Page 8 - NorthAmOil Week 48 2020

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coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and said report estimated resources at more than 4bn
that the partners “remained committed through- barrels.
out to completing its exploratory commitments
in full, despite operational activities in Guyana If you’d like to read more about the key events
being severely affected for much of 2020.” shaping the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then
please click here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor .
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
the Latin American oil and gas sector then please click NorthAmOil: Shale producers shift focus
here for NewsBase’s LatAmOil Monitor . US shale producers are reported to be turning
their attention to natural gas amid projections
MEOG: Gulf upstream uptick that gas prices will rise higher than oil prices.
A string of announcements last week show that (See: Shale producers pivot towards gas, page 9)
operators are returning to action across the Mid- This comes as OPEC meets this week, amid jit- These gas wells,
dle East despite uncertainty about the future of ters over the impact any rise in global production
the OPEC+ agreement. could have on crude prices. targeting the
Maintaining the momentum following the Earlier this month, EOG Resources, one of
usual post-ADIPEC flurry, Abu Dhabi National the US’ largest shale producers, said in Novem- Eagle Ford and
Oil Co. (ADNOC) announced that it had agreed ber that it would start selling gas from 15 new
a $519mn extension to the world’s largest ever wells next year from a newly discovered field in Austin Chalk
seismic survey, currently being carried out by Texas holding 21 trillion cubic feet (595bn cubic plays, are
Chinese firm BGP. The survey, which is being metres) of gas.
shot both onshore and offshore, will now cover These gas wells, targeting the Eagle Ford and reported to be as
around 82,000 square km, with ADNOC look- Austin Chalk plays, are reported to be as profita-
ing to continue its prolific exploration form ble as the company’s best oil wells. profitable as the
following the previous week’s discovery of 24bn Also in November, Apache said it planned
barrels of oil. to complete three Texas wells after boosting its company’s best
In Iraqi Kurdistan, London-listed Genel third-quarter US gas production by 15% over oil wells.
Energy announced first oil from its Sarta field, the second quarter and 6% over the same period
with an expansion planned for early 2021. of 2019, and Continental Resources recently
Despite having been delayed because of issues shifted drilling rigs to gas from oil in Oklahoma.
related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan- Both US oil and gas rig counts have been ris-
demic, first oil comes less than two years after ing in recent weeks after bottoming out over the
the company acquired its 30% working interest summer. Country-wide gas rig counts are up 13%
from Chevron. Elsewhere in the semi-autono- since July, and over that period the number of
mous region, Russia’s Gazprom Neft reached active rigs has increased 25% in the Haynesville
total cumulative production of 32mn barrels shale and 8% in the Marcellus – both gas plays.
from its Sarqala field, where output is anticipated Part of the reason US gas prices are improv-
to increase to 32,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the ing is that associated production of natural gas
first half of 2021. from oil-rich regions has fallen as shale drillers
Meanwhile, drilling work is set to resume scaled back activity earlier this year. Indeed, the
offshore Oman this month, with Masirah Oil US Energy Information Administration (EIA)
Ltd acquiring a jack-up from Shelf Drilling to projected in mid-November that nationwide
further develop the Yumna oilfield and explore gas production would contract again in both
the wider potential of Block 50, where a previous November and December.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 48 03•December•2020