Shale Oil

According to Rystad Energy, the 3Q reinvestment rate among 21 public US shale oil producers, excluding majors, fell to an all-time low of 46%, down from 53% in 3Q 2020, despite oil demand and prices continuing to rise.

The Chairman of Colorado-based shale driller Civitas Resources Inc. Ben Dell said that it has purchased carbon offsets that cover 1MM mt/y of carbon emissions from the company's oilfield operations and power and heat use, or so-called Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Despite the ongoing rise in oil demand and prices, independent US shale producers are continuing to maintain capital spending discipline and focus on returning cash to shareholders, minimizing the ongoing rise in US shale output, despite calls from countries around the globe for more crude to be added to the market to meet growing demand.

Amid the ongoing rise in oil prices and demand, output from US shale plays is again on the rise.

Bahrain's Oil and Gas Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Khalifa said on Oct. 19 that the country remains on pace to bring online its offshore shale reserves located in the extensive Khalij al-Bahrain reservoir off its west coast by around 2023.

As part of the plan to boost domestic oil and gas output, executives with CNPC subsidiary PetroChina told Reuters that the company plans to begin producing oil from the shale formations in the Gulong area in its major Daqing oilfield cluster (which is estimated to hold 9.8B bbl of oil) in 2025.

In a statement issued on Sept. 20, ConocoPhillips (COP) announced that it had agreed to acquire Royal Dutch Shell's shale assets in the Permian Basin for $9.5B in cash.

According to the EIA, oil output from the seven major US shale plays will rise by about 66K b/d next month to 8.1MM b/d, as drilling activity across the major US shale formations continues to rise amid increasing oil demand and prices.

After a "blockbuster" level of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity within the US shale patch last quarter totaling $33B worth of deals, M&A activity within the US shale patch is said to have "slowed to a trickle" this quarter due to volatility returning to oil markets on the Delta coronavirus variant combined with uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's future policy course.

Despite US shale producers continuing to keep spending subdued despite rising oil demand and prices, shale output is on the rise as well productivity gains deliver more supply from less investment.