Latest facts and a rumor from the Marcellus, Utica, and Permian, Eagle Ford Plays
This Oil Boom Is Different. America is going through an oil boom – and this time it’s different. NPR. America’s oil industry is booming – in a surprising way. It doesn’t look much like the booms of the past, when companies would scramble to pump as much oil as possible and the region would attract so many workers it became impossible to find housing and free hotel rooms. Instead, a sector infamous for its booms and busts is finally learning how to embrace the one thing they’ve never been known for: moderation. This shift is doing a lot of good in the Permian, America’s most prolific oil basin. Oil companies are raking in profits, and the steadier work has also been good for workers across the region.
Oil Demand Is Rising; Supply Growth Limited. Oil supply growth still limited as demand rises, US shale executive says. Reuters. Global demand for crude oil is continuing to rise but supply growth remains limited, which will lead to higher prices later this year, said an executive at Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N), the third-largest producer in the top U.S. shale basin. The U.S. oil industry’s output has been capped by higher labor and materials costs that have squeezed profit margins and investor demands to limit spending, Pioneer Executive Vice President Beth McDonald said on Thursday in an interview at the RBN Energy crude export conference in Houston. Global oil futures were trading on Thursday at about $76.50 per barrel after the OPEC+ group of major oil producers agreed on Sunday to maintain existing production cuts through the end of 2024 and Saudi Arabia said it would cut 1 million barrels from its June output.
US Crude Exports Gain on Saudi Cuts. US crude oil exports to gain tail winds from Saudi July output cut. Hellenic Shipping News. U.S. crude oil exports, already running close to a record level hit in March, should get a further boost next month from deep production cuts in Saudi Arabia, analysts said on Monday, noting that this will also further deplete U.S. crude inventories, which have been hovering near historic lows. Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of oil producer group OPEC, said on Sunday it would drop its production by about 10%, or 1 million barrels per day (bpd), to 9 million bpd in July. It said it might sustain the cut to support oil prices that have dropped due to worries about a potential economic recession.
Saudi Cut – Higher US Gas Prices. Saudi Arabia is slashing oil supply. It could mean higher gas prices for US drivers. NBC 5. Saudi Arabia will reduce how much oil it sends to the global economy, taking a unilateral step to prop up the sagging price of crude after two previous cuts to supply by major producing countries in the OPEC+ alliance failed to push oil higher. The Saudi cut of 1 million barrels per day, to start in July, comes as the other OPEC+ producers agreed in a meeting in Vienna to extend earlier production cuts through next year. Calling the reduction a “lollipop,” Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said at a news conference that “we wanted to ice the cake.” He said the cut could be extended and that the group “will do whatever is necessary to bring stability to this market.”
NatGas Prices to Rise This Summer. Natural gas prices to rise this summer on higher electric demand, flat production, EIA says. NGI. Natural gas prices will rise this summer as power sector demand increases and production growth slows, according to updated projections from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). After averaging $2.15/MMBtu in May, Henry Hub spot prices will climb to an average of slightly above $2.60 for 3Q2023, EIA said in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), published Tuesday. Rising demand for natural gas in electricity generation and flattening production growth will see storage injections lag the five-year average pace in the coming months, according to the STEO. “The Henry Hub spot price averages around $3.40/MMBtu in 2024 in our forecast, nearly 30% higher than in 2023,” researchers said.
Williams CEO “More Gas Infrastructure Needed NOW!” Slow pace of US gas infrastructure buildout is ‘recipe for disaster’: Williams CEO. S&P Global. The need for new US natural gas transmission and storage capacity may be outstripping the buildout of physical assets as growing renewable power generation increases peak gas demand, Williams President and CEO Alan Armstrong warned. The buildout of natural gas infrastructure has not kept pace with rising demand for the commodity, Armstrong said at the Reuters Global Energy Transition conference in New York City. Including exports, demand for US gas increased 56% from 2010 to 2022, according to Williams, citing data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Meanwhile, US pipeline capacity grew by 27%, and the nation’s storage delivery capacity increased by 12%, according to an analysis of US Energy Information Administration data by the pipeline company.
Chevron NatGas Is More Than Transitional. Chevron says natural gas is more than just a transitional fuel. Bloomberg. Chevron Corp. said natural gas will play a long-term role in curbing climate-damaging emissions, bucking some environmental groups that see the fuel’s role as a temporary bridge to a low-carbon economy. To that end, European buyers are signing more gas-delivery contracts of a decade or more in duration as they seek replacement sources of the heating and power-plant fuel formerly supplied by Russia, said Colin Parfitt, Chevron’s vice president of midstream.
Gas Stoves Bills Blocked. Conservatives block debate on regulation, gas stove bills. E&E News. House conservatives blocked debate on legislation against gas stove rules Tuesday afternoon in protest of their leadership team. The House voted down 206-220 the debate parameters for four bills: two against gas stove regulations and another two to limit the administration’s rulemaking power. Twelve Republicans voted with Democrats against proceeding to the measures. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined them so he could eventually move for the chamber to reconsider.
New NatGas Power Plant in Guernsey County OH. A new natural gas-fired power plant has entered commercial operation in Ohio. The 1,875-MW Guernsey Power Station, in Guernsey County in southeastern Ohio, is sourcing gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, two of the most-prolific natural gas production areas in the U.S.
GE Vernova’s Gas Power division on June 7 said the plant is powered by GE’s HA Class turbine technology. The company touts the $1.7 billion Guernsey facility as the latest gas-fired plant replacing coal-fired generation in the PJM regional transmission organization territory, which covers all or part of 13 states, including Ohio, and the District of Columbia. Construction of the plant began in 2019.
PJM officials in a recent report, titled “Energy Transition in PJM: Resource Retirements, Replacements & Risks,” said the retirement of coal-fired generation in that market could outpace new power generation resources. The grid operator said the expected increase in power demand in the region could create concerns about resource adequacy and grid stability across PJM, meaning more baseload power sources are expected to be needed.
NY Plant Closures Threatened the Grid. N.Y. officials warn ‘peaker’ plant closures threaten grid. E&E News. New York’s grid operator is warning that the state may need to delay closures of high-polluting fossil fuel plants slated for 2025 as electric vehicle use grows and more heat pumps are installed in buildings. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which issued the warning in its annual state-of-the-grid report Wednesday, concluded that fossil fuel retirements are outpacing the emergence of renewables. The dynamic is starting to erode reliability across the state’s grid, especially in the New York City area, it said. To date, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has shuttered 950 megawatts of fossil fuel “peaker” plants, which mainly run on natural gas, in environmental justice areas identified by state officials, according to NYISO.
Navajo Leaders Criticize Permian Oil and Gas Ban. ‘A breach of trust’: Navajo leaders criticize federal ban on oil, gas drilling near tribal sites. KSL.com. Navajo Nation leaders have again come out in opposition to a federal decision to ban oil and gas drilling on lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historic Park in northwestern New Mexico. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and Speaker Crystalyne Curley released a joint statement condemning the decision and urging President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to reconsider what they called “a breach of trust.” The statement comes a few weeks after Navajo Nation lawmakers passed legislation opposing such a ban. “The decision is unjust and may violate individual landowner rights (Navajo allottees),” the statement reads. “President Nygren respectfully requests the Biden administration work toward a solution that respects the rights and dignity of the Navajo people due to the long-lasting consequences to the Navajo people.”
PA Permits May 29, to June 8, 2023
County Township E&P Companies
1. Bradford Asylum Chesapeake
2. Bradford Asylum Chesapeake
3. Bradford Asylum Chesapeake
4. Greene Wayne EQT
5. Greene Wayne EQT
6. Greene Wayne EQT
7. Greene Wayne EQT
8. Greene Wayne EQT
9. Greene Wayne EQT
10. Greene Wayne EQT
11. Washington Buffalo Range
12. Washington Buffalo Range
13. Washington Buffalo Range
OH Permits May 28, to June 3, 2023
County Township E&P Companies
1. Belmont Rich Ascent
2. Belmont Rich Ascent
3. Guernsey Londonderry Ascent
4. Guernsey Londonderry Ascent
5. Guernsey Oxford SWN
6. Guernsey Oxford SW
WV Permits May 29, to June 2, 2023
1. Ritchie Antero
2. Ritchie Antero
3. Ritchie Antero
4. Ritchie Antero
5. Ritchie Antero
6. Ritchie Antero
7. Tyler Antero
8. Tyler Antero
9. Tyler Antero
10. Tyler Antero
11. Tyler Antero
12. Tyler Antero
