Monthly Archives: August 2017

What Will Happen to Experienced Oil, Gas Workers?

Nearly one-third of respondents to Rigzone’s worker exodus survey are highly experienced (having more than 20 years of oil and gas experience). This group of industry professionals has been quite vocal about how they feel about leaving the industry – either voluntarily or involuntarily. Some have decided to leave the industry due to disappointing job… Read more »

Oil Falls by Most in Five Weeks Amid Fear of Chinese Demand Drop

(Bloomberg) — Oil tumbled by the most in more than five weeks as fears of falling oil demand in China overshadowed news that Libya’s crude supply was disrupted. Futures fell 2.5 percent in New York. China’s oil refining dropped the most in three years in July, while crude output retreated from the highest this year. Libya’s biggest… Read more »

OPEC’s Long-Sought Success Spoiled by 2018 Oil Supply Worry

(Bloomberg) — Oil investors are already worrying over the potential fallout when OPEC’s deal to cut output expires, marring emerging signs that the accord to shrink a glut is finally succeeding. Uncertainty about how supplies curbed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will be returned to the market in 2018 is… Read more »

America’s Shale Natural Gas Production Is Taking Off – Sort Of

(Bloomberg) — America’s shale gas production is about to surge 12 percent. Sort of. The Energy Department issued a report Monday estimating that the nation’s prolific shale formations will yield 59.4 billion cubic feet a day in September, a massive jump from the roughly 53 billion projected for August. The difference: The agency began including the… Read more »

Venezuela Rebellion Could Send Oil To $80

Venezuela’s deteriorating crisis is “going to be the biggest geopolitical story to watch in the oil markets,” according to Helima Croft of RBC Capital Markets. The economic, political and security situation in Venezuela has been frightening for quite a while, but things continue to grow worse. The new “constituent assembly,” put together to rewrite the… Read more »

Saudi Oil Minister Just Did Something He Has Never Done Before

Gauging market sentiment before the 2018 Saudi Aramco IPO led Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih to personally meet with top hedge fund managers, according to a new report by Bloomberg. Riyadh has long considered hedge funds to be unhelpful speculators, so the sudden interest in their opinions seems abrupt. Anonymous sources who spoke to Bloomberg on… Read more »

Keystone Foes Duck Climate in Red State Oil Pipeline Battle

(Bloomberg) — You won’t hear the C-word coming from Keystone XL foes as they argue against TransCanada Corp.’s push to get the final state approval needed to build the pipeline. C, as in climate. Instead, even as the company seeks to limit objections, they’re spotlighting TransCanada’s use of eminent domain, which Republicans traditionally oppose in… Read more »

Kemp: Macroeconomic Risks For The Oil Industry

LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – The global oil industry now appears to be in the early stages of a cyclical expansion which is likely to see prices rise over the next few years, slowly at first but then accelerating later. Deep and long cycles in oil prices have been the defining characteristic of the industry… Read more »

Big Oil Seen Vulnerable to Fresh Slump Despite Growth at $50

(Bloomberg) — Europe’s oil industry is once again generating cash even as crude languishes at half the price of three years ago. Yet companies remain vulnerable to a renewed downturn. The region’s top three — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and  BP Plc — can now cover spending from cash flow with oil at $50… Read more »

Who Are the Oil, Gas Industry’s Departed Workers?

Just as the tally on global oil and gas layoffs due to the industry downturn surpassed the 440,000 mark, Rigzone was hard at work developing a plan to reach those who had left the industry. With oil prices plummeting to historic lows in February 2016 and drilling activity stalled, many oil and gas professionals were… Read more »