News

Michael Sandoval | Western Wire | March 21, 2019

Top New Mexico education officials and business experts observing the just-concluded legislative session in Santa Fe say that while the oil and gas industry is strong, it could face significant challenges in coming years that threaten the state’s budget and a boom in student education funding.

During the 60-day session, bills passed to transition the state to a low-carbon electricity future and empowering the state’s Conservation Division to punish operators. A proposed four-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing failed to move out of the Senate Conservation Committee in late February.

But both educators and business leaders say issues raised during the session that could reappear in 2020 pose a substantial risk in upsetting the robust revenues they regard as instrumental in lifting the state’s education system and providing revenues for much-needed infrastructure investment. They caution against policymakers disrupting the booming oil and gas production on New Mexico’s side of the popular Permian Basin and driving investment and revenue across the border on to Texas’ side of the basin.

This is the first in a four-part Western Wire series.

Oil majors have spent an estimated $10bn buying ground in the top US shale field since the start of 2017

BusinessDay | Jennifer Hiller | March 20, 2019

Eddy County — In New Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert, Exxon Mobil is building a massive shale oil project that its executives boast will allow it to ride out the industry's notorious boom-and-bust cycles.

Workers at its Remuda lease near Carlsbad — part of a staff of 5,000 spread across New Mexico and Texas — are drilling wells, operating fleets of hydraulic pumps and digging trenches for pipelines.

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD | ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL | March 19, 2018

The boom lives on.

For now.

As Journal reporter Kevin Robinson-Avila reported Wednesday, New Mexico is enjoying tandem surges from both oil and natural gas industries. Oil production in 2018 jumped 42 percent from the previous year, while natural gas production enjoyed a more measured 13 percent increase in the same time frame.

CNN Business | Matt Egan | March 8, 2019

Move over, Saudi Arabia. America is about to steal the kingdom's energy exporting crown.

The United States will surpass Saudi Arabia later this year in exports of oil, natural gas liquids and petroleum products, like gasoline, according to energy research firm Rystad Energy.

Adrian C Hedden | Carlsbad Current-Argus | March 12, 2019

A boom in oil production in New Mexico and the Permian Basin to the southeast defined 2018 for the industry, as a record 250 million barrels were produced last year.

The increase marks a 46 percent growth from 2017 to 2018, per data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, overtaking the previous record set in 2017 of 171 million barrels by 78 million.

In 2016 and 2015, production hovered around 150 million, the two highest years at that time between then and 1981, records show.

Ryan Flynn, executive director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association said the upward trend was a sign of a “new” era in energy production for New Mexico.

Andy Brogan | EY | January 23, 2019

EY survey highlights the need for diversity to help navigate oil and gas sector disruption and the value diversity brings to the bottom line.

Respondents emphasized more action should be taken to propel women into leadership roles. Companies choosing to put gender parity on their agendas will find they have a more engaged workforce, perform better and maintain higher retention rates.

"Men or women is not the main issue. What is more important is how we create the right culture and process that can inspire and motivate humans to work and engage with integrity, trust and commitment to achieve success.." - Oil and gas survey respondent

The majority of our respondents (51%) expect to see a slight increase in women in leadership roles, and though this is a positive outlook, it doesn’t represent the full story. Currently only 11% of senior leadership positions are filled by women, and small steps won’t get us to gender parity any time soon.

Think gender parity in the oil and gas industry is close? Think again.

11% of the top global oil and gas senior executives are women

98% of our survey respondents agree we are experiencing a time of monumental change within the oil and gas industry. Disruption due to the fall in oil price, geopolitical instability and financial and environmental regulatory policy change are driving a fundamental shift in the industry. Companies are changing business models, adjusting supply chains and reworking their portfolios to improve value.