US Shale Firms Cut CapEx, Up Production

Laxman Pai
Sunday, March 3, 2019

U.S. shale energy companies are cutting their spending levels in 2019, but they're still planning on increased oil and gas output.

"US shale companies expect to deliver an average of 15% growth in oil production in 2019 vs. 2018. At the same time, operators say they will cut capital spending by 5% this year," said an analysis from Rystad Energy.

The  energy research and business intelligence company has analyzed the recently released earnings reports for the fourth quarter of 2018 from 45 US operators, which also included their guidance for production and capital expenditure in the year ahead.

“Earnings and guidance confirm that most US shale operators aim to moderate drilling and completion activity this year, prioritizing cost discipline over aggressive growth,” said Rystad Energy partner Artem Abramov.

The numbers look different if planned 2019 oil production is compared to the reported oil rate in the fourth quarter of 2018. On average, exit-2018 production rates for US onshore focused companies was significantly higher than average for the whole year.

“On average ‘only’ 5% growth in oil volumes is expected throughout 2019, as just a handful of shale operators anticipate double-digit oil production additions versus the last quarter of 2018. In fact, a number of shale players estimate a decrease in oil output versus 4Q 2018,” Abramov added.

Still, 5% growth for full year 2019 versus the fourth quarter of 2018 means 10% growth between the fourth quarter of 2018 and the fourth quarter of 2019.

“If this growth rate is representative for the entire 9.5 million barrels per day oil output currently achieved in the lower 48 states excluding Gulf of Mexico, we are then talking about nearly 1 million barrels per day of oil production growth from the US,” Abramov remarked.

Categories: Shale Oil & Gas North America Shale

Related Stories

Sapura Energy Scoops Close to $9M for O&M Work off Malaysia

INEOS Wraps Up Acquisition of CNOOC’s US Oil and Gas Assets

Cairn India Might Invest in US Oil Servicing Firms to Increase Production

Marine Masters Secures Wellhead Platforms Installation Job Off India

Tokyo Gas Enters LNG Market in Philippines

ADNOC Secures LNG Supply Deal with India's BPCL

VIDEO: AIRCAT Crewliner takes Shape to Service Offshore for TotalEnergies Angola

AIRCAT 35 Crewliner Vessels Delivered to Service TotalEnergies Angola

Vestas Lands First 15MW Offshore Wind Turbine Order in Asia Pacific

Shell Shuts Down Oil Processing Unit in Singapore Due to Suspected Leak

Current News

Shell-Reliance-ONGC JV Complete India’s First Offshore Decom Project

The Future of Long-Idle Drillships: Cold-Stacked or Dead-Stacked?

TMC Books Compressors Orders for FPSO and LNG Vessels

MODEC, Sumitomo Partner Up for Delivery of Gato do Mato FPSO

Chuditch Gas Field Up for Summer Drilling Ops as Sunda Reshapes Ownership Structure

EnQuest Bags Two Production Sharing Contracts off Indonesia

Hanwha Drilling’s Tidal Action Drillship En Route to Petrobras’ Roncador Field

China's ENN, Zhenhua Oil Ink LNG Supply Deals with ADNOC

MODEC Wins ExxonMobil Guyana’s Hammerhead FPSO Contract

India Stretches Bids Deadline for 13 Offshore Deep-Sea Mineral Blocks

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com