The Drilldown: In-depth answers to oilfield questions

Richard & John Spears answer your questions & discuss the oilfield services business. Got a question? Send it to drilldownshow@gmail.com New episode every Monday!

Ep153: Does US Oilfield Spending Go to Zero? 03/30/2020

Ep153: Does US Oilfield Spending Go to Zero? No matter the price of oil, no matter the trend in drilling activity, the number is $150 frac dollars per reservoir foot drilled. The only real switch occurred in Q1 2015 when things collapsed the first time, but $150 is our number. It would take a change in industry behavior to take another step downward in Q2 2020…perhaps that happens, but do we predict it today? Not really. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13764566

152: A Unified Theory of the Oilpatch 03/23/2020

152: A Unified Theory of the Oilpatch Global oil inventories are set to increase due to the drop in oil demand and the rise in OPEC+ output. Richard and John discuss how much inventories might rise, how long it will take before they are back to normal, and the implications for US oilfield activity, oil production and oil prices. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13671338

Ep151: $32 oil. What now? 03/16/2020

Ep151: $32 oil. What now? Richard and John discuss the near-term impact of $32 oil on drilling and completion activity and revenues for selected market segments and oil service companies. In addition, they consider how the drop in drilling and completion will impact US oil production and what that means for the long-term outlook for oil prices. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13572422

Ep150: An Oilfield Crime 03/09/2020

Ep150: An Oilfield Crime Richard and John discuss the “Killers of the Flower Moon”, a book (and soon to be a movie) about a 1920s conspiracy to murder Osage Indians for their oil royalties and what became one of the FBI’s first major homicide investigations. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13473329

Ep149: Effective or Merely Efficient? 03/02/2020

Ep149: Effective or Merely Efficient? Richard and John discuss the winners and losers from the three-fold improvement in drilling and frac efficiency realized over the past couple of years. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13376477

Ep148: A Good Combination? 02/25/2020

Ep148: A Good Combination? Halliburton + TechnipFMC --- A Good Combination? Richard & John dive into Jane Austen to analyze the merits. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13294934

Ep147: ESG pt III 02/17/2020

Ep147: ESG pt III /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13189625

Ep146: ESG Pt II 02/11/2020

Ep146: ESG Pt II In the second of a three-part series on ESG issues, Richard and John discuss social issues such as diversity, human rights and security that investors are increasingly using to evaluate operators and oilfield service firms. Other topics include: Total global value of stocks and bonds and the percent represented by sustainable investments. The absence of universally-accepted ESG standards The use and misuse of statistics /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13108520

Ep145: ESG Part 1 02/03/2020

Ep145: ESG Part 1 ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues play an increasing role in investors’ financial decisions regarding operators and oil service firms, which have begun to take action in response. Richard and John discuss whether these actions are happening fast enough relative to non-industry expectations. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13001195

Ep145: The Law of Capture 01/28/2020

Ep145: The Law of Capture How the "Law of Capture" defines how US drillers will behave in 2020. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/12924149

Ep143: Which oilfield services sectors do we see growing in 2020? 01/21/2020

Ep143: Which oilfield services sectors do we see growing in 2020? We're talking market segments this week! Which oilfield services sectors do we see growing in 2020? We go through our Oilfield Market Report and take a look at where each market segment is headed. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/12837965

Ep142: Our Predictions for 2020 01/13/2020

Ep142: Our Predictions for 2020 It's that time again, Richard & John make predictions for this coming year. Tune in in 51 weeks where we tally up who reads tea leaves better. Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/12722333

Ep141: We Review our Predictions for 2019 01/06/2020

Ep141: We Review our Predictions for 2019 Richard & John compare their over and under predictions for the past year -- how did they do? Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/12634205

Ep140: Next Year's News 12/18/2019

Ep140: Next Year's News Richard and John list some of their “Ahead of the Bit” headlines they expect will describe the oilpatch in 2020. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/12453605

Ep139- Did the oil & gas industry turn a corner these past few weeks? 12/09/2019

Ep139- Did the oil & gas industry turn a corner these past few weeks? Aramco going public, the switch from production growth to profit growth, and companies ability to deliver on profit growth. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/12335786

Ep138: ‘Tis the Season: The Takings (not Santa) Clause 12/02/2019

Ep138: ‘Tis the Season: The Takings (not Santa) Clause Some presidential candidates have proposed to ban fracking, if elected. Richard and John discuss how such proposals would fare considering the Fifth Amendment and the impact on state governments. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/12251888

Ep137: The Future of Oilfield R&D 11/18/2019

Ep137: The Future of Oilfield R&D Richard and John contrast and compare the structure and direction of oilfield R&D in a “peak oil demand” scenario relative to today’s industry. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/12082100

Ep136: Oh, Canada: Part Deaux 11/11/2019

Ep136: Oh, Canada: Part Deaux Although the weather is turning colder the banking sector appears to be warming up to Canadian oil service firms. What’s going on? /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11993999

Ep135: What I learned this week 11/05/2019

Ep135: What I learned this week /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11909048

Ep134:It’s All About Timing 10/28/2019

Ep134:It’s All About Timing Richard and John review the time lag between a change in the spot price of oil and changes in rig count and frac activity and discover a surprising relationship. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11811473

Ep133: The Risk of Selling Days 10/21/2019

Ep133: The Risk of Selling Days Richard and John discuss the impact on oil service companies whose services are priced per day when productivity soars and whose costs are incurred per foot drilled. Can long-established pricing practices change? /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11730023

Ep132: Consolidations and Divestitures 10/14/2019

Ep132: Consolidations and Divestitures Many companies are eyeing divestiture. What factors are incentivizing this and what barriers exist? /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11634686

Ep131: Resetting the Bar 10/07/2019

Ep131: Resetting the Bar Baseball, rig activity, and oil prices. Exploring the relationship between oil prices and US monthly rig activity. We dive deep into historical data, going back to 1986, to explain why US rig count has fallen this year and what we should expect going into 2020. Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11545331

Ep130: Is it the oil industries' job to replace itself? 09/30/2019

Ep130: Is it the oil industries' job to replace itself? Many activist investors are pushing the oil industry to transition or replace itself. Richard & John discuss. Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11456132

Ep129: Shake (Spears) 09/23/2019

Ep129: Shake (Spears) You might not realize that the works of The Bard have uncanny parallels to the Oil & Gas industry. This episode, Richard and John demonstrate that former field hands can be cultured too! Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11347775

Ep128: Global Oil Demand 09/09/2019

Ep128: Global Oil Demand We discuss the outlook for global oil demand in the coming year and the sensitivity of oil traders to the US-China trade dispute. Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11182844

Ep127: E-Frac Sensitivity to Natural Gas Prices 09/03/2019

Ep127: E-Frac Sensitivity to Natural Gas Prices We discuss the capital & operating costs of E-Frac and estimate the price of natural gas at which E-Frac becomes uneconomic relative to conventional frac units. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/11108399

Ep126: Hitting The Brakes 08/26/2019

Ep126: Hitting The Brakes Richard & John discuss the slowdown taking place in US oil production growth and what that means for global markets. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10999814

Ep125: Mythical Beasts 08/12/2019

Ep125: Mythical Beasts How real is the "fracklog"? Richard and John identify the weaknesses in the EIA's method for calculating drilled-but-uncompleted wells and what that means for the US oilpatch. Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10864271

Ep124: How We Think About Inventories 08/05/2019

Ep124: How We Think About Inventories Will OPEC+ be successful in its effort to reduce oil inventories in order to boost prices? Richard and John discuss whether this goal has already been met and when prices might respond. Episode produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10780409

The Drilldown: In-depth answers to oilfield questions

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