Apache

No doubt about it, most of the headline-grabbing oil and gas M&A activity lately has involved large, publicly owned producers gobbling up other good-sized E&Ps, lock, stock and barrel. But there are other ways to increase scale and improve operational efficiency, as evidenced by privately held WildFire Energy’s bolt-on acquisition frenzy in the relatively sleepy northeastern Eagle Ford, aka the East Eagle Ford. In less than three years, with one bolt-on acquisition after another, WildFire — named in anticipation of the company’s aggressive expansion strategy — has morphed from a small player in the often-overlooked area into one of the largest producers there, with a laser focus on maximizing returns to its management and private-equity owners. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the E&P and its rapid rise. 

Permian this and Permian that. For several years now, acreage and production in that sprawling, crude-oil-focused shale play in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico have been at the center of so much M&A activity. And the deals keep coming! Just last week, APA Corp. — the international E&P formerly known as Apache — announced that it will be acquiring Callon Petroleum, which in recent years has become a Permian pure play with significant holdings in both the Delaware and Midland basins. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the APA/Callon deal, the drivers behind it, and why the acquisition makes sense for both companies. 

Permian midstream development activity has been happening at a rapid pace over the past few years, and we’ve featured many of those projects in the RBN blogosphere. One of the most aggressive players has been Salt Creek Midstream, which is in the midst of a big Permian buildout focusing on natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and even produced water. Salt Creek isn’t only developing local midstream infrastructure; it’s also at work on long-haul solutions that will enable Permian producers to access markets along the Texas Gulf Coast — a wellhead-to-water strategy, you might call it. Helping Permian producers meet their needs to take away all three hydrocarbons plus produced water with integrated transport and pricing options is the key to Salt Creek’s effort. Today, we dive into the details of the company’s expansive Permian infrastructure development plan.

Permian natural gas fundamentals were rocked with some major infrastructure news on Monday, when Kinder Morgan announced its plans to build the 2-Bcf/d Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) from Waha to the Texas Gulf Coast. The announcement revealed that EagleClaw Midstream, a Blackstone Energy Partners portfolio company, has signed a letter of intent to become a 50% owner in the project and commit natural gas volumes to the pipeline. Adding firepower to the project, Apache Corp. is committing significant volumes to the pipeline too, with an option to take an ownership stake. While Kinder Morgan and EagleClaw Midstream stopped short of a final investment decision (FID), the destination flexibility that PHP’s tie-ins with other key pipes offer makes the project a major contender in the race to become the second new long-haul natural gas pipeline out of the Permian. Today, we discuss the latest infrastructure development in the Permian natural gas market.

The group of 21 liquids-focused exploration and production companies we have been tracking plans to cut capital expenditures by half in 2016, after a 42% decline in 2015. However, capex for this “oil-weighted” E&P peer group is apparently bottoming out—their mid-year guidance was only 2% lower than their original 2016 estimates. Even with deep cuts in capital spending, the group expects production to fall only 7% in 2016, and those estimates have been revised higher from the initial 2016 guidance.  Also worth noting: Pure Permian Basin players, the most optimistic companies in the peer group, are cutting capital spending by only 19% and are expecting a 12% gain in production.  And with Apache Corp.’s announcement earlier this week of a huge discovery in the Permian’s Southern Delaware Basin, the market is definitely making a turn. Today we discuss 2016 capex and production for a representative group of E&P companies whose proved reserves are more than 60% liquids.

Blueknight Energy Partners’ 100 Mb/d Knight Warrior pipeline is currently under construction and due online in Q2 2016 to deliver crude from the developing Eaglebine play to the Houston Ship Channel. It complements the 60 Mb/d Sunoco Logistics Eaglebine Express pipeline to Nederland, TX that opened last December. Today we discuss how the promising but relatively complex nature of Eaglebine drilling could scare off producers until prices move substantially higher than today’s levels.

Crude oil production in the Oklahoma and Kansas Anadarko basin increased by 50 Mb/d in 2012 and is expected to increase from 190 Mb/d in December 2012 to 240 Mb/d in December 2013 – another 50 Mb/d (source: Bentek). These numbers are slow and steady compared to the bigger Williston Basin to the north where production jumped by 230 Mb/d in 2012 and is expected to increase by a similar amount this year. And yet a hard core of producers is happily ensconced in the Anadarko enjoying solid returns from drilling. Today we ponder changing approaches to shale production.

The Anadarko Basin centered in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle has not yet developed production on the scale of the Bakken, Eagle Ford or Permian plays. Like the Permian Basin the Anadarko is an old field being recycled using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques. Spectacular initial production of over 5Mb/d from wells in the Granite Wash Hogshooter formation this year has excited producers. Today we look at the basin’s development.