In this week's news update, more energy companies in the Bakken file for bankruptcy, and Shell halts production of its Carmon Creek project.
Royal Dutch Shell will stop construction of its Carmon Creek thermal oilsands venture in Canada due to “uncertainties” facing the project, including a lack of infrastructure.
The decision also comes as Shell cuts costs and a shortage of pipeline capacity constrains growth in Canada’s oilsands industry.
The cancellation of the 80,000 bpd Carmon Creek project comes after the company halted its search for oil off the Alaskan coast in September at a cost of several billion dollars.
EXCO Resources Pulling Out of Eagle Ford
EXCO Resources, a U.S. natural gas producer, announced on Oct. 27 that it has suspended oil exploration in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas because of low crude oil prices.
EXCO becomes one of only a few publicly traded companies to halt work there altogether since prices dropped. Other producers have pulled back production, but not stopped completely. Others that have stopped completely were Cornstock Resources and Clayton Williams Energy.
The Dallas-based company plans to redeploy capital from South Texas into higher-return wells like those it is drilling in East Texas.
More Companies File for Bankruptcy
Two more energy companies operating in the Bakken Shale have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the midst of slumping crude prices, according to a report in the Bismarck Tribune.
The paper says Samson Resources and American Eagle Energy both plan to sell off Bakken assets to pay debts.
Between June and late September, 10 oil and gas companies operating in the North Dakota oil play filed for bankruptcy. A total of 19 have filed in the past year.
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