Private operators are continuing their dominance in pulling new drilling permits in the Anadarko and Powder River basins and have regained their lead in the Haynesville Shale, D-J Basin and Williston Basin, according to a new report.
The overall ratio of new permits issued to private E&Ps remains on a monthly average between 39% and 46% this year, while public operators have been pulling the balance, according to J.P. Morgan Securities, citing Enverus data.
“The mix of private-company permits dropped to 40% [in May] after rebounding to 46% in April and compares [with] 39% in March and 45% in February,” analyst Arun Jayaram reported.
Overall, private operators received 478 permits for horizontals in May, compared with 707 pulled by public E&Ps, Jayaram wrote.
Among those, 53 permits were for new Delaware Basin wells, where public operators dominate, down from 160 permits in April. In the Midland Basin, private E&Ps received 181 permits, or 44% of total Midland permits, up from the 116 permits issued in April.
In the Eagle Ford, private operators pulled 36 permits at a third of the total issued that month; in the Powder River Basin, 12 permits were issued out of 13; and in the D-J Basin, 48 out of the total 70 permits were issued.
For May, across all basins and among all operators, J.P. Morgan counted 1,185 new permits for horizontals—roughly the same as April and March.
Among those, “public E&Ps received 707 permits—versus 604 permits in April and 628 permits in March—while privates received 478 permits, versus 528 permits in April and 395 permits in March,” Jayaram wrote.
Among public operators, pulling the most permits in May was Exxon Mobil with 90 permits, followed by Devon Energy with 74 permits, Jayaram reported.
Among total outstanding permits, EOG Resources has the most with 1,206 permits, followed by Exxon Mobil (983), Chevron Corp. (858), Devon (772), ConocoPhillips (566), Occidental Petroleum (559), Permian Resources (391) and Marathon Oil (293).
J.P. Morgan’s counts deduct antique permits, calculating “active permits” instead, “ignoring active permits for wells that are [already] active or have already been completed/abandoned,” Jayaram wrote.
“We consider ‘New Drill’ permits for oil, gas, oil and gas and confidential well types in our methodology of calculating approved permits for horizontal wells.”
Recommended Reading
NatGas Powerhouse EQT Reaches Net Zero Feat Ahead of Schedule
2024-10-31 - EQT says it lowered Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by more than 900,000 tons.
Oxy CEO Takes Swing for Oil, Climate at Agitator-Disrupted Program
2024-09-26 - After a New York City event was disrupted, Occidental Petroleum President and CEO Vicki Hollub said agitators were after publicity and funding to “continue a business.”
Kimmeridge, Commonwealth LNG Seeking MiQ Certification
2024-11-01 - The guidance provided by MiQ will support Kimmeridge’s initiative to deliver “wellhead-to-water” gas that is net-zero on Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse-gas emissions.
Rice: EQT Walking the Walk on Natgas Emissions, Despite Politics
2024-09-20 - Methane emissions are falling in parts of the world as companies such as EQT, led by CEO Toby Rice, make strides to reduce emissions in their operations, although the task is not without challenges.
Battling the Secret Army of Leakers in the Oil and Gas Field
2024-08-20 - When it comes to emissions reductions, AI and machine learning can help, but actually collecting and interpreting emissions data has often proven a daunting task.
Comments
Add new comment
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.