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Oil Price
This week, WTI has remained pretty steady, startingthe week at $56.89 and ending at $56.41. Brent also stayed flat, ending at $66.03. Natural gas make very small gains, starting the week at $2.85 and ending $2.87.
Drilling/Rig Activity
This week, operators continue to pare back/lay down rigs. According to Shale Experts Rig Database, operators dropped -9 rigs, while Baker Hughes reported a reduction of -11 rigs. YTD rig reduction is now at -48. We continue to believe, based on our FY-2019 drilling forecast, that we will see at least ~100 rigs removed from the market YoY.
STACK/STACK: down 5 rigs
Permian Basin: +2 rigs to end at 425
DJ Basin: down -2 rigs to end at 28
Get more details on rig activity
Completion Activity/Frac Activity
A top Permian operator said it is ramping up its completion activity. The company plans to complete ~400 wells, and will increase its frac fleets/crews to 16.
Shale Experts Frac & Completions Database is tracking 413 active frac fleets, with 3 fleets added in the Permian last week. We continue to believe that the we will peak in the 3rd quarter of 2019 at 430 fleets.
The public E&Ps who we are tracking, currently controls 68% of the US Frac Market, those companies have guided a -14% drop in frac/completion activity for 2019.
Capital Markets/Financing
The equity markets seemed all but closed asinvestors pressure E&Ps to spend within cash flow. This week we saw to E&Ps tiptoe back into the public debt markets. Cimarex priced $500 millionand CNX Resources also priced $500 million.
More financing/capital markets
More Exclusives / Features News
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A Quiet Capital Pattern Is Forming in North American Upstream — and Almost No One Is Talking About It
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Gulf Coast News
Why $90 Oil Isn’t Bringing Back the Rigs
Higher oil prices are not translating cleanly into a drilling response across U.S. shale, and company disclosures are starting to show why. The issue is not simply capital…
These Three Companies Will Increase Drilling & Completion Over The Next 3 Year
In the span of fifteen months, three Japanese energy companies committed more than $10.3 billion to U.S. natural gas production assets — a buying spree that has transferred…
Q1 A&D Transactions Jump to $30B , While Deal Flow Was Down 40%
The first quarter of 2026 has officially defined the "Barbell Era" of American oil and gas. While the total number of deals plummeted by 46% YoY (dropping to…
Wright to U.S. Oil Industry: The Price Signal Is Telling You to Drill
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Ascent Resources 2026: A Quiet Growth Story for Oilfield Services
Ascent Resources may not be making headlines with rig additions or dramatic well count increases, but a closer read of their March 2026 investor presentation — compared against…
Northeast News
Apa Corp : Doing More With Less
APA's 2025 narrative was one of operational surprise. The company came in beating production guidance every single quarter while spending below plan, capturing over $300MM in cost savings…
Permian Resources to Grow Production 6% in 2026
Permian Resources exited 2025 as the largest pure-play Delaware Basin operator with ~480,000 net acres and >105,000 net royalty acres. The company averaged 392.6 MBoe/d in 2025, including…
Battalion Oil Closes ~$60M West Quito Draw Asset Sale
Battalion Oil Corporation has closed the sale of its West Quito Draw assets in the Southern Delaware Basin to MCM Delaware Resources LLC, a subsidiary of MCM Energy…
Infinity Closes $1.2B Utica Upstream & Midstream Deal
Infinity Natural Resources has completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of upstream and midstream assets in the Ohio Utica Shale from Antero Resources and Antero Midstream, according to company disclosures…
Deal Rumor: ConocoPhillips Exploring $2B Permian Asset Sale
ConocoPhillips is reportedly exploring the potential sale of certain Permian Basin assets in a transaction valued at approximately $2 billion, according to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the…