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!

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

Ep123: What We're Seeing in the Field 07/30/2019

Ep123: What We're Seeing in the Field Operators and oil service firms have been reporting their Q2 results and what they expect to happen over the near term. Richard and John discuss their key takeaways about activity and the implications across the supply chain. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10709561

Ep122: Where's the Exit? 07/17/2019

Ep122: Where's the Exit? Richard and John discuss the implications for the US oilfield arising from the lack of oil company M&A activity /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10557803

Ep121: Bestsellers & Beach Reads 07/08/2019

Ep121: Bestsellers & Beach Reads Richard & John crack open a book on occasion - what kind of books are we reading and what do we recommend? Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10430957

Ep120: When Does US Output Stop Growing if Oil Prices Don't Change? 07/01/2019

Ep120: When Does US Output Stop Growing if Oil Prices Don't Change? We discuss the outlook for US crude production under various price/capex scenarios and speculate about the assumptions underlying the EIA forecast of US oil output. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10359398

Ep119: What Drove the Keane/C&J Merger? 06/24/2019

Ep119: What Drove the Keane/C&J Merger? In response to listener's questions, Richard and John discuss the factors that drove the recent merger between Keane Group and C&J Energy Services. How will this affect competition in the oilfield service industry? Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10269212

Ep119: We Review Our Predictions for 2019 06/17/2019

Ep119: We Review Our Predictions for 2019 Our mid-year review! Last January (Ep96) we made some predictions for 2019. How are we doing? This episode we talk crude price volatility, Weatherford, and average frac sand per well. Episode produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10183157

Ep117: What's Your Breakeven Price? 06/10/2019

Ep117: What's Your Breakeven Price? While the average breakeven price is often cited for understanding which plays are most profitable, the range of breakeven prices within a play is less reported. Richard and John discuss how the range of breakeven prices from high to low is useful to understanding how much activity might rise or fall as price expectations move up or down. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10112913

Ep116: Production Decline - Can the US stay on the hamster wheel? 06/03/2019

Ep116: Production Decline - Can the US stay on the hamster wheel? What would next month's US production look like if we stopped drilling wells today? John describes how new wells are masking steeper domestic production declines. Can the US keep up with the high demand for new wells? Produced by Charlie Spears /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/10033661

Ep115: In Flander's Field 05/27/2019

Ep115: In Flander's Field A brief departure from our normal podcast. Today we remember those who have sacrificed for our country. "In Flanders Field" by John McCrae "In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields." /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/9937322

Ep114: The EU and the US Oilpatch 05/20/2019

Ep114: The EU and the US Oilpatch As a group, ROE for publicly-traded US operators rose to a five-year high in Q4 2018 as production increased and cost per barrel held steady. But the overall results were skewed by the good performance of the largest operators, as smaller firms remain under pressure to cut spending. Richard and John discuss how the financial health of US operators resembles the problems faced by the EU in stimulating its economy. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/9852092

Ep113: Merle Haggard, Diminishing Returns, and Market Forecasting 05/13/2019

Ep113: Merle Haggard, Diminishing Returns, and Market Forecasting Richard and John discuss why “leading edge” completion designs appear to be stabilizing but why proppant use per lateral foot is expected to continue rising. /episode/index/show/drilldown/id/9764732

The Drilldown: In-depth answers to oilfield questions

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