Industry at a glance
Crude prices continued to rally in October, as OPEC+ could not increase production to the extent necessary to meet demand. Crude has soared 60% this year, with spot prices for WTI and Brent reaching $81.50/bbl and $83.54/bbl, respectively, in October. Price for HH natural gas climbed to $5.51/MMBtu. Despite higher oil prices, U.S. drillers continued to work down the DUC backlog, rather than ramping up drilling. In October, there were 5,104 DUCs in the U.S., 33% fewer than the year-ago tally of 7,558. However, U.S. drilling activity surged 6%, with an average of 538 rigs working in October, 30 more than in September. The largest gain was in Texas, which experienced an increase of 11 rigs to average 248 in October. International activity averaged 940 rigs in September, just seven more than in August.
- Management issues- Dallas Fed: Activity sees modest growth; outlook improves, but cost increases continue (October 2023)
- Industry at a glance (June 2023)
- Industry at a glance (May 2023)
- Management issues- Dallas Fed: Oil and gas expansion stalls amid surging costs and worsening outlooks (May 2023)
- Executive viewpoint (April 2023)
- Global offshore market is on the upswing (April 2023)
