Oil and Gas Investor Magazine - November 2023
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The OGInterview - A Whole New World
In an exclusive interview, Oil States CEO Cindy Taylor describes the service and equipment company’s evolving role amid the ups and downs of the energy business.
Generative AI - Part two
When Computers Lie, Steal and Hallucinate
Regulatory uncertainty and data security are concerns as the technology is adopted.
Cautious Deployment
Assistants and chat bots are likely to be the early entries into the industry.
Forty Under 40 Class of 2023
Oil and Gas Investor presents the 2023 class of Forty Under 40 honorees. This program was launched over a decade ago to recognize and showcase the extreme talent the oil and gas industry has within its ranks. So far, we have proudly honored and celebrated dozens of these incredible trailblazers in the energy sector. Many have moved on to spearhead other successful companies, while others sold and founded new ones. These past honorees have paved the way for the class of 2023 and for the next generation of leaders to come.
Cover Story
CEO Taylor: Oil States International’s Evolution in the Changing Energy World
In an exclusive interview, Oil States CEO Cindy Taylor explains the service and equipment company’s evolving role amid the ups and downs of the energy business.
Feature
Entry Level: Energy Companies Cautiously Deploy Generative AI
Assistants and chat bots are likely to be early generative AI technology entries into the industry.
Fallibility of Generative AI: When Computers Lie, Steal and Hallucinate
Regulatory uncertainty, data security are also speed bumps on the road to the technology’s adoption.
A&D Watch
$60B Pioneer Deal ‘Completely Different’ from XTO Takeover
Exxon Mobil’s $59.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources will cement the supermajor as the unconventional oil and gas leader. But executives acknowledge the company was late to the unconventional party more than a decade ago.
Analysts Mildly Skeptical of Exxon’s Expected Free Cash Flow Boost from Pioneer Deal
During and after a conference call about the Pioneer acquisition, Exxon Mobil’s claim of a $6 billion free cash flow increase received light pushback as analysts expressed some skepticism.
Analysts: Civitas Digs Deeper into Permian with $2.1B Vencer Deal
With the acquisition, Permian output will account for half of Civitas Resources’ total production after the E&P scooped up Midland Basin E&P Vencer Energy, analysts say.
Exxon Bringing Longer Laterals, New Tech to Pioneer Acreage
With a $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, Exxon plans to deploy its fine-tuned Delaware Basin drilling strategy into the heart of the Midland Basin, executives say.
Suncor Acquiring TotalEnergies’ Remaining Canada Operations for US$1.1B
TotalEnergies is exiting the Canadian oil sands with the closing of its 50% interest in the Surmont oil sands sale to ConocoPhillips and the divestment of its remaining upstream Canadian assets to Suncor Energy.
Commentary
Column: Don’t Give Up on Energy Investors Just Yet
The energy transition may just lure investors back into the fossil fuel fold.
High Geopolitical Risk for Oil
Where oil prices go next depends on how current geopolitical conflicts play out.
How Goldman Sachs’ Solomon and FedEx’s Smith See Oil and Gas
Both Solomon and Smith see fossil fuels as essential, “or society won’t function.”
Market Watchers: What Does Mideast Unrest Mean for Markets?
While Israel has very limited oil production, a longer-term effect of the Israeli-Hamas conflict is most likely more bullish than bearish to prices, as it’s just a matter of time until it reaches into Middle East oil producing areas.
Pitts: Venezuela: Geopolitics, Sanctions, Elections and Citgo
Geopolitical events in the Middle East and fears of escalation may stand to benefit Venezuela both indirectly from a run-up in oil prices and directly through further easing of U.S. sanctions.
Where Old Meets New: Energy Transition Projects Collide with Oil, Gas Law
Modern laws created to deal with the energy transition balance on the line between historical oil and gas law principles and new territory.
Energy Transition
Guyana’s Local Content Act Yet to Negatively Impact IOCs
The Guyanese government anticipates its petroleum sector will need at least 150,000 skilled laborers over the next two to five years to meet this demand.
Methane Emissions: A Three-pronged Regulatory Blitz
A number of regulatory forces are in motion to lower methane emissions that are going to have a profound impact on the U.S. oil and natural gas industry in the coming years.
Shell Aims to ‘Decarbonize Profitably,’ Its New Energies US CEO Says
Energy companies such as Shell are under pressure to provide affordable energy and lower emissions while increasing shareholder returns.
Woodside’s $7.2 Billion Bet on Deepwater Mexico Potential
Woodside Energy is making a massive bet offshore Mexico at the large, high-quality conventional resource Trion development, checking key production, climate and financial boxes for both Mexico and partners Woodside and Petroleos Mexicanos.
Finance & Investment
As Private Equity Funds Shrink, Strategies Shift to Mirror Publics
Private equity firms are seeking to make money through the drill bit and by buying noncore assets that large companies are shedding, while family offices are starting to make more aggressive moves.
ECC 2023: Shale Investors Won’t Ever Reward Production Growth Again
During the shale boom, analysts and investors used to reward E&Ps for more production. Now, shareholders prefer more cash returns in their pockets—and experts don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Exclusive: PE Firm’s Fourth Non-op Fund Targets Permian
Private equity firm North Hudson Resource Partners’ new fund will target additional non-operated oil and gas acquisitions in the Permian and other basins.
Gas Beatings to Continue, but $5/MMBtu Possible by 2028: Enverus
The natural gas market may not be fun, but it’s working and Henry Hub prices will rise by 2028 as LNG and infrastructure come online, an Enverus analyst says.
Let the Good Times Roll: Signs Indicate Beginning of Upcycle
Pickering forecasts oil around $80/bbl through 2027 and calls $75/bbl-$90/bbl the current sweet spot for pricing.
Oil, Gas Private Equity Funds May Escape New SEC Transparency Rules
A new batch of SEC reporting and transparency requirements “scares the hell out” out of private equity funds, but an 83-year-old exemption may mean oil and gas funds are off the hook.
SPAC Attack: Clean Energy, Oil & Gas Cashed In on Pandemic-Era Frenzy
The pandemic’s wild SPAC boom helped launch several new public companies in the energy space. But federal intervention and souring investor appetites brought the historic boom back down to earth.
Global Energy
Alliances Bringing Australia’s Beetaloo to Life
Tamboran Resources with help from APA Corp. and Helmerich & Payne is advancing its goal of producing 1.5 Bcf/d by 2035 from the Australian shale play.
Exclusive: Permian Infrastructure is "Sufficient," Says Plains' McGee [WATCH]
In this Hart Energy LIVE Exclusive, Plains All American Pipeline's Richard McGee believes the Permian will be "a major contributor" to the world's energy supply and that its existing infrastructure is enough to deal with future production, at least in the medium term.
Exclusive: Williams a Natural Fit for CCS, Executive Says [WATCH]
Chad Zamarin, Williams Cos.' executive vice president of corporate strategic development, discusses the midstream company’s move into carbon capture and storage, NextGen Gas and the need for pipeline permit reform.
McKinsey: Shale Poised for Big Role in Long-term LNG Demand
A global LNG supply gap will begin to open up in the 2030s, according to a McKinsey & Co. analysis but the U.S. might lose its competitive edge if red tape, particularly around pipeline permitting, isn't addressed.
Permian Gas Could Make Mexico No. 4 LNG Exporter
Quantum Energy Partners-backed LNG project on Mexico’s West Coast to rely on gas from the Permian Basin.
Technology
Just Three: Industry Decries Meager Offshore Oil, Gas Leasing Plan
The Biden administration’s proposed 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program would allow for the “smallest number” of offshore oil lease sales — three — in the history of five-year programs.
Too Much Information: Scattered Data Disrupting Business Decisions
A new survey suggests at least half of executives find unaligned data or the inability to see a holistic view of data as a challenge in making decisions.