Lower gas prices have caused producers in gas-rich basins to scale back operations
US shale starts 2023 in ‘realistic’ mood
First-quarter shale results show ongoing restraint amid signs of cost deflation
The first-quarter earnings season has highlighted signs of improved capital spending in the US, while certain tight oil producers have flagged up signs of cost deflation in oilfield services and equipment. Meanwhile, lower gas prices have caused producers in gas-rich basins to scale back operations, while oil prices—which have also declined since 2022—remain strong enough to support activity. Consultancy Wood Mackenzie notes in a report rounding up results among 42 US independents that WTI prices averaged $76/bl in the first quarter of 2023. This is “much closer to a ‘mid-cycle’ level than last year’s average of $96/bl”, it says. “Mid-cycle is not a hard and fast number, but that is generall
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13 April 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis highlights sharp shift from crude oversupply to market deficit, with Iraq and Kuwait badly affected and key producers Saudi Arabia and the UAE also seeing output sharply lower
13 April 2026
Turkmenistan is moving ahead with a modest expansion of the giant Galkynysh field to sustain gas deliveries abroad, but persistent delays to other key pipeline projects and geopolitical risks continue to constrain its export ambitions
13 April 2026
Expensive electricity has forced out swathes of energy-intensive industry and now threatens the country’s ability to attract future investment in datacentres and the digital economy
13 April 2026
For GCC producers, the ceasefire may prove more destabilising than the war itself: exports remain constrained, and control over Hormuz has shifted in ways that could endure
