Darren
Barbee
Oil and Gas Investor
Latest
The Private Equity Puzzle: Rebuilding Portfolios After M&A Craze
In the Haynesville, Delaware and Utica, Post Oak Energy Capital is supporting companies determined to make a profitable footprint.
Kissler: Can ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Trump Inventory, Capex Constraints?
President Trump continues to push E&Ps to “drill, drill, drill,” but producing an extra 3 MMbbl/d is easier said than done.
Belcher: Trump’s Policies Could Impact Global Energy Markets
At their worst, Trump’s new energy policies could restrict the movement of global commerce and at their best increase interest rates and costs.
AI-Shale Synergy: Experts Detail Transformational Ops Improvements
An abundance of data enables automation that saves time, cuts waste, speeds decision-making and sweetens the bottom line. Of course, there are challenges.
Bracewell: Many Await Updates to Existing CO2 Pipeline Safety Regulations
Pipeline proponents are facing challenges and have been hampered by the lack of clarity regarding CO2 pipeline safety regulations.
Pickering Prognosticates 2025 Political Winds and Shale M&A
For oil and gas, big M&A deals will probably encounter less resistance, tariffs could be a threat and the industry will likely shrug off “drill, baby, drill” entreaties.
Shale Consolidation Aftermath: The Field Narrows
Widespread consolidation has reshaped the list of top public producers, says Enverus CEO Manuj Nikhanj.
Shale Outlook Permian: The Once and Future King Keeps Delivering
The Permian Basin’s core is in full-scale manufacturing mode, with smaller intrepid operators pushing the basin’s boundaries further and deeper.
Shale Outlook Uinta: Horizontal Boom to Continue in 2025
After two large-scale transactions by SM Energy and Ovintiv, the Uinta Basin is ready for development—and stacked pay exploration.
Shale Outlook: Power Demand Drives Lower 48 Midstream Expansions
Rising electrical demand may finally push natural gas demand to catch up with production.
Shale Outlook: E&Ps Making More U-Turn Laterals, Problem-Free
Of the more than 70 horseshoe wells drilled to date, half came in the first nine months of 2024 as operators found 2-mile, single-section laterals more economic than a pair of 1-mile straight holes.
Shale Outlook Appalachia: Natural Gas Poised to Pay
Increasing gas demand is expected to rally prices and boost midstream planning as a new Trump administration pledges to loosen permitting—setting the stage for M&A in the Appalachian Basin.
Trying to Keep Tabs on the Inflation Reduction Act’s $370B
Several online trackers are following the flow of Inflation Reduction Act money, but a full accounting of the billions already obligated by the Biden administration is a monumental task.
Shale Outlook Eagle Ford: Sustaining the Long Plateau in South Texas
The Eagle Ford lacks the growth profile of the Permian Basin, but thoughtful M&A and refrac projects are extending operator inventories.
Back to the Future: US Shale is Growing Up
The Patch’s maturity will be tested in 2025 amid ongoing consolidation and geopolitical dissonance.
BYOP (Bring Your Own Power): The Great AI Race for Electrons
Data-center developers, scrambling to secure 24/7 power, are calling on U.S. producers to meet demand as natgas offers the quickest way to get more electrons into the taps.
Uncertainty Abounds: IRA Clean Energy Incentives Await Fate
Policy experts weigh in on the next possible steps for President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, following the Trump-led Republican trifecta.
Darbonne: The Power Grid Stuck in Gridlock
Greater power demand is coming but, while there isn’t enough power generation to answer the call, the transmission isn’t there either, industry members and analysts report.
Hirs: Expansive Energy Policies Set to Shape 2025 Markets
The incoming administration’s policies on sanctions, tariffs, regulations and deportations will impact the oil and gas industry.
Segrist: The Keystone for Trump?
President-elect Donald Trump talks about reviving the famously controversial Keystone XL Pipeline while threatening tariffs on the nation where it originates
Belcher: Heed the Harsh Lessons from Europe’s Net-Zero Perils
The EU’s aggressive climate stance is wreaking economic havoc and mounting regulations could hurt the U.S. LNG industry.
Midwesterners to CCUS: Not in My Corn Field
Midstream firms in the Midwest are running into brick walls of local opposition against carbon capture projects.
Paisie: With Oil Prices, It’s All About the Economy
One of the keys to pricing is whether global conflicts curtail the flow of oil. They have not.
Kissler, Wyett: Trump Tariffs and Potential Energy Market Aftershocks
U.S. production and prices may increase; global cooperation may decrease; but Trump’s previous tariffs had less of an impact on import prices than the COVID pandemic.
EY: Three Themes That Will Drive Transformational M&A in 2025
Prices, consolidation and financial firepower will push deals forward, says EY.
East Daley: New Pipelines Could Open Permian Floodgates
Led by the opening of the Matterhorn Express, a slew of projects is set to battle regional bottlenecks in the Permian Basin region but power generation may be the catalyst for newly announced pipelines.
Segrist: Cooling the Reaction: Nuclear Makes Promising but Slow Comeback
Nuclear power is awesome. Nuclear power is also hard—and a long way off from displacing natural gas as the primary source for the electricity the U.S. will desperately need.
Hirs: The High Cost of Overreaching Regulation, Secrecy
Energy regulators have withheld critical information that’s resulted in damage to markets and competition.
Paisie: Trump’s Impact on All Things Energy
President-elect Donald Trump’s policies are expected to benefit the U.S. oil and gas sector, but also bring economic and geopolitical risks.
The Explosive Evolution of Fracking: A 75-Year Journey
Despite some initial resistance to the idea, Halliburton and Stanolind Oil pioneered the hydraulic fracturing that led to the shale boom.