Our Blog
Oil Rig Count Continues to Slide
“World Oil” reports that the domestic oil rig count dropped for the 14’th straight week, the biggest retrenchment on record. The decrease of 56, down to 866, is the lowest level in almost four years. The crude oil price collapse has resulted in billions of dollars of reductions in energy investment, and the loss of… Read More
No Relief in Sight
Looking at recent articles in “World Oil” there appears to be scant hope of any crude oil price relief in the near future. Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, Qatar’s former energy minister, has indicated that OPEC will not change its policy of maintaining market share at the expense of crude prices. OPEC is not scheduled to… Read More
Consolidation
As soon as it became apparent that the crude oil price collapse was not a temporary phenomenon, many industry observers predicted an industry consolidation. One need look no further than yesterday’s on-line edition of “World Oil” for proof that it is underway. Whiting Petroleum Corp, the largest operator in the Bakken shale in North Dakota,… Read More
Jokers in the Deck
Given the large sums of money involved in energy investments, a great deal of analysis goes into making these decisions. A major step in this process is projecting what can be expected in the future. Forecasts are based on assumptions which might be a result of what has happened in the past, and if the… Read More
Conoco’s Perspective
A recent article in “Rigzone” summarized the remarks of Marianne Kah, Chief Economist at ConocoPhillips, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Houston last week. Slow economic growth, especially in China, a warm start to this winter, increased shale production, Libya’s return to the market, and OPEC’s refusal to act as swing producer, all contributed to… Read More
