EIA: publicly traded US oil companies increase crude oil production
Published by Poppy Clements,
Assistant Editor
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
Because cash from operations declined, the E&P companies supported investing activities in 2Q23 by reducing shareholder returns by 39%, compared with the 2022 quarterly average and increasing net debt by US$5.6 billion. Crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) production by these E&P companies increased to an average of 6.3 million bpd, nearly equal to the pre-pandemic high in 1Q20.
The EIA bases analysis on the published financial reports of 40 publicly traded oil companies that produce most of their crude oil in the US. As a result, observations do not represent the entire sector because private companies are excluded, which do not publish financial reports. These 40 publicly traded companies collectively accounted for 33% of all crude oil and NGL produced in the US in 2Q23.
Although crude oil prices and cash from operations declined in 2Q23, E&P company capital expenditure and crude oil production both increased to their highest levels in the past three years. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price averaged US$73.49/b in 2Q23, 33% less than in 2Q22. Lower crude oil prices contributed to cash from operations declining 38% from 2Q22 to US$23.1 billion in 2Q23. CAPEX, which historically decreases with falling crude oil prices, has been less sensitive to WTI price changes over this period: capital expenditure of US$17.6 billion in 2Q23 was 37% higher than in 2Q22. Higher capital expenditure supported crude oil production increasing 11% from 2Q22 to 4.1 million bpd in 2Q23.
Increased production by the E&P companies underlies a broader trend of publicly traded companies increasing their share of total US crude oil and NGL production. As liquid fuels markets started to recover in 2020, production from private companies grew more quickly than from publicly traded companies, resulting in private companies producing a larger share of crude oil and NGL.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/05102023/eia-publicly-traded-us-oil-companies-increase-crude-oil-production/
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