U.S. E&Ps have just concluded discussions of their Q4 and full-year 2023 results and, as usual, the view of analysts and investors can be summed up by one question: What have you done for me lately? But while the collective results of the 44 producers we track were off from the previous quarter and a record 2022, there’s a lot to be said for how well they held up through a period of unusually low natural gas prices. In fact, if you take a step or two back for a longer-term perspective you’d see a strong historical performance that suggests E&Ps really have learned how to do well through commodity price ups and downs. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze the 2023 results of a representative group of major U.S. producers and look ahead to how 2024 may shake out.
As shown by the rightmost blue bar and left axis in Figure 1, the 44 E&Ps we monitor earned a collective $84.4 billion in 2023, or just under half the $175.9 billion they earned in 2022 and 2% lower than their 2021 earnings. Cash flow for the 44 companies was $143.8 billion in 2023 (rightmost orange bar and left axis), 36% below the $226 billion reached in 2022 but 7% higher than 2021. The key driver in the changes in profitability was a one-third decline in realized prices to $37.56/boe (right end of gray line and right axis). Henry Hub natural gas prices were in freefall during 2023, averaging $2.67/MMBtu for the year, or nearly 60% lower than the $6.51/MMBtu posted in 2022. WTI crude oil prices were much less volatile, but still lower, declining 18% in 2023 to $77.60/bbl.
Figure 1. E&Ps’ Earnings, Cash Flow and Realized Prices, 2019-23. Source: Oil & Gas Financial Analytics, LLC
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About the song
“The Goonies ’R’ Good Enough” was written by Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Broughton and Arthur Stead. It appears as the first song on side one of The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album. Released as a single in June 1985, it went to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Steven Spielberg made Lauper the musical director for his film, The Goonies. Lauper had originally titled the song, “Good Enough,” but Warner Bros. wanted the title of the film incorporated into the song title to better promote the motion picture. A seven-minute-plus video produced for the song included Lauper amongst a cast of WWF wrestlers including Lauper's “manager,” Captain Lou Albano, The Bangles, and Steven Spielberg.
The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album was recorded in 1985 at the Record Plant Scoring Stage in Los Angeles. Lauper was the music supervisor for the film, with the album’s production handled by Lauper, Philip Bailey, Arthur Baker, Dave Grusin, David Devore, David Kahne, Lennie Petze and Joel Sill. Released in June 1985, it went to #73 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Two singles were released from the LP.
Cyndi Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She started her career by singing in cover bands in the New York City area during the early 1970s. In 1978 she joined the band Blue Angel, which released one album on the Polydor label in 1980. Lauper released her first solo album, She's So Unusual, in October 1983. It went to #4 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 7x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. As a solo artist, she has released 11 studio albums, seven compilation albums and 53 singles and has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Lauper has appeared in four Broadway musicals, 12 motion pictures and 26 television programs. She has won two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, an MTV Video Music Award, and a Billboard Icon Award. She continues to act, record, and tour and will appear at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Glastonbury Festival in the U.K. in June 2024.
