Tokyo Gas Co. said its subsidiary Tokyo Gas America Ltd. will purchase Haynesville shale operator Rockcliff Energy II LLC for about $2.7 billion in a move to expand its U.S. shale gas operations.
Mergers in the U.S. shale patch have continued through the course of 2023 as companies jockey for assets that will fill in gaps in their acreage base. Two key basins have been the focus of much of this activity. I refer to the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford, each of which has attributes that draw the interested eyes of companies with strong balance sheets and cash to spend.
Concern about a seismic change in the U.S. shale industry with shareholder returns prioritized over spending on production has plagued analyst and banker circles for over a year.
Apache Corp, the independent hydrocarbon exploration and production subsidiary of US-based APA Corp, plans to invest about $1.4 billion in Egypt in 2024, local media reported.
Despite record U.S. oil production last year, output this year is set to decline, with the oil rig count dropping over the last three months. The U.S. saw increased activity in its oil and gas fields last year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and low OPEC oil output, which led President Biden to plead with domestic producers to boost their output, to tackle shortages and rising prices.
Earlier this month, a senior executive from Pioneer Natural Resources predicted higher oil prices later this year. Demand for crude was rising strongly, executive VP Beth McDonald told Reuters last week, but supply was playing catch-up and without much enthusiasm.
Crude oil production from Argentina’s burgeoning shale patch, Vaca Muerta, could surge in the coming years and top 1 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the decade – but only if takeaway capacity and rig availability do not limit growth.
The much-touted second shale boom has lately been getting a reality check as equipment demand declines sharply, a worrying sign that drilling in U.S. shale energy regions is leveling off.
Last December I published an article on Oilprice discussing why I thought land drilling contractors would start to rally after the first of the year.
After a decade of exponential growth, the U.S. shale patch is no longer the swing producer on the global markets. That role is now back in the hands of OPEC and its largest and most influential members in the Middle East, analysts and industry executives say.