Travis D. Stice, chairman and CEO of Midland-based Diamondback Energy, said Monday in his announcement of reduced spending for 2025 that “it is likely that U.S. onshore oil production has peaked and will begin to decline this quarter.”  Diamondback is reducing its 2025 fullyear capital budget by about 10 percent to $3.4 billion to $3.8 […]

Atlas Energy Solutions received the Bruno Hanson Midland College Environmental Excellence Award recently for its 42-mile conveyor system that carries sand for hydraulic fracturing.  The award was announced last week at the Permian Basin environmental regulatory seminar.  The conveyor system, Dune Express, carries frac sand from Atlas’ Kermit facility to its loadout facility in Lea […]

Houston-based Phillips 66 said last week it will build a new gas processing plant near the company’s existing plant in Goldsmith in Ector County.  The new plant, Iron Mesa, about 15 miles northwest of Odessa, will have capacity of 300 million cfd.  Phillips 66 said April 25 that the location of the new plant will […]

After Public Utility Commission of Texas approved a plan for electric reliability in west Texas, AEP Texas said April 24 it will build one of three 765-kV transmission lines.  The Howard-Solstice transmission line is an integral part of the Permian Basin reliability plan. AEP will develop 300 miles of high voltage transmission line to link […]

Public Utility Commission of Texas approved a plan to build the first extra high voltage transmission lines in ERCOT to help meet the rapidly growing power needs in Permian Basin.  Commission chair Thomas Gleeson said, “Extra high voltage lines are more effective and strengthen reliability.  Because each line can carry more power, fewer lines are […]

No new drilling activity was reported last week in Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, Baker Hughes said in its weekly report of April 25.  The U.S. count of active drilling rigs grew by 2 in the past week to 587 (613 year ago).  There were 289 rigs in Permian Basin (317 year ago), 274 […]

U.S. marketed natural gas production remained relatively flat in 2024, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration, and grew by less than 0.4 billion cubic feet per day compared to 2023.  Production averaged 113 Bcfd, according to EIA’s latest Natural Gas Monthly.  Production growth in Permian Basin was offset by declining production in Haynesville and flat […]

In an operational update for first quarter 2025, Midland-based Diamondback Energy said it is “closely monitoring the macro environment and is actively reviewing its operating plan for the remainder of 2025.”  First quarter production was 475,944 barrels of oil per day (850,656 boed).  The company’s announcement April 16 added, “Should low commodity prices persist or […]

Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum, said recently it has acquired Holocene Climate Corp. of Knoxville, Tenn.  Holocene owns liquid, low-temperature direct air capture technology that Occidental said is additive to technology acquired through Carbon Engineering in 2023 for about $1.1 billion.  Occidental said combining the Carbon Engineering technology with Holocene’s technology “will […]