The Drilldown: in-depth answers to oilfield questions | w/ Richard & John Spears

No matter the price of oil, no matter the trend in drilling activity, the number is $150 frac dollars per reservoir foot drilled.  The only real switch occurred in Q1 2015 when things collapsed the first time, but $150 is our number.  It would take a change in industry behavior to take another step downward in Q2 2020…perhaps that happens, but do we predict it today?  Not really.

Global oil inventories are set to increase due to the drop in oil demand and the rise in OPEC+ output. Richard and John discuss how much inventories might rise, how long it will take before they are back to normal, and the implications for US oilfield activity, oil production and oil prices.

Richard and John discuss the near-term impact of $32 oil on drilling and completion activity and revenues for selected market segments and oil service companies. In addition, they consider how the drop in drilling and completion will impact US oil production and what that means for the long-term outlook for oil prices.

Richard and John discuss the “Killers of the Flower Moon”, a book (and soon to be a movie) about a 1920s conspiracy to murder Osage Indians for their oil royalties and what became one of the FBI’s first major homicide investigations.

Richard and John discuss the winners and losers from the three-fold improvement in drilling and frac efficiency realized over the past couple of years.

Halliburton + TechnipFMC --- A Good Combination? Richard & John dive into Jane Austen to analyze the merits.

In the second of a three-part series on ESG issues, Richard and John discuss social issues such as diversity, human rights and security that investors are increasingly using to evaluate operators and oilfield service firms. Other topics include: Total global value of stocks and bonds and the percent represented by sustainable investments. The absence of universally-accepted ESG standards The use and misuse of statistics

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues play an increasing role in investors’ financial decisions regarding operators and oil service firms, which have begun to take action in response. Richard and John discuss whether these actions are happening fast enough relative to non-industry expectations.

How the "Law of Capture" defines how US drillers will behave in 2020.