Author Archive: Trey Cowan
Oil & Gas Industry Analyst Trey Cowan is a former equity researcher who has focused on U.S. upstream oil & gas activities and global energy markets. Recently, he was a senior analyst at S&P Global Platts covering rigs, permitting, drilling and production.
IEEFA U.S.: Pioneer, other independents top supermajor production in Permian Basin
ExxonMobil, Chevron lag Permian independent production despite claims of leadership
November 15, 2021 (IEEFA)—Although the Permian Basin is an important upstream growth target for Chevron and ExxonMobil, independent operators are the dominant producers in the area, according to an analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). While ExxonMobil and Chevron have portrayed themselves as leaders in the Permian, the IEEFA analysis […]
IEEFA U.S.: Texas confronts decline in oil and gas industry
Analysis of long-term trends indicates slower growth, fewer jobs and lower tax contributions
July 28, 2021 (IEEFA) ⎼ Texas policymakers, regulators and public opinion have long held that “what’s good for oil is good for Texas.” But Texas’s economy has become more broad-based and the oil and gas sector’s proportionate contribution has declined. State leaders face a new set of facts on the ground about the future of […]
IEEFA: Frackers produce positive cash flows in 2020 with deep capital expenditure cuts
Beleaguered fracking sector generates $1.8 billion cash flow, but only after $20 billion cuts in capex
March 24, 2021 (IEEFA)—A cross-section of 30 shale oil and gas producers marked the first full year of positive free cash flows since the fracking boom began—but only after deep cuts to capital expenditures that raise troubling questions about the industry’s future. The report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found […]
IEEFA: Oil supermajors made $20.5 billion in 2020 but spent $49.9 billion to please investors
Five largest private-sector oil supermajors have dropped more than a half-trillion on shareholders over last decade
March 4, 2021 (IEEFA) —The world’s five largest private-sector oil and gas companies collectively spent $29.4 billion more on shareholder payouts than they generated from operations, according to a new report by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The five supermajors—ExxonMobil, Chevron BP, Total and Shell—generated $20.5 billion in free cash flow, […]
IEEFA: Capital markets are shifting decisively towards cleaner investments
Small-but-rising renewable opportunities soar while big-and-falling legacy shares fall hard
The president of the American Petroleum Institute recently hinted that the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy could lead either to economic upheaval or to economic revival—but the revival scenario would require the oil and gas companies as full participants in a new energy boom. Yet the capital market’s rotation into clean energy stocks […]
IEEFA U.S.: Frackers gained in 2021 as sweet spot of rising oil prices and lower costs boosted profits
Shrinking inventories, drilling pressure, lower futures prices may tighten margins in 2022
For the first time since the dawn of the fracking boom, North America’s oil and gas companies generated a generous surplus of cash in 2021. The bonanza stemmed in part from high oil and gas prices. A cross-section of 28 North American shale-focused oil and gas producers generated almost $40 billion in revenues during the […]