RBN Energy
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Friday, 8/29/2025
Thursday, 8/28/2025
U.S. interstates are populated with electronic displays that update drivers in real-time on traffic conditions, road closures, weather alerts and other important events. If there was a sign for executives steering our nation’s oil and gas producers, it would likely read “Poor Visibility, Slow Down Ahead.” After a short-lived price rally in Q1 2025, the industry faced lower commodity realizations and macroeconomic headwinds in Q2 2025, which spooked investors and hardened a cautious investment approach. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze the latest results of the 39 major U.S. E&P companies we cover and look at what’s ahead.
Analyst Insights
Analyst Insights are unique perspectives provided by RBN analysts about energy markets developments. The Insights may cover a wide range of information, such as industry trends, fundamentals, competitive landscape, or other market rumblings. These Insights are designed to be bite-size but punchy analysis so that readers can stay abreast of the most important market changes.
By Jeremy Meier - Friday, 8/29/2025 (3:15 pm)
US oil and gas rig count ended the month of August with another week-on-week decline, dropping two rigs for the week ending August 29 and marking the fourth week of declines this month according to Baker Hughes data.
By Martin King - Friday, 8/29/2025 (12:45 pm)
For the week of August 29, Baker Hughes reported that the Western Canadian gas-directed rig count fell one to 55 (blue line and text in left hand chart below), 12 less than one year ago and is the lowest for this time of year since 2020.
Daily Energy Blog
Wednesday, 7/24/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
The Biden administration has been on a mission for more than a year to restock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which was tapped at unprecedented levels in an effort to keep crude oil and refined product prices under control after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 disrupted energy flows globally. But if returning all of the released 180 MMbbl and replenishing the SPR to pre-war levels was the plan, they’ve got a long way to go. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the steps the administration has taken to replenish the reserve and the headwinds it faces.
Tuesday, 7/23/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Every day, more than 7.5 Bcf of natural gas flows through the Agua Dulce Hub region in South Texas — 1.7 times the volume five years ago. And the hub’s growth is just beginning. By 2030, flows may well top 11.5 Bcf/d as gas production ramps up in the Permian and the Eagle Ford, pipeline exports to Mexico increase, and new LNG export capacity comes online along the South Texas coast. In today’s RBN blog, we begin a detailed look at the Agua Dulce Hub — its origins, its development during the Shale Era, its major players and its potential to become a major gas trading hub.
Monday, 7/22/2024
Category:
Refined Fuels
The last few years have been filled with often-spirited debate about the global energy transition and the move away from fossil fuels to fully embrace renewables and alternatives to keep the lights on, fuel vehicles and power the world’s economy. But there are a growing number of signs that a swift shift from petroleum is not realistic, which has implications in many areas, including which refinery expansion projects move forward (and where), when oil demand might peak, and which of the many forecasts for gasoline and distillate production will prove to be the most accurate. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss highlights from the new Future of Fuels report by RBN’s Refined Fuels Analytics (RFA) practice, including RFA’s expectations for how a slower transition might affect producers, refiners and consumers.
Friday, 7/19/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Shipping large volumes of LNG from Canada’s West Coast across the Pacific Ocean to gas-hungry markets in Asia has been a dream nearly two decades in the making. After a great deal of work and patience, three projects have moved into the construction phase, with the most advanced — LNG Canada — on the cusp of accepting its first test-gas volumes, with exports possible by the end of the year. Even with all this progress, three additional projects are vying for the opportunity to join Canada’s LNG export party, as we discuss in today’s RBN blog.
Thursday, 7/18/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Power generation is one of the leading consumers of natural gas in Texas — every month last year, generators in the state used between 4 Bcf/d and 8 Bcf/d, on average, with the volumes peaking (as you would expect) in August, when air conditioning and a friend with a pool are must-haves. But as we’ve seen, the Texas power grid is often stressed to its limit, and the state has been taking steps to significantly increase the gas-fired generating capacity available for peak-demand periods in both the hottest and coldest months. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss one of the state’s boldest steps yet: the creation of a multibillion-dollar fund to support the development of thousands of megawatts of new gas-fired generation.
Wednesday, 7/17/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
U.S. LNG export capacity is poised to grow tremendously over the next few years, mostly near the Texas/Louisiana border. The gas-focused Haynesville Shale in northwestern Louisiana and northeastern Texas is a prime source of additional supply for those new and expanded terminals. But plans for new north-to-south pipelines to deliver incremental gas out of the Haynesville have been clouded by legal challenges. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the reasons for the disputes, what’s been going on recently, and the potential fallout.
Tuesday, 7/16/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
For a few years now, crude oil shippers out of the Permian have enjoyed a surplus in pipeline takeaway capacity thanks to a slew of new pipes that came online just as COVID crushed demand, prices and production. But Permian production has recovered, and the takeaway situation is changing for some routes. For example, the pipelines from West Texas to Corpus Christi are running close to full, and if a new offshore export terminal gets built, Permian-to-Gulf-Coast takeaway dynamics would get far more complicated — and fast. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss highlights from our new Drill Down Report, which examines Permian crude flows to existing export terminals and the potential impacts of a new deepwater facility.
Monday, 7/15/2024
Category:
Financial
There’s been a frenetic scramble among oil and gas producers through the early 2020s to acquire top-tier acreage and production assets they think they will need to survive and thrive. Some of those acquisitions are still being done through smaller deals such as acreage swaps, but the expansion mode of choice for most has been big-time M&A, which in a single multibillion-dollar deal can add years to a company’s inventory life or perhaps give it a stronger foothold in a key production region or two. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss Devon Energy’s recently announced $5 billion acquisition of Grayson Mill Energy, yet another private-equity-backed E&P cashing in on the smart moves it has been making.
Friday, 7/12/2024
Category:
Financial
The Uinta Basin is no Permian when it comes to drilling activity and production volumes, but the folks behind what may be the biggest M&A deal in Uinta history say the oil-production economics in parts of the quirky-as-heck play in northeastern Utah compare very favorably with the best of the Permian’s Delaware and Midland basins. And where else will an astounding 85%-plus of the produced hydrocarbons come out of the ground as high-quality waxy crude? In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the recently announced plan by SM Energy and non-op specialist Northern Oil & Gas (NOG) to acquire XCL Resources in a pair of deals valued at $2.55 billion.
Thursday, 7/11/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Three phenomena — the European Union’s laser focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the EU’s now-significant reliance on LNG from the U.S., and the impending startup of new LNG export terminals along the Gulf Coast — are converging, with potentially significant implications for gas producers and LNG exporters alike. Starting next year, U.S. and other suppliers that ship LNG to EU member countries will need to begin complying with the EU’s methane emissions reporting requirements — full compliance is mandatory by 2027, and in 2030 and beyond the gas exported to the EU will be expected to meet a to-be-determined methane intensity (MI) target. As we discuss in today’s RBN blog, the EU methane regulations are still a work in progress, but they provide another reason why U.S. gas producers have been increasing their monitoring of methane emissions and their efforts to reduce them.
Wednesday, 7/10/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
Developers have been kicking around plans for LNG exports from British Columbia (BC), Canada’s westernmost province, for more than a decade, with more than 20 projects on the drawing board at one point. That long list has been whittled down to just three that have reached the point of final investment decision (FID) — a hard plan to proceed to construction and startup. One of those projects, LNG Canada, should be sending out LNG as soon as the end of this year, placing Canada firmly on the map of LNG-exporting nations. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at the three projects and hint at plans by a handful of contenders vying to join the LNG export party.
Tuesday, 7/09/2024
Category:
Crude Oil
As four proposed crude export terminals off the coast of Texas navigate the long and winding regulatory path toward potential construction, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) already does what they want to do. It’s the sole Gulf Coast terminal that can fully load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) bound for global markets. LOOP started as an import-only facility, but later flexed to bring oil in and move it out as the energy landscape changed. It’s easy to wonder whether a new offshore crude export facility might be redundant –— why build another one if LOOP could just export more? Turns out it’s not that simple. LOOP is different — in its construction, its connectivity, its role in balancing imports and exports and especially the types of crude it handles. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine LOOP’s niche in U.S. crude exports and the role it continues to play.
Monday, 7/08/2024
Category:
Financial
While many larger E&Ps have been growing bigger through massive, headline-grabbing acquisitions, EOG Resources — by market cap, the second-largest non-integrated U.S. producer — has been expanding for a quarter century now by focusing on the stealthy exploration and development of new resource plays. The results of EOG’s long-standing strategy have been impressive, and include finding and development (F&D) costs that are significantly lower than its Oil-Weighted peer group and a higher-than-average reserve replacement rate. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze the scope and impact of EOG’s singular focus on organic growth instead of M&A.
Friday, 7/05/2024
Category:
Energy
Back in the early 2010s, U.S. crude oil and NGL exports were minimal and LNG exports were non-existent, but there were omens that the U.S. would soon regain its status as an energy production juggernaut. Now the U.S. is a critically important global supplier of oil, gas and NGLs, with exports crucial to managing supply and demand as infrastructure rushes to keep up and industry players simultaneously explore alternative energy possibilities. How all these moving parts interconnect was the focus of RBN’s 18th School of Energy last week and it’s the subject of today’s RBN blog, which — fair warning! — is a blatant advertorial for School of Energy Encore, our newly available online version of the recent, action-packed conference.
Wednesday, 7/03/2024
Category:
Natural Gas
The U.S. Gulf Coast is poised to experience another big wave of new LNG export capacity, and this time it will be joined by new capacity coming online in both Mexico and Canada. The more than 13 Bcf/d of incremental natural gas demand from North American LNG projects starting up over the next five years will have significant effects on U.S. and Canadian gas producers, gas flows and (quite likely) gas prices, which have been deeply depressed for more than a year now. In today’s RBN blog, we provide updates on the 10 LNG export projects in very advanced stages of development in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, detail the expected ramp-up in LNG-related gas demand and discuss the potential impact of rising LNG exports on gas prices.