All eyes are on the OPEC and Non-OPEC meetings in Vienna where many expect a bump in production to emerge. As the meetings get started, Iran reportedly said it would not support a compromise that would result in even a modest output increase, even though OPEC members have been discussing a 600,000 barrel-a-day hike, according to Bloomberg.
Hart Energy spoke to Stephen Beck, senior director of North American shale at Stratas Advisors, for his take.
“I think what is most likely to come out of this meeting is, officially, we continue on the path we are already on. No change to the official position of curtailments through the end of the year. Unofficially, I believe that Saudi Arabia will continue to monitor the markets closely and make sure the markets are adequately supplied. But I don’t think that is going to lead to any market disruptions or supply disruptions. What I believe is that it will prevent any change in the official position of OPEC but Saudi Arabia will monitor,” Beck said.
Drillinginfo, the Austin, Texas-based research and data company, will be acquired by private-equity firm Genstar Capital. This comes after Drillinginfo acquired 1Derrick and PLS' research and database business. In an exclusive interview with Hart Energy, Allen Gilmer, Drillinginfo’s co-founder and executive chairman, said, “We saw an opportunity to clear up all the muddiness between these two firms and bring both in-house.”
Finally, U.S shale producers are starting to respond to China’s threat to impose a 25% tariff on crude, natural gas and coal, in retaliation for the Trump administrations planned tariff on Chinese goods. Ron Gasser of West Texas shale producer Mammoth Exploration said in an interview with Reuters that the tariff would hurt everyone in the short-term but U.S. crude will continue to flow to market even with tariffs.