OPEC Officials And U.S. Shale Executives Discuss Global Oil Supply

Hamilton Nwosa
Writer

Ad

Uche Nnaji: Politicians Only Need Secondary School Certificate– Shehu Sani

By Abiola Olawale Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has declared that a secondary school certificate is more than adequate for anyone aspiring to hold political office in Nigeria. Sani's statement comes amid a fresh scandal involving Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Uche Nnaji. A report, which has sent shockwaves through Nigeria, revealed that…

Jilly Cooper, best-selling British author, dies at 88

By Obinna Uballa Celebrated British novelist Jilly Cooper, famed for her witty and racy tales of high society, has died at the age of 88, her family and agent confirmed on Monday. Media reports in the United Kingdom said Cooper passed away after suffering a fall on Sunday. Her publicist, Felicity Blunt, paid tribute, describing…

Obaseki, Orbih trade accusations as Edo PDP crisis deepens

By Obinna Uballa The lingering crisis in the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a fresh turn, with former governor Godwin Obaseki and the party’s National Vice Chairman (South-South), Dan Orbih, locked in a bitter war of words over the party’s leadership and future. Orbih, speaking on Sunday at a…

Ad

Top officials from OPEC and executives at some of the biggest U.S. shale producers discussed the tight global oil supply at a dinner in Houston on Monday evening as the oil industry gathers for the annual CERAWeek energy conference.

OPEC’s Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais had dinner with the CEOs of Pioneer Natural Resources, Occidental, Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy, and Hess Corp, among others, according to Bloomberg.

OPEC’s previous secretary general, the late Mohammad Barkindo, started the tradition of meetings with U.S. shale executives on the sidelines of CERAWeek in 2017. It appears that his successor Al Ghais wants to continue the dialogue with the U.S. shale industry, whose production surge in 2017 was seen as a challenge to OPEC’s control over the marginal supply to the market.

Leaving the restaurant where the dinner was held, Devon Energy’s chief executive Richard Muncrief told Bloomberg, “There’s not a lot of spare capacity right now,” when asked to comment on the topics of the conversation.

Other attendees from the U.S. shale industry included Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield, Occidental Petroleum’s chief executive Vicky Hollub, Hess Corporation’s John Hess, Chesapeake Energy’s CEO Nick Dell’Osso, and Talos Energy’s top executive Tim Duncan, per Reuters.

According to Devon Energy’s Muncrief, the gist of the discussions at the meeting was, “Nobody controls the market. That’s just the bottom line. So every company has to do what they think is best.”

The little left spare oil production capacity globally is in the hands of the biggest OPEC producer, Saudi Arabia, and to a lesser extent, in the third-largest producer, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

U.S. shale firms, for their part, are expected to raise oil production this year compared to 2022. Yet, the growth rate could surprise to the downside due to supply chain and labor bottlenecks, cost inflation, and the industry’s strategy to reward shareholders and pay down debts instead of taking on more debts to boost output. NB: Tsvetana Paraskova wrote this article for Oilprice.com

Ad

Unlocking Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea during UNGA80
X whatsapp