Industry Trends ///
David Blackmon, Contributing Editor
A stark reality faces the U.S. oil and gas industry in the 2020 elections
Under the terms of the agreement, U.S. energy exports to China will jump over the next two years, with the promise of an additional $18.5 billion worth of additional purchases in 2020 and $33.9 billion in 2021.
OPEC’s latest forecasts suggested a weaker outlook for global oil markets this year as surging supplies from competitors from Norway to Guyana threaten the group’s efforts to defend crude prices.
U.S. oil output growth could decelerate by more than 50% next year as greater capital discipline cuts drilling rigs in America’s largest shale patch.
While trade pacts traditionally set the rules and leave the details of actual commerce to markets, the one that Trump’s team has negotiated includes a classified annex that details $200 billion in Chinese purchasing categories.
New York said it won’t appeal a ruling by a judge who last month rejected the state’s claim that Exxon Mobil Corp. misled investors for years about the energy company’s internal planning for risks linked to climate change.
This is the year when shale drillers are finally going to deliver solid returns to investors that have grown weary of the industry’s decade-long cash burn, the head of Parsley Energy said.
Cenovus Energy Inc. joined some of its oil-sands peers in setting a goal of reaching net-zero emissions from its operations, part of a push to improve the industry’s reputation and win over environmentally minded investors.
China said it will open up oil and gas exploration to private and foreign firms, offering further details of a policy that will help assuage concerns over access to the industry ahead of next week’s signing of an interim trade deal with the U.S.
The oil industry’s top lobbying group on Tuesday is launching a campaign to counter attacks from 2020 Democratic hopefuls vowing to phase out fossil fuels.
Oil buyers in Asia are increasingly wary that Iraq’s entanglement in the worsening dispute between the U.S. and Iran could disrupt shipments from one of their key Middle East suppliers.
Futures jumped by another 1.4% on Monday as the U.S. State Department warned of a “heightened risk” of missile attacks near military bases and energy facilities in Saudi Arabia.
In 2050, Equinor expects Norwegian oil and gas production to be less than half of current levels, assuming development of defined projects and substantial efforts to increase production from existing fields and continued exploration.
“We should all be bracing for a ferocious response,” said Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets. “The stage is set for a retaliatory spiral that could keep markets on edge well into 2020.”
The contraction of the oil and gas industry in and around Texas continued in the fourth quarter as shale producers cut back on spending and jobs, the latest survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed.
If 2019 was the year when a clutch of Middle East markets burst into the mainstream, then 2020 will test whether the foreign money keeps flooding in.
This year has been one of moderate gains for the price of oil, but it has been bleak for producers.
Global oil markets notched up a number of milestones this year that echoed the story of the past decade: the world has shifted from an era of supply tightness to plenty.
The emissions-reduction commitment is part of the company’s thought leadership and focus on environmental and social sustainability through its Global Stewardship program.
Wildcatter and Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm invited Elizabeth Warren to the Oklahoma oil patch as the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate proposes a ban on fracing if elected.