Drilling is down but Production levels are up

Working oil rigs fell by 20 this week to 805, according to data released Friday by oilfield-services provider Baker Hughes. Companies have boosted activity just twice in the past 10 weeks. – https://www.bloomberg.com

Investors are more focused on capital returns rather than rapid growth from the oil industry during this boom. this new trend has forced oil companies to cut-back on drilling activities and have maintained a prioritization of cash flows and less focus on growth.

Crude production inched 100,000 barrels higher, back to its record high at 12.2 million bpd, the data showed – according to the Energy Information Administration.

Production levels in Colorado, Oklahoma, and North Dakota each grew by more than 95,000 b/d from 2017 to 2018. In Colorado and North Dakota, this increase was enough to set new record production levels for the year. Production increases in Colorado were driven by the Niobrara shale formation, while continued production in the Bakken region drove increases in North Dakota. Oklahoma’s crude oil production has yet to surpass its record level of 632,000 b/d set in 1967.

 

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