In their first earnings call following the merger of two significant Bakken Shale businesses, Chord Energy Corp. executives stated that the company's core assets exceeded production targets in the second quarter of 2022 and set the way for the new business.

The first quarter of 2022 was one of the strongest for merger and acquisition activity, particularly in the Bakken, where the Whiting-Oasis merger of equals topped $3.88 billion dollars.

The Bakken’s lifespan is increasing thanks to technology, based on a two-year analysis of well production trends conducted by North Dakota Pipeline Authority Justin Kringstad.

History shows that those who underestimate the U.S. shale sector do so at their peril.

No company has more skin in the U.S. domestic shale game than ConocoPhillips and its CEO, Ryan Lance. Which is why, in the midst of this current, COVID-19 induced downturn, it was encouraging to see Lance talk optimistically about the prospects of an industry comeback taking place in the coming months.

OPEC and its oil-producing allies agreed on Saturday to extend the historic 9.7 million barrels per day production cut for an additional month in an ongoing effort to balance the global oil market. The agreement was finalized during the group’s video-conference meeting.

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) - Early signs of a shale rebound are becoming evident as crude prices emerge from their dramatic collapse earlier this year.

Producers are already restarting oil wells in North Dakota as prices come off record lows, but talk of a recovery is premature, said the state’s energy regulator.

“This is not a speculative bust like the 1980s or 2015-16, with the price of oil falling from $110 per barrel,” according to Gilmer, who expects prices to return to near $60 or $65 per barrel by 2022. “It is a severe, but relatively short-lived, virus-driven event.”

Shale’s high-pressured wells and short drilling time mean the industry is well positioned to benefit if the current plunge in oil causes long-term damage to production capacity, resulting in a price jump when demand returns, Goldman analyst Damien Courvalin said in a note dated March 31.

Bakken Shale in the US, 2019 - Oil and Gas Shale Market Analysis and Outlook to 2023

Bridger Pipeline LLC (Bridger) announced that they have formed a 50/50 joint venture, Liberty Pipeline LLC, and are proceeding with construction of the Liberty Pipeline (Liberty). The 24-inch pipeline will provide crude oil transportation service from the Rockies and Bakken production areas to Cushing, Oklahoma.

The operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline is planning to nearly double its capacity, to a point where it could transport nearly all of the daily oil production of the nation’s No. 2 producer. The plans include new pumping stations in three states.

“The additional capacity will allow new investments in gas capture infrastructure, such as gathering pipelines and processing plants to move forward,” he said.

Oil exec estimates the Bakken reserves hold 30 to 40 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

Oilfield companies who waited on seeking a position in the Bakken likely to face a premium for that choice.

While increasing oil prices and fewer regulations have led to a resurgence in the Bakken, improved technologies since the last boom could lead to more production and the ability to move product to market even faster this time around.

“To emphasize my point, the Permian right now is the leading play and gets most of the attention from industry. However, there are some major tradeoffs to growing that much and that fast. We think that’s where Bakken operators and Bakken investors can look to find opportunities and to capitalize on some of those tradeoffs that there are in the Permian.”

In May, the North Dakota oil and gas industry set a new production record, hitting 1.244 million barrels of oil per day (bopd). In 18 months, production has grown by more than 300,000 bopd, from 942,156 bopd in December 2016. It's hard to believe that only ten years ago, in May 2008, the state's production totaled only 156,420 bopd.