New Mexico leads the Rockies region in gas production and ranks as the sixth-largest in terms of active gas wells in the U.S. Last year, the state's gas well count slightly increased by 0.2% to 30,699, with new additions in both the northwestern San Juan Basin and the southeastern Permian Basin. Meanwhile, just to the north in Colorado, gas producers grew by a modest 0.1% to 30,322, primarily due to increased drilling activity in the DJ and Piceance basins. Wyoming saw a decline in its active gas wells by 3.7%, down to 17,006, with production mainly in Sublette, Sweetwater, and Converse counties reflecting stable or slightly reduced drilling activity. Utah also experienced a slight decrease of 0.2% in its number of gas wells, totaling 6,463. In Q1 2024, oil and gas industry activity in Oklahoma, Colorado, and northern New Mexico experienced a decline. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of contraction in drilling and business activities within these regions. According to a survey that included responses from 33 firms operating in the Rockies, this downtrend is expected to continue over the next six months.

The Williston Basin is a big area filled with layers of rock that sits next to the Rocky Mountains in western North Dakota, eastern Montana, and the southern part of Saskatchewan in Canada. This area covers roughly 110,000 square miles. Geologically, it's very similar to the Alberta Basin in Canada. People started drilling for oil in the Williston Basin back in 1936, and by 1954, most of the land where oil could likely be found was already claimed for drilling. The Bakken Formation with parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba has become one of only ten oil fields globally to yield over 1 million barrels per day (bpd) since the late 2000s. It is currently the third-largest U.S. shale oilfield, behind the Permian and Eagle Ford. The boom in the Bakken started around September 2008, coinciding with the U.S. housing market crash. The application of new technologies, such as swell packers enabling multiple-stage fracturing, significantly enhanced oil recovery, making the Bakken Formation a key player in the U.S. In 2022, the Bakken oil field saw big improvements in how much oil and gas it could produce. At the start of the year, 27 drilling rigs were working there, more than double the 11 rigs from the start of 2021. Important upgrades included making the Tioga Gas Plant able to process 150 million cubic feet more gas each day, and making the Dakota Access Pipeline bigger, increasing its oil transport capacity from 570,000 to 750,000 barrels every day.

The Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin, spanning Northern Colorado, Eastern Wyoming, Western Kansas, and parts of Nebraska, stretches from north to south, from north of Cheyenne, Wyoming, down to Colorado Springs. Its primary production field, the Wattenberg gas field, is located in Weld County and Northwestern Adams County in Northeast Colorado. Oil and gas production in the D-J Basin traces back to a discovery in Boulder County, Colorado, in 1901, marking a long history of energy development in the area. The basin is highly productive, primarily due to its stacked plays, similar to those in other regions like the Anadarko Basin (with its SCOOP and STACK plays) and the Permian Basin. This geological feature is a key reason for the high productivity of wells in the DJ Basin.

Enbridge Inc. has completed a $6.6 billion purchase of The East Ohio Gas Co., an Ohio natural gas company, from Dominion Energy. This acquisition is part of a larger $14 billion merger and acquisition deal previously announced by the two companies. The East Ohio Gas Co. will operate under the new name Enbridge Gas Ohio (EOG) and become part of Enbridge's Gas Distribution and Storage Business Unit, including taking on some debt as mentioned by Dominion.

Pembina Pipeline Corporation PBA, a well-known player in the Canadian midstream sector, recently announced its plan to acquire Enbridge Inc.'s remaining shares in the Alliance Pipeline, Aux Sable pipelines, and NRGreen joint ventures. The deal, valued at C$3.1 billion or US$2.3 billion, marks a key step for Pembina in asserting its leadership in North America's natural gas transportation sector. This strategic acquisition is expected to considerably boost Pembina's growth and profitability in the coming years.

Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) has reached an agreement to acquire its domestic competitor, Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N). This all-stock transaction, which places a valuation of $59.5 billion on the deal, promises to establish Exxon as the preeminent producer in the U.S.'s most extensive oilfield. At a valuation of $253 per share, this merger brings together the prowess of Exxon, America's largest oil entity, with Pioneer, a standout performer that has risen to prominence during the shale boom.

ExxonMobil's joined assets speed up their Low Carbon Solutions business, offering better decarbonization options for customers. ExxonMobil's top CCS network supports their commitment to low carbon value chains, like hydrogen and biofuels. The transaction synergies will cut over 100 MTA of emissions, leading to strong growth and returns. Exxon Mobil Corporation revealed that it will acquire Denbury Inc., a company specializing in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCS) solutions and enhanced oil recovery. $4.9 billion deal will be completed through an all-stock transaction. Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO said “Acquiring Denbury reflects our determination to profitably grow our Low Carbon Solutions business by serving a range of hard-to-decarbonize industries with a comprehensive carbon capture and sequestration offering”.

The midstream sector plays a vital role in the oil and gas supply chain, serving as a crucial link. As the energy transition continues, this industry, like the broader sector, encounters various risks. Yet, existing analyses have predominantly concentrated on the risks faced by the upstream and downstream sectors, leaving the fate of the midstream relatively unexplored. In a nutshell, midstream operators differentiate themselves by offering services instead of products, resulting in potentially distinct revenue models compared to extraction and refining businesses. However, they are not immune to the long-term risks associated with the energy transition away from oil and gas. Over time, companies involved in transporting and storing hydrocarbons face the possibility of encountering a combination of reduced volumes, heightened costs, and declining prices.

Diamondback Energy is on a roll! In the first quarter, they made impressive strides towards their goal of divesting $1 billion in non-core assets by year-end. They successfully sold their upstream and midstream assets, marking a significant achievement.

The Williston Basin, which spans parts of North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, is a major oil-producing region in North America. In order to transport crude oil and natural gas from the wells to refineries and other destinations, a vast pipeline infrastructure has been built in the area. The pipeline infrastructure in the Williston Basin consists of a network of pipelines that connect production sites to processing facilities, storage tanks, and major pipeline hubs

Enbridge acquired Tres Palacios natural gas storage facility in Texas for $335 million, adding approximately 35 Bcf of natural gas storage to their portfolio. The facility uses salt caverns for storage and has a gas header pipeline system that spans 62 miles and links to 11 major gas pipelines. Crestwood Equity Partners LP intends to divest its interests in Tres Palacios by the second quarter.

The U.S. natural gas pipeline network is a complex system of pipelines that transport natural gas from production areas to consumers across the country. The pipeline network consists of three main types of pipelines: gathering pipelines, transmission pipelines, and distribution pipelines. Gathering pipelines are small-diameter pipelines that transport natural gas from production wells to processing facilities or larger transmission pipelines. Transmission pipelines are large-diameter pipelines that transport natural gas over long distances, sometimes across multiple states. Distribution pipelines operate at low pressure and are located in or near urban areas. They are often referred to as "utility pipelines" because they are typically owned and operated by local gas utility companies.

On 27 June, the analysts at Kpler spread the word that the exports of crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast could break a record 3.3 MMbbl/d this quarter as Europe has regard to U.S. crude which can outweigh sanctioned Russian oil. Due to Washington's decision to release 180 MMbbl of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, U.S. exports have increased in the last three months, as it has flooded the domestic market. Exports to Europe are anticipated averaging approximately 1.4 MMbbl/d this quarter, about 30% higher than the year-ago quarter, meanwhile, export to Asia is set to decrease to less than 1 MMbbl/d. Despite that the U.S. has lost about 1 MMbbl/d of refining capacity since 2020, it also boosted exports thanks to the government’s intervention to back crude supplies which has had consequences in growth in exports. Throughput via the Port of Corpus Christi has grown by more than 150,000 bbl/d and has become 1.86 MMbbl/d. Nevertheless, Port of Houston exports also have been increasing since the third quarter of last year, they remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Being the main means of transferring crude oil around the world, pipelines rapidly route oil and its derivative products (gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, heating oil, and heavier fuel oils) to refineries and empower other businesses. The U.S. and Canada solely make North America a major oil hub for more than 90,000 miles of crude oil and petroleum product pipelines, which are connected to more than 140 refineries daily processing about 20 million barrels of oil. Compared to 2010, U.S. crude oil production has increased more than twice: from 5.4 to 11.5 million barrels a day. Therefore, newly produced oil obliged energy companies to expand their pipeline networks, but it has only increased by 56%. According to the latest data, Plains manages the largest pipeline network across the U.S. and Canada (its diameter is at least 10 inches) which is the 14,919-mile network that spans from the northwestern tip of Alberta down to the southern coasts of Texas and Louisiana. The place where all these various spreading pipeline networks carry crude oil is refineries, where it is transformed into different petroleum products. Gulf Coast (PADD 3) possesses several refineries with the largest throughput in North America that process more than 500,000 barrels per day. Not only does the development of new pipelines give a plethora of opportunities for economic growth but also it remains a contentious issue in Canada and the U.S., with the cancellation of the KeystoneXL pipeline emblematic of growing anti-pipeline sentiment. In 2021, only 14 petroleum liquids pipeline construction plans were completed in the U.S., which is considered the lowest amount of new pipelines and expansions ever since 2013. Anti-pipeline sentiment did not come out unexpectedly as leaks and spills in just the last decade have resulted in billions of dollars of damages. From 2010 to 2020, the Pipelineand Hazardous Materials Safety Administration reported 983 incidents that resulted in 149,000 spilled and unrecovered barrels of oil, even five fatalities, 27 injuries, and more than $2.5B in damages.

Canadian heavy crude, being deeply discounted for several years due to a lack of pipelines, is eventually trading like a “North American” grade, moving in tandem with U.S. sour crudes sold on the GulfCoast thanks to Enbridge’s expansion of its 3 pipeline late last year. Meanwhile, the Gulf is full of sour crude over Washington’s largest-ever release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that will amount to 180 MMbbl during six months, trying to tame exorbitant fuel prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The market is flooded with millions of barrels of sour crude from storage caverns in Louisiana and Texas. At the world’s biggest heavy crude refining center, U.S. Gulf Coast, heavy grades like Mars and Poseidon are languishing. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, Canada exports around 4.3 MMbbl/d to the United States, whereas until last year demand to ship crude on export pipelines increased capacity, leaving barrels bottlenecked in Hardisty.

The joint project to improve and market a low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production and export facility was presented on May, 6 by Enbridge Inc. and Humble Midstream LLC. Deployment of the facility is taken under the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center (EIEC) basis close by Corpus Christi. Being the premier export facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast, the EIEC plays a vital role in world energy security and sustainability. Companies plan to develop a utility-scale efficiently low carbon production facility, able to combine both low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia to meet the growing global and domestic demand. It is expected to sequester up to 95% of CO2 generated in the production process in carbon capture facilities, especially ones owned and operated by Enbridge which makes this process a fully integrated low-carbon solution.

Canada is looking at ways to increase pipeline utilization to boost crude exports as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian oil At the moment, oil exports from Canada to the U.S. are approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day, with a portion reexported to other countries. At the end of 2021 Canadian oil companies exported a record amount of crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast, mostly to big importers India, China, and South Korea. And this will only increase in the future.

Enbridge Inc. finally delivered on several of its long-overdue promises, including the $4 billion Line3 Replacement project. Which consisted of replacing an existing 34-inch pipe with a new 36-inch one for 13 miles in North Dakota, 337 miles in Minnesota, and 14 miles in Wisconsin. Midstream companies, in general, had a stunning Q3. It was the first quarter in two years that no midstream index members cut their dividends.