Saudi Arabia has directed national oil company Aramco to cut its crude oil production for June by an extra voluntary amount of 1 million barrels per day, on top of a reduction already committed by the kingdom under the OPEC+ cut deal, a Saudi energy ministry official said on Monday. "This brings the total production cut that will be carried out by the Kingdom, to around 4.8 million barrels per day, from the April production level," the official said. "Therefore, the Kingdom's production [Read more]
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Debt-stricken Chesapeake Energy to advance incentive executive pay
Chesapeake Energy Corp said it would prepay a total of $25 million in incentive compensation to 21 top executives to ensure they are motivated, even as it prepares to file for bankruptcy protection to tackle its nearly $9 billion debt pile. The Oklahoma City-based company, co-founded by late wildcatter and outspoken natural gas proponent Aubrey McClendon, has been struggling with an unprecedented rout in oil and gas prices, as the coronavirus-driven economic downturn saps energy demand. [Read more]
Work-from-home success changing Calgary office use assumptions, CEOs say
CALGARY - Work-from-home measures taken to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic are challenging long-held assumptions about how Canada's oil and gas sector should provide and care for its office workers. The ramifications as downtown offices reopen in Calgary could mean fewer face-to-face meetings, less travel, more flexibility for workers in where, when and how they work and, ultimately, lower leasing bills, CEOs say. "There's been a lot of learnings from this working from home, [Read more]
Delphi Energy Corp. provides update on CCAA proceedings and operations update
CALGARY, Alberta- Delphi Energy Corp. (“Delphi” or the “Company”) announces that it has obtained an order from the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (the “Court”) granted in Delphi’s proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the “CCAA”) extending the stay period provided by the amended and restated initial order to May 22, 2020. Delphi reports that Luminus Energy IE Designated Activity Company, an affiliate of a pooled investment vehicle of Luminus Management, LLC (“Luminus”), [Read more]
Heavy discount narrows to 11-year low on production cuts
Canadian heavy crude's discount versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed on Friday to an 11-year low. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $3.50 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, narrower than Thursday's settle of $5.25 under. The intraday price is the lowest level recorded by NE2 in data that goes back to 2009. Supply cuts by Canadian producers are estimated by Canadian Natural Resources [Read more]
Return Energy Inc. (to be renamed Spartan Delta Corp.) announces court approval of its transformational acquisition
CALGARY, Alberta - Return Energy Inc. d.b.a. Spartan Delta Corp. ("Spartan" or the "Company") (RTN: TSXV) is pleased to announce that its previously announced acquisition (the "Acquisition") of substantially all of the assets of Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. ("Bellatrix") has been approved by the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (the "CCAA Court") under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada). The CCAA Court has granted Bellatrix an Approval and Vesting Order (the "Approval Order") in [Read more]
Canada weekly rig count down 1 to 26
Canada’s fleet of active drilling rigs shrank from 27 to 26 since last week according to data from Baker Hughes. Total drilling count was 30 at May 8th. 7 rigs were drilling for oil; 19 for natural gas. The drilling activity in Alberta fell from 16 to 15 since last week. Saskatchewan’s drilling remained at 2 rigs. View a full breakdown of Western Canada’s rig activity. [Read more]
U.S. drillers cut oil & gas rigs to historic low
The number of operating oil and natural gas rigs fell to an all-time low - reflecting data going back 80 years - as the energy industry slashes output and spending to deal with the coronavirus-led crash in fuel demand. The rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by 34 to a record low of 374 in the week to May 8, according to data on Friday from energy services firm Baker Hughes Co going back to 1940. The prior all-time low was 404 rigs in May 2016. Fuel demand has declined [Read more]
Three Enbridge pipelines shut after Kentucky natgas line fire
Three of Enbridge's pipelines were shut following a fire on the company's Line 10 segment of its Texas Eastern Natural Gas System, in Fleming County, Kentucky on May 4, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said on Friday. The company said on Thursday there was no estimated timeline to return its Line 10 to service. The PHMSA has deployed an investigator to the site of the incident, a PHMSA spokesperson said. No injuries were reported in the fire, which [Read more]
Oil rises as coronavirus curbs ease, setting stage for demand boost
Oil prices gained on Friday as more countries began relaxing restrictions put in place to halt the coronavirus pandemic, raising hopes that demand for crude and its products will start to pick up. U.S. oil gained 45 cents, or 1.9%, to $25.37 a barrel, after a decline of nearly 2% in the previous session. Brent crude was up by 42 cents, or 1.4%, at $29.88 a barrel by 0447 GMT, having fallen nearly 1% on Thursday. Both contracts are heading for a second week of gains after the lows of [Read more]