"Tariffs + Low Oil Prices": Dual Pressure Squeezes U.S. Shale Boom—Oil Majors Warn the Boom Is Ending

According to a May 26 report by the UK’s Financial Times, U.S. oil companies are cutting expenditures and idling drilling rigs amid rising costs driven by Trump-era tariffs and shrinking profit margins caused by falling crude prices. Industry giants have warned that the shale oil boom—which has lasted for a decade—is coming to an end. Clay Gaspar, CEO of Devon Energy, told investors this month: We are now on high alert. In this increasingly challenging environment, anything is possible. OPEC+’s unexpected decision to increase production further darkened the outlook for the oil industry, sparking fresh concerns about a new price war and prompting analysts to downgrade their production forecasts. S&P Global Commodity Insights forecasts that U.S. oil output will decline by 1.1% year-on-year to 13.3 million barrels per day next year—the first annual drop in a decade, excluding the pandemic-hit year of 2020. Falling oil prices, rising corporate costs, and breached breakeven points U.S. oil prices fell again last Friday, closing at $61.53 per barrel—a roughly 23% drop from this year’s peak. According to the Dallas Fed’s Quarterly Energy Survey, shale producers require an oil price of $65 per barrel to break even.

What landmark events occurred in the global energy market in 2024?

January 10: Chesapeake Energy announced an all-stock acquisition of Southwestern Energy for $7.4 billion, creating the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. domestic market. 26: The Biden administration paused approvals for new U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects to review their environmental and economic impacts. February 6: The Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the Net-Zero Industry Act, aimed at accelerating industrial deployment of net-zero technologies essential for achieving EU climate goals. 25: QatarEnergy announced continued expansion of the North Field, adding 16 million tons per year of LNG production capacity on top of existing output. March 3: OPEC+ announced an extension of its production-cutting agreement—originally set to expire at the end of March—to the end of June, maintaining total cuts at 2.2 million barrels per day. 18–22: The 42nd edition of CERAWeek—the Cambridge Energy Research Associates Annual Conference—took place in Houston, Texas. Its theme was “Multidimensional Energy Transition: Markets, Climate, Technology, and Geopolitics.” April 3: SLB (formerly Schlumberger) announced an all-stock acquisition of ChampionX for $7.8 billion—the company’s largest deal since 2016. 17: The United States reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. May 3: ExxonMobil completed its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources—the largest merger-and-acquisition deal in the oil and gas industry since the Exxon-Mobil merger. 9: The Australian government unveiled a long-term “Future Gas Strategy,” intensifying support for gas projects. 27: The EU’s methane emissions regulation formally entered into law, requiring international energy suppliers to reduce methane emissions and leaks. 29: ConocoPhillips announced its acquisition of Marathon Oil for $22.5 billion—the highest-value “mega-merger” launched by a U.S. oil company in the first half of 2024. June 2: OPEC+ held its 37th Ministerial Meeting virtually and extended the production-cutting agreement to September. July 8: Devon Energy announced its acquisition of Grayson Mill Energy’s Williston Basin assets for $5 billion. 14: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced the discovery of high-quality light crude oil and natural gas totaling 3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent in an offshore field east of Kuwait—an amount roughly equivalent to Kuwait’s total oil production over three years.

Devon to Sell Shale Oil Assets to Crescent for $4.2 Billion

19 hours ago

Devon Energy agreed to sell its Eagle Ford shale assets to Crescent Energy for $4.2 billion to reduce debt and fund buybacks. The deal marks a strategic divestment as Devon faces pressure from activist investors to streamline its portfolio.

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Devon to Sell Shale Oil Assets to Crescent for $4.2 Billion

Devon to Sell Shale Oil Assets to Crescent for $4.2 Billion

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