The Drilldown: In-depth answers to oilfield questions

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

Ep176: Going, going...... 09/21/2020

Ep176: Going, going...... Schlumberger has begun to reduce its exposure to the North American oilpatch. Richard and John discuss how this process will likely result in consolidation of important segments of the NAM market. We also chat about -- Does the possibility of a Biden administration impact the timing and/or success of this process? Will competitors or customers object to market consolidation? /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/16097369

Ep175: State of the Market - Renewables 09/14/2020

Ep175: State of the Market - Renewables Major oil companies are increasing their investment in renewable resources as they transform into btu- agnostic energy suppliers. Richard and John describe the US renewables market and discuss the outlook for this sector. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/16004276

Ep174: Frac Market Outlook 09/08/2020

Ep174: Frac Market Outlook The recently-announced combination of Liberty and Schlumberger is shaking up the NAM frac market. Richard and John discuss the outlook for activity and pricing over the coming year. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15927761

Ep173: How It’s Made – The Oilfield Market Report 08/31/2020

Ep173: How It’s Made – The Oilfield Market Report Richard and John discuss the process used to create and update the market size and share estimates found in the Oilfield Market Report. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15827726

Ep172: What's Going On With Natural Gas? 08/24/2020

Ep172: What's Going On With Natural Gas? Natural gas demand is up, pricing recovers a bit. Is this sustainable going forward? We talk about what it looks like as the LNG market tightens up. Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15734549

Ep171: What Would Warren Buffet Do? 08/11/2020

Ep171: What Would Warren Buffet Do? Our podcast today goes out to Warren Buffet & similar investors. We see a 3-phase recovery by market sector. Where & when should investors deploy their capital? Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15569729

Ep170: The Outlook for Technology Development 08/03/2020

Ep170: The Outlook for Technology Development With reserves plentiful but facing limits on CO2 emissions, oil companies are re-focusing their R&D programs. What implications does this have for the oil service sector? Other topics discussed include:  The link between oil service revenues and R&D budgets  R&D’s “Blutarsky moment”  The optimal length of a lecture /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15465053

Ep169: What Do Q2 Results Mean for the Oilpatch? 07/28/2020

Ep169: What Do Q2 Results Mean for the Oilpatch? Looks like we were a bit too optimistic for Q2! This episode we contrast and compare the Q2 financial results of major oil service companies for clues about what is happening in NAM and International markets and the implications for technology development. Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15388988

Ep168: Is Budget Exhaustion the New Seasonality? 07/20/2020

Ep168: Is Budget Exhaustion the New Seasonality? Is Q4 the new "spring dip"? Is drilling seasonality now driven by budget exhaustion? /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15285368

Ep167: The Latest on Oilfield Service Price Discounting 07/13/2020

Ep167: The Latest on Oilfield Service Price Discounting Richard & John talk about what happens to oilfield service prices over the next few quarters. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15190253

Ep166: Tragedy or Comedy - What Oil & Gas Can Learn from Broadway 07/07/2020

Ep166: Tragedy or Comedy - What Oil & Gas Can Learn from Broadway Richard and John discuss the similarities and differences between the theatre business and the oil and gas industry and the challenges each faces in recovering from the pandemic. We also discuss movies with an exclamation point in the title! /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15116090

Ep165: Damage Assessment 06/29/2020

Ep165: Damage Assessment How much oilfield product/service line revenues were impacted Q2 as operators' slashed capex and what this means for supply chain resiliency. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/15009158

Ep164: New World Order 06/22/2020

Ep164: New World Order Oil's back up, but rig count isn't. Why is that? We also discuss the changing landscape of market predicting. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14924153

Ep163: What About DUCS? 06/09/2020

Ep163: What About DUCS? What's going to happen to all the Drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCS) out there? Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14754287

Ep162: All For Naught 06/02/2020

Ep162: All For Naught Some oil companies have recently adopted the goal of reaching “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050. John and Richard discuss when the net-zero target might start to affect decisions as to what types of exploration opportunities to pursue given the timeline for discovery and development. Other topics include: A brief history of the concept of zero /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14671361

Ep161: Re-Discovering Exploration 05/26/2020

Ep161: Re-Discovering Exploration Exploratory activit has been hit hard by low commodity prices, but Richard & John make the case that it could stage a surprisingly strong recovery. Stranded assets vs profitable production Oil versus gas exploration R&D implications /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14573975

Ep160: Inflection Points 05/18/2020

Ep160: Inflection Points Richard and John discuss the key dates in 2020 for decisions that will set the course for oilfield activity in the US, Canada and the Middle East in 2021. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14468675

Ep159: Lightning Round (Redux) 05/11/2020

Ep159: Lightning Round (Redux) Rapid fire questions on EOY oil price, which oilfield service sector will recover first, and Saudi Arabia. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14371919

Ep158: The Virtual Offshore Technology Conference 05/04/2020

Ep158: The Virtual Offshore Technology Conference In the spirit of Saturday's virtual Kentucky Derby, Richard & John call the action at the 2020 virtual Offshore Technology Conference. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14276174

Ep157: Uncharted Waters 04/27/2020

Ep157: Uncharted Waters Richard and John look outside the oilpatch to examples of surviving unprecedented events and overcoming challenging tasks as lessons for today’s oil industry. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14168195

Ep156: What Price Differentials Are Telling Us 04/20/2020

Ep156: What Price Differentials Are Telling Us Richard and John discuss what the current $16 price differential between WTI and Brent is telling us about the current oil market and what the current $17 price differential between the May and July futures prices is telling us about the future oil market. Other topics addressed include: How much oil is exported on a global basis? How much US production is likely to be shut-in? What type of US production will first come back into the market? Ernest Hemingway and Charles Mackay /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/14069420

Ep155: Shootout at the OPEC Corral 04/13/2020

Ep155: Shootout at the OPEC Corral We talk Sunday's OPEC production cut & the future of natural gas prices. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13969415

Ep154: What We're Hearing from the Field 04/06/2020

Ep154: What We're Hearing from the Field When will rig count bottom out? How fast are well costs changing? How will personnel logistics impact drilling/frac efficiency and offshore drilling? /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/13872713

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

The Drilldown: In-depth answers to oilfield questions

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