm winter, steep decline curves for major gas fields, and gun shy operators have all led… Read More
Ethane Epiphany
Ethane has always been the orphan hydrocarbon for the oil and gas industry. It is too energy intensive for transport in natural gas pipelines to end users. However, it is too volatile to be safely transported with heavier natural gas liquids (NGLs) to markets either. Ironically it is a valuable feedstock for petrochemical plants which… Read More
Running Out of Runway
Last year OPEC, Russia, and 10 other non-OPEC producing nations agreed to cut back production, effective January 1, 2017. The express purpose was to bring down global crude oil inventories to the 5 year average level. The unstated, but real, purpose was to restore oil prices. The original agreement was to stay in effect for… Read More
The Long Road to Rebalancing
“Oil Voice” recently featured an article by Art Berman entitled “OPEC Production Cuts and The Long Road to Market Balance”. Berman makes a convincing case for how far the international oil market is from equilibrium. Thus far, OPEC and its collaborators have been surprisingly conscientious in adhering to production quotas and have removed approximately 1.8… Read More
M&A Record
“Rigone” reports that a study by PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) found that oil field M&A (Merger and Acquisition) activity reached a record level in the first quarter of 2017. Driven by Donald Trump’s agenda, an agreement by OPEC and other producing nations to cut back on production, and relative price stability, 53 deals were transacted… Read More
