Permian Basin Pivot: Drilling Slowdown Spurs Operators to Eye Natural Gas

Permian Basin pivot: drilling slowdown spurs operators to eye natural gas

ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) - The number of active oil rigs across the United States has dipped to 537, down two from last week and 48 fewer than this time last year, when the count stood at 585. Texas currently reports 255 active rigs, a slight decrease of one from the previous week. In the Permian Basin, which spans West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the rig count remains steady at 265. That’s unchanged from last week but down from 305 rigs…

Shale Sputters as Oil Slides Into Profit Danger Zone

U.S. shale drillers are scaling back as crude prices drift into the red zone for profitability, according to Quantum Capital Group’s Dwight Scott. With West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hovering near $65, private operators are seeing diminishing returns on new drilling activity. “In the mid-$60s, you get dangerously close to where oil prices don’t really drive appropriate returns for new drilling,” Scott said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Wednesday…

Oil Prices in Mid-$60s Is Profit Red Zone, Quantum Capital Says

Activity is slowing in US oil fields as drillers remain in the crude-price danger zone for profits, according to one of the biggest investors of private operators in the shale patch.