5 oil companies that stopped filing for drilling permits in Texas
Crude oil prices continue to inch up but were still under $35 a barrel last week and continue to take a toll on drilling activity in Texas.
Some 24 companies filed for 54 drilling permits with the Texas Railroad Commission from May 13 to 19, marking the the lowest number of filings in a single week this year.
Oil majors such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell have cut back on activity but continue to file for permits. But five companies that were once some of the most active drillers in the state stopped filing for permits.
Houston oil company Sanchez Energy was once the third-most-active driller in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas. Still wrapped up in bankruptcy proceedings, the company has not filed for a new drilling permit since Jan. 29.
Murphy Oil was the sixthmost-active driller in the Eagle Ford last year but has not filed for a new permit in Texas since March 11. Citing an industry downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the company is moving its headquarters from Arkansas to Houston.
Chinese-owned Surge Energy broke oil industry records last year with the longest lateral for a horizontal well at a site in the Permian Basin of West Texas but has not filed for a new drilling permit since March 18.
Austin oil company Parsley Energy, the Permian driller that led an unsuccessful movement seeking statewide production cuts, hasn’t filed for a new drilling permit since April 1. Houston oil company Apache
Corp., which has laid off more than 350 people this year and cut its budget by more than $600 million, hasn’t filed for new permits since April 11.
Permian Basin
Midland oil company Diamondback Energy plans to drill nine new horizontal wells. Seven of them target the Spraberry field in Martin and Howard counties, while two target the Wolfcamp geological layer in Pecos County.
Eagle Ford Shale
Houston oil giant ConocoPhillips is taking a break from hydraulic fracturing but continues to drill new wells. The company plans to drill five horizontal wells targeting the Eagle Ford geological layer in DeWitt County.
Haynesville Shale
Oil company EnSight IV Energy Partners of Shreveport, La., plans to drill a natural gas well in East Texas. The company is seeking permission to drill a new horizontal well targeting the Haynesville geological layer in Harrison County.
Barnett Shale
There were no drilling permits filed in the Barnett Shale of North Texas. Mexican oil company PetroBal had emerged as one of the most active drillers in the region. The company has not filed for a new permit since Aug. 12.
Conventionals
Wichita Falls exploration and production company S&G Oil plans to drill a vertical well on its Parrish lease in Wichita County. The well targets the Wichita County Regular field down to a vertical depth of 2,000 feet.