Young Research & Publishing Inc.

Investment Research Since 1978

Disclosure

  • About Us
    • Contributors
    • Archives
    • Dick Young’s Safe America
    • The Final Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
    • Dick Young’s Research Key: Anecdotal Evidence Gathering
    • Crisis at Vanguard
  • Investment Analysis
    • Bonds
    • Currencies and Gold
    • Dividend Investing
    • ETFs & Funds
    • Investment Strategy
    • Retirement Investing
    • Stocks
    • The Efficient Frontier
  • Investment Counsel
  • Dynamic Maximizers®
  • Retirement Compounders®
  • Free Email Signup

Big Oil Companies to Focus on Shale and Acquisitions

October 26, 2017 By Dick Young

Wyoming State Geological Survey, click to enlarge.

Wyoming State Geological Survey, click to enlarge.

The Wall Street Journal explains that the energy production landscape has changed for the majors.

World-wide, oil-exploration spending last year was the lowest since 2007. There’s been less conventional oil and gas (as opposed to resources contained in shale or oil sands) discovered in the past 2½ years than in 2012 alone, according to Edinburgh-based consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Some in the industry say the decline in exploration spending will eventually contribute to an oil drought—and spiking crude prices. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih told an oil conference in London this month that the underinvestment caused by weak oil prices over the past two years will result in “a period of shortage of supply.”

Others say it is the new normal, in which giants like BP and Royal Dutch Shell PLC will increasingly focus their exploration on less risky and more easily accessible reserves—and spend some of the money they used to use for exploration to buy already-discovered resources from smaller companies.

It is a major shift for big oil companies that designed their exploration strategies to find enough conventional oil and gas to replace all the barrels they pump every year, says Andrew Latham, Wood Mackenzie’s vice president of exploration research.

Now, their conventional exploration seems “designed to add about 50%” of what they produce, forcing them to rely on unconventional resources like shale and acquisitions of other companies’ resources to maintain output, Mr. Latham said.

Oil majors show resilience in spite of falling prices

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

You Might Also Like:

  • Shale Oil Production Explosion
  • Shale Oil Production Booming
  • Oil Market Turbulence
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Dick Young
Richard C. Young is the editor of Young's World Money Forecast, and a contributing editor to both Richardcyoung.com and Youngresearch.com.
Latest posts by Dick Young (see all)
  • PRICES SOAR: Diesel Shortage Could Cripple America’s Economy - May 13, 2022
  • Young’s Retirement Compounders Clearly Dominate! - April 26, 2022
  • The Magic of Compound Interest - April 5, 2022

Search Young Research

Most Popular

  • MARKET CHAOS: This May Take Time, Here’s How to Prepare
  • PRICES SOAR: Diesel Shortage Could Cripple America's Economy
  • Your Survival Guy: “Sell in May, Buy After Labor Day?”
  • All-Powerful Money Managers Voting YOUR Money Targeted by Senate GOP
  • Institutional Investors Fall in Love with Oil, Again
  • COMMODITY CRUNCH: Will Tesla Buy a Cobalt Mine?
  • The Power of a Compound Interest Table
  • CRYPTO: Has the Fire Gone Out?
  • The Innovation Bubble Goes Bust
  • HORDING CASH: Funds Hold the Highest Level of Cash Since 9/11

Don’t Miss

Default Risk Among the Many Concerns with Annuities

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth

Could this Be the Vanguard GNMA Winning Edge?

Cryptocosm and Life After Google

Warning: Avoid Mutual Fund Year End Distributions

Is Gold a Good Long-term Investment?

How to Invest in Gold

Vanguard Wellington (VWELX): The Original Balanced Fund

What is the Best Gold ETF for Investing and Trading?

Procter & Gamble (PG) Stock: The Only True Dividend King

The Dividend King of the North

You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life

RSS The Latest at Richardcyoung.com

  • The Supreme Court Must Always Protect the Constitution
  • Our Daily Bread Threatened?
  • Watch Out for Your Worst Enemy
  • Farmer Tells Steve Bannon Biden’s Inflation Is Ruining His Business
  • PARTY’S OVER JOE: Republicans Crush Democrats in Local Elections
  • Joe Biden – Malicious, Incompetent, a Wannabe Left Wing Ideologue?
  • Jean-Pierre: Economy “Not Something that We Keep an Eye on Every Day”
  • Job Market Survival Advice for Graduates and for Those YOU Love
  • The Destructive Rise and Fall of BLM
  • What Would We Do without the Experts?

About Us

  • About Young Research
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Our Partners

  • Richard C. Young & Co.
  • Richardcyoung.com

Copyright © 2022 | Terms & Conditions

 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.