Summary · why it matters
US shale producers are pivoting back to international frontier exploration as the domestic shale industry matures, with EOG Resources leading the charge into the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. EOG chairman and CEO Ezra Yacob told a Hart Energy conference in Houston this week that Abu Dhabi shale geology is very comparable to South Texas' Eagle Ford shale, and that the company has brought a couple of wells online there that are outperforming expectations. ExxonMobil and Chevron never left international developments but dramatically cut back on exploration, and are now increasing the international portions of their capital budgets for projects in the Middle East and Africa, while ConocoPhillips, EOG, Occidental Petroleum, APA Corp., Murphy Oil and others are again eyeing overseas opportunities both onshore and offshore. Harold Hamm's Continental Resources, the country's top privately held domestic producer, is expanding in Argentina and dealmaking in Venezuela. Bobby Tudor, founder and CEO of Artemis Energy Partners, said international exploration is back in the game and that the US industry's exploration muscle memory was hollowed out during the shale revolution, leaving many workers who have never drilled a dry hole. Bill Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Oil & Gas, is gearing up to drill new wells in Alaska's North Slope and has his sights set on Venezuela and offshore Aruba, calling the seismic imagery like geo-porn and the Aruba prospect true wildcatting.
APA Corporation
ConocoPhillips
Chevron Corp
EOG Resources Inc
Murphy Oil Corporation
Occidental Petroleum Corporation
Exxon Mobil Corp