Quarterly Reports

Managed Recovery

Payne Institute Fellow Brad Handler has prepared a quarterly report on how the U.S. public oil and natural gas ( O&G) extraction companies continue to focus on spending less, through a combination of realizing efficiencies and growing more slowly. Consistent with this, more O&G companies are making specific commitments to use their profits to pay dividends to shareholders ( and to lowering carbon emissions) in an effort to “win back” investors. The future for the U.S O&G industry appears likely to include higher productivity, propelling further recovery in produced volumes but using fewer workers and concentrating in the most prolific basins. June 21, 2021.

U.S. OIL & GAS companies settle in to more conservative approach 3/22/2021

U.S. OIL & GAS companies settle in to more conservative approach

Payne Institute Fellow Brad Handler has prepared a quarterly report on the upstream U.S. onshore oil & gas extraction activity and how the prevailing message from publicly-traded (i.e. generally larger) oil companies is that activity (and thus employment) recovery in the U.S. is to be subdued. Publicly-traded oil companies are setting up to be more conservative for multiple years with respect to spending as they seek to win back the confidence of investors and other capital providers. March 22, 2021.

Oil & Gas Prepares for a Constrained Future – U.S. Oil & Gas Extraction Briefing – Third Quarter, 2020

Oil & Gas Prepares for a Constrained Future

Payne Institute Fellow Brad Handler has prepared a quarterly report on the upstream U.S. Oil and Gas (O&G) industry and how it is preparing to spend less annually in 2021 and 2022 than it did in 2017-19. Instead, companies in this sector are focusing on improving financial returns, strengthening financial condition and returning cash to investors. This translates to the companies: 1) targeting only their “best” opportunities, 2) seeking more cost and operating efficiencies, 3) continuing to lay off staff and to some degree 4) pursuing mergers. The emphasis on cost efficiency portends an even greater shift in relative activity to the Permian basin, including the less developed but prolific Delaware play. The third quarter of 2020 (3Q20) saw the industry begin to resume investment after significant curtailments in 2Q20. December 18, 2020.

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DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, viewpoints, or official policies of the Payne Institute or Colorado School of Mines.