In a future defined by shareholder return and climate change initiatives, the historical relationship between oil price, capex and rig count is no longer relevant. How might activity improve if oil prices continue to recover? Richard and John address these and other topics including:
What will be the first sign that oilfield investment is stabilizing?
What is the “new normal” for the number of drilled-but-uncompleted wells in a sub-300 rig count market? How large is the excess backlog of DUCs, and will this drive a recovery in frack activity before drilling activity improves? Richard and John address these questions and other topics including:
The factors that could delay working down the DUC inventory
How soon/how much completion activity might improve this year
What types of companies benefit as the frac market recovers
Some oil companies have recently adopted the goal of reaching “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050. John and Richard discuss when the net-zero target might start to affect decisions as to what types of exploration opportunities to pursue, given the timeline for discovery and development. Other topics include:
A brief history of the concept of zero
Exploratory activity has been hit hard by low commodity prices, but Richard and John make the case that it could stage a surprisingly strong recovery. Topics addressed include:
Stranded assets versus profitable production
Oil versus gas exploration
R&D implicatio
Richard and John discuss the key dates in 2020 for decisions that will set the course for oilfield activity in the US, Canada and the Middle East in 2021.
John and Richard are back with another set of lightning round questions about the oilpatch. Let the fun begin!
In the spirit of Saturday’s virtual Kentucky Derby, Richard and John call the action at the 2020 virtual Offshore Technology Conference with commentary on:
What’s the attendance?
How are the exhibitors doing?
What are the odds for next year’s OTC?
Richard and John look outside the oilpatch to examples of surviving unprecedented events and overcoming challenging tasks as lessons for today’s oil industry.
Richard and John discuss what the current $16 price differential between WTI and Brent is telling us about the current oil market, and what the current $17 price differential between the May and July futures prices is telling us about the future oil market. Other topics addressed include:
How much oil is exported on a global basis?
How much US production is likely to be shut-in?
What type of US production will first come back into the market?
Ernest Hemingway and Charles Mackay
Richard and John address the successes and failures of yesterday’s production cutback agreement involving OPEC and other major oil-producing nations. In addition, they discuss the possibility that US E&P activity will pivot toward natural gas in the near future.
