One of the most compelling Greek myths is the story of Sisyphus, a man condemned by the gods to eternally push a giant boulder to the top of a mountain, only to have it crash back down to the valley just short of his goal. His plight is not a bad metaphor for the long-term historical trend of U.S. E&Ps, which neared pinnacles of financial stability in 1999, 2008, 2014 and 2020 — just before price drops sent returns plunging. Producers seem to have ducked out from under the curse recently, recording record post-pandemic profits in 2021 and 2022, then settling into an extended period of stable, elevated returns. However, deteriorating gas realizations have at least paused the boulder’s climb for all E&Ps and sent it rolling back for gas-weighted producers. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze the overall positive returns for Oil-Weighted and Diversified producers and the more dramatic impact of low pricing on the Gas-Weighted E&Ps.
Recovering from a pandemic low of $16.55/bbl in April 2020, the WTI monthly oil price exceeded $70/bbl in June 2021 and has stayed above that mark ever since. Prices exceeded $100/bbl for five months in early 2022 before retreating but have generally stayed in the $75-$85/bbl range subsequently. As a result, average realizations, or upstream revenues per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), for 2021-Q2 2024 (gray line inside dashed black box in Figure 1 below) have exceeded every year between 2015-20. Profits have stabilized at a historically elevated level and every E&P in our Oil-Weighted and Diversified peer groups has reported a net pre-tax operating profit since Q2 2021. While earnings peaked in 2022, returns have been sufficient for producers to subsequently reward shareholders with substantial returns in the form of dividends and share buybacks.
Join us at our historic 20th School of Energy!
School of Energy: Foundations is a two day, in person conference designed to help energy professionals better understand the forces shaping crude oil, natural gas, NGLs, refined products, and petrochemicals.
Attendees will learn from RBN experts, work with Excel based analytical models, participate in Q&As, and network with industry peers.
Build the foundation to better navigate volatile energy markets.
Gas producers have not been so fortunate. The group reported steady profitability as the Henry Hub average monthly price climbed above $4/MMBtu in September 2021 and peaked above $8/MMBtu a year later. But a price plunge to near the $2/MMBtu level in early 2023 crippled financial results, although most producers in our peer group remained in the black through belt-tightening and production cutbacks.
Join Backstage Pass to Read Full Article
About the song
“Bad Moon Rising” was the lead single from Creedence Clearwater Revival’s third album, Green River. Written and produced by John Fogerty, the song was recorded at Wally Heider’s Studio in San Francisco in March 1969. The single reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles; the Green River LP went to #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
John Fogerty has said he wrote “Bad Moon Rising” after watching “The Devil and Daniel Webster,” and was inspired by a scene in the movie involving a hurricane. The last line of the chorus — “There’s a bad moon on the rise” — has often been misheard as "There’s a bathroom on the right," and Fogerty has been known to sing that line sometimes in concert. The song has been used in numerous films and television shows.
Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as CCR, included John Fogerty (lead and backing vocals, lead guitar and piano), Tom Fogerty (rhythm guitar), Stu Cook (bass) and Doug Clifford (drums). The band was formed in the San Francisco Bay area in 1967 and released seven studio albums from 1968 to 1972 — they disbanded in October of that year. John Fogerty went on to have a successful solo career and still tours today. Tom Fogerty (John’s older brother) released several solo albums before passing away in 1990. Stu Cook and Doug Clifford still tour today as Creedence Clearwater Revisited, playing a repertoire of CCR songs. Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
