Houston-based Apache Corp. said Feb. 26 it currently does not plan to drill additional wells on its disappointing shale discovery Alpine High near Balmorhea in west Texas. Clay Bretches, CEO of Altus Midstream, Apache’s pipeline spinoff, said, “Apache has no current plans for future drilling at Alpine High… Our financial results in 2019 were impacted […]

New studies by scientists at University of Texas and three other universities conclude that reusing oilfield wastewater for hydraulic fracturing will be critical to maintaining productivity in U.S. shale plays. Scientists from Jackson School of Geosciences in Austin studied how much wastewater is produced in eight major U.S. shale plays and options for recycling and […]

Officials from Grow America’s Infrastructure Now said last week in Midland the U.S. recorded the largest decrease in carbon dioxide emissions of any country last year because of its transition from coal to natural gas. They participated in a panel discussion with Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance Feb. 20 about Permian Basin’s role in the energy industry. […]

Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge has agreed to buy for $25 million the Rio Bravo pipeline project from Houston liquefied natural gas company NextDecade. Enbridge will oversee construction and operation of the proposed 137-mile natural gas pipeline. Enbridge executive vice president Bill Yardley said Feb. 13 the transaction “fits squarely within our low-risk business model.” Rio […]

Permian Basin, New Mexico and U.S. added drilling rigs again in the previous week, according to the Feb. 21 report by Baker Hughes, and Texas held steady with 397 active rigs. Permian Basin added 1 rig for a new total of 409 (473 a year ago), New Mexico added 2 rigs (113 previous week, 108 […]

Permian Basin is the only one of seven major regions in U.S. expected to increase in crude oil production in March, according to drilling productivity report of Feb. 18 by U.S. Energy Information Administration. Permian is forecast to add 39,000 barrels per day to 4.855 million (4.816 million b/d in February). Across the seven regions, […]

Midland-based Ring Energy is seeking permission to drill 10 horizontal oil wells on five leases in Yoakum County on what the Houston Chronicle called “a geological target that most companies ignore.” The wells will target the Platang field of the San Andres geological layer to a total depth of 9,000 feet.

Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources said Feb. 19 it expects to operate an average of 23-to-24 horizontal wells in Permian Basin in 2020 in its drilling, completions and facilities budget of $3.0 billion to $3.3 billion. That includes 5 rigs in its southern joint venture area. Pioneer expects to place 345-to-375 wells on production in 2020 […]