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Bakken’s Breakeven
There has been much speculation as to the impact of recent price declines on future production and drilling activity. The answer appears to be “it depends”. In an opinion piece in “Rigzone”, author John Kemp makes his projections based on recent remarks by Lynn Helms, the Director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.… Read More
Recent Earthquakes in the Dallas Area: Fact vs. Fiction
There have been concerns that fracking in general, and injection wells for disposing of flowback fluids in particular, increase the probability of earthquakes in the Bakken shale (Dallas-Ft. Worth) area. This has led to a referendum and subsequent fracking ban in Denton, TX. Even the Texas Railroad Commission, while not subscribing to this theory, recently… Read More
Oil Rig Count Drops
The Baker Hughes oil rig count dropped for the fourth straight week according to “Rigzone”. In the week ending January 2, the count stood at 1,482, its lowest level since March. After a record high of 1,609 in mid-October, the number of rigs drilling for oil has dropped in 9 of the last 12 weeks.… Read More
Natural Gas Outlook
For a while it looked as though natural gas prices were immune to the precipitous price declines that have been ravaging oil. The good news is that domestic natural gas markets are less influenced by international geopolitical forces than oil. In fact, LNG imports are down, as are gas imports from Canada. Net gas exports… Read More
Exxon Sees Bright Future for Hydrocarbons
A recent “Rigzone” article summarized Exxon’s annual long-term energy forecast. The company predicts a positive outlook for hydrocarbons in general and for North America in particular. This is quite a reversal for a continent which once was a sponge that sucked up a large part of the world’s oil supply. Exxon predicts that by the… Read More
