Here comes the next wave of the U.S. oil boom

[Independent voter]

If you're in shape and looking for a high paying job, head to the US oil fields.

OPEC's drop in production means OPEC's 2 year price war with US oil producers is over.







http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/17/inve...comeback-opec/

After a painful two-year price war with OPEC, the worst may finally be over for the American oil industry.
U.S. oil companies didn't merely survive OPEC's attempt to drown them in low prices. The energy industry is emerging from this dark period of bankruptcies and job cuts much leaner and ready to thrive, even at prices that were once too low.
OPEC's decision in November to abandon its strategy of flooding the world with excess supply allowed oil prices to stabilize above $50 a barrel. That bottom in prices has allowed the U.S. shale oil producers that have driven the boom in American oil production over the past decade to once again start pumping more oil. And many have even started to rehire some of the thousands of workers laid off during the downturn.
The U.S. oil comeback has been led by a dramatic resurgence in the Permian Basin, a hotbed of shale drilling in Texas and New Mexico. Frackers are racing to add rigs in the Permian, where the count has skyrocketed from a low of 132 last April to 301 now.
"All evidence is indicating that an oil price over $50 is fanning the flames of higher production," Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData, wrote in a recent report.
That's why the U.S. Energy Information Administration significantly upgraded its 2018 forecast for domestic oil output to 9.5 million barrels per day, compared with 8.9 million barrels as of last November.
JPMorgan is even more bullish on American oil, predicting the U.S. will pump 9.7 million barrels a day by the end of next year.
That would be quite the feat, eclipsing the 44-year high set during the recent peak in April 2015. That kind of output would also be just shy of the all-time high, set in November 1970 just before the OPEC oil embargo.
Related: Oil prices have doubled in a year. Here's why
All that new American oil could keep a lid on prices, which have already doubled from the lows of last year. Strong U.S. production would also make life more difficult for OPEC, especially because the cartel's well-executed production cut agreement is set to expire later this year.
The key to the U.S. resiliency is that financial pressure has forced once-bloated drillers to become vastly more efficient.
"The crisis of collapsing oil prices has seemingly focused the industry on doing more with less," JPMorgan global commodity research analyst David Martin wrote in a report.
Thanks to more sophisticated technology and lower prices for personnel and drilling equipment, shale drillers are much leaner these days.
Societe Generale called it a "profound technological transformation" that signals shale is "coming back, and coming back strong."
In fact, SocGen said each drilling rig is now able to pump more oil "than ever before." Capital Economics estimates that the U.S. can replicate the powerful output of 2015 with half the rigs.
Related: OPEC has pulled off one of its 'deepest' production cuts
Talk of an oil comeback is terrific news for laid-off oil workers in Texas, North Dakota and elsewhere. Goldman Sachs has estimated that nearly 170,000 oil and gas jobs were wiped out between late 2014 and mid-2016 as companies big and small scrambled to slash costs and stave off bankruptcy.
Thankfully, the pink slips have finally stopped flying in the oil patch. Government statistics show that the energy industry's labor force stopped shrinking during the second half of last year.
"Finally, we are seeing an uptick. The layoffs stopped about six months ago," Jeff Bush, president of oil and gas recruiting firm CSI Recruiting, told CNNMoney.
Bush cited a flurry of hiring, especially for six-figure jobs in geology, engineering, finance and accounting. The field work is also coming back, albeit more modestly.
He said the oil crash was "harsh" because of the dramatic decline in drilling activity.
"We're recovering, but it has not recovered yet," Bush said.
It stands to reason that hiring may not be quite as robust this time because shale companies can do more with less.
That may be true, but in order to ramp production back up the industry will need to hire a lot. Oil companies need to replace the workers who were laid off during the downturn, some of whom have found work in other industries like construction. Goldman Sachs has predicted the oil and gas industry may need to add 80,000 to 100,000 jobs by the end of 2018.
And that doesn't factor in promises by President Trump to rip up regulations that he says are holding the American oil industry back.
"When things come back online, there's going to be an enormous talent shortage of epic proportions," Bush said. "It's going to be nuts."

[Berengil]

Those aholes can't stand it now that the US is the world's single largest producer of oil/gas, though OPEC as a whole produces more.

I believe they also see that oil's days are numbered, and they are beginning to realize they've built their power on foundation that is soon to be gone.

[Draco-Onis]

Those aholes can't stand it now that the US is the world's single largest producer of oil/gas, though OPEC as a whole produces more.

You don't seem to understand the reason US oil is making a comeback is because the deal OPEC made, the US oil industry will suffer greatly if oil falls in the $20-$30 range. If US production managed to eclipse the cuts by OPEC then the entire deal may fall apart ironically hurting all parties involved.

[Sunseeker]

Extraction economics are great in the short term, but not a long-term sustainable system for a nation. Russia knows this. The OPEC nations know this. The USA has known this for decades, we're only reverting to it now because the influence of the oil industry has grown too strong.

Sure, work in the oil industry, they pay well, if you don't mind working in -25 temperatures and living in Tioga ND.

[minteK917]

As long as you make sure your expertise can translate to other industries than oil, its a decent idea to go make a buck. Just gotta remember that otherwise you live and die in the falls of a market that is ultimately closer to its end then its beginning. You dont want to be the next "Trump" voter in 25 years getting promised the return of things that dont work anymore.

[infinit]

Those aholes can't stand it now that the US is the world's single largest producer of oil/gas, though OPEC as a whole produces more.

I believe they also see that oil's days are numbered, and they are beginning to realize they've built their power on foundation that is soon to be gone.

Oil is not going anywhere anytime soon, do you have any idea how much stuff is made from petroleum?
also there are over a billion cars on the road and they wont be replaced any time soon, and until you can get cheap electric cars with 600+km range and instant refill/battery swaps they wont take over for the majority of the worlds drivers.

Plus we are headed into the problem of the waste created from making batteries and disposing of them once electric becomes more popular, the tech has a long way to go

[monkmastaeq]

Every oil company that remained open in my town are hiring again , they are looking for hundreds of guys at almost every level.

[Draco-Onis]

Oil is not going anywhere anytime soon, do you have any idea how much stuff is made from petroleum?
also there are over a billion cars on the road and they wont be replaced any time soon, and until you can get cheap electric cars with 600+km range and instant refill/battery swaps they wont take over for the majority of the worlds drivers.

Plus we are headed into the problem of the waste created from making batteries and disposing of them once electric becomes more popular, the tech has a long way to go

Oil has about 50 - 75 years left according to most estimates including their own. That is why all oil companies are investing into renewable energy and oil based economies are looking for other means of supporting their government. Oil's days are numbered it is a finite resource unless we find oil in outer space somewhere or something.