US upstream news

Equinor has completed the sale of its operated and non-operated acreage in the Bakken field in North Dakota and Montana to Grayson Mill Energy.

The NoMan optical system, for which the patent has been given, is used for remote general and close visual inspection of tanks, pressure vessels and other confined spaces.

Because US producers have increased access to debt and equity (among other factors), the EIA is forecasting that US crude oil production will increase from 10.7 million bpd in 1Q21 to 12.2 million bpd in 4Q22.

Schlumberger, which has been selling assets in North America, said it is benefitting from an inflection in global drilling activity which has picked up as oil prices climbed to US$65.45.

Baker Hughes and Halliburton have said North American oil markets are showing signs of recovery as the two companies beat Wall Street expectations for 1Q21 earnings.

The company has appointed commercial director Andrew Law as CEO, succeeding Enteq founder Martin Perry.

Once online at BP's US$9 billion Mad Dog 2 project, Argos, a semi-submersible, floating production platform, will be the company’s fifth operated platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

A series of tests were successfully performed on a Weatherford test rig in Houston, US, to demonstrate and verify the integration and functionality of the managed pressure drilling and automated well control technology.

The sale consists of approximately 78 700 net acres located in the Little Knife and Murphy Creek acreage interests in the Bakken in North Dakota, US.

Enverus' summary of 1Q21 US upstream M&A activity shows US$3.4 billion in deal value was transacted during the quarter – an 88% decline from 4Q20.