M&A Strategies in the North American Oil & Gas Sector

M&A activity in the oil and gas sector is on the upswing, and we expect sell-side pressures in the near future. We see three primary types of deals taking place: major oil companies pursuing growth options; independents divesting assets in order to focus capital spending on core assets; and companies combining for survival.

Unleashing Productivity: The Digital Oil Field Advantage

Closing the labor and skills gaps represents one of the industry’s major factors—if not the primary one—in sustaining growth and maximizing profitability against a tide of rising capital and operating costs.

The oil and gas industry has been exposed to both a sharp drop in oil prices and a credit squeeze that affects the major stakeholders. Those that are repositioning their resources wisely now will be those that live to tell the tale.

Six Actions to Navigate the Current Oil & Gas Market: A New Strategic Agenda for the CFO

CFOs in the oil and gas industry need to rethink their strategic finance agenda, altering some of the practices they have pursued in the past and fundamentally changing the way they approach others. CFOs should undertake six action items aimed at preserving or improving their companies’ competitive outlooks.

Building the E&P Factory: Lessons from Leaders in Other Manufacturing-Based Industries

Oil and gas operators would be well advised to remember that unconventional gas is not a close cousin to conventional assets, but another animal entirely—one that demands not only new technical and financial models, but also wholesale organizational adaptation to scale-driven “factory processes.

An Unprecedented Market: How the Recession Is Changing the Global Gas Market

Gas markets’ demand destruction combined with the completion of gas export infrastructure projects and large recent discoveries of unconventional gas in the U.S. could lead to an oversupply in the market of 5 to 15 percent until well into the next decade.

The common assumption that supply and demand are the primary drivers of oil prices is being undermined by new evidence that shows global market uncertainty has a more significant impact. Organizations can use this information to formulate better strategy and reduce their risk exposure in endeavors that rely on the price of oil.

Taking a Chance On Oil (Part II): Thinking Beyond the Oil Market Downturn

The current worldwide recession, combined with the myopic behavior of cash-starved financial markets, provides a very attractive investment environment for energy companies that have the willingness (and the access to cash) to take a long-term view.

Navigating Turbulence in the Upstream Oil Sector: The Impact of the Global Credit Crunch and Plunging Oil Prices

When the price of crude oil first reached a record high and then tumbled in the wake of unprecedented global credit constraints, oil companies saw billions vanish from their market capitalization. Industry players are not all equally positioned and are responding with different strategies to ride out the turbulence and take advantage of emerging opportunities.

Seizing Opportunity in Unconventional Hydrocarbons

For the past several years, leading major oil companies and independent exploration and production companies (E&Ps) have viewed unconventional resources as key elements of future energy supply. However, the economic crisis and subsequent reduction in financial liquidity in companies worldwide threatens growth for North America’s unconventional hydrocarbon resources.

How Big Is Your Carbon Footprint? Before You Can Build an Energy-Efficient Supply Chain, You Need to Understand Your Company’s Carbon Emissions

As concern mounts over rising fuel prices, the long-term availability of energy, and climate change, companies are turning their attention to one area where opportunities to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions abound: the industrial supply chain.

The Bounty of Biofuels: Perception versus Reality

In the flood of media attention that biofuel technologies have received, it’s difficult to distinguish the facts from the fanfare. In this article, we dispel some of the misperceptions regarding biofuels while illuminating the emerging realities, to facilitate a sensible discussion of next steps.

Although margins were strong during the first half of 2006, they plunged in the second half of the year, and started to recover only in the early spring of 2007. In 2007, are we seeing the beginning of the end and the start of another cyclical downturn, or merely a short-term blip?

Refining Trends: The Golden Age or the Eye of The Storm? Part II: Supply

In 2005, refining margins hover at extraordinary levels. While some industry executives see a Golden Age in which cyclical downturns are a thing of the past, others are less bullish. How long will the Golden Age last? What might be the impact of new conversion capacity, lighter crude supply, reduced demand, or declining crude prices?

Refining Trends: The Golden Age or the Eye of The Storm?

In 2004, with U.S. gasoline production projected to fall short of domestic demand for the foreseeable future, refiners are bullish. Could a historically cyclical industry be entering a Golden Age? Or are we just approaching the top of another cycle?

How Big Is Your Carbon Footprint? Before You Can Build an Energy-Efficient Supply Chain, You Need to Understand Your Company’s Carbon Emissions

As concern mounts over rising fuel prices, the long-term availability of energy, and climate change, companies are turning their attention to one area where opportunities to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions abound: the industrial supply chain.