With oil near $50, Wyoming oil companies dust off drilling plans

[mahatmakanejeeves]

With oil near $50, Wyoming oil companies dust off drilling plans

Benjamin Storrow 307-335-5344, [e-mail]

Updated 1 hr ago

Wyoming’s oilmen have a new wind at their back. After wallowing in the doldrums for nearly two years, crude oil is hovering around $50 a barrel, the price where drilling starts to become profitable.

Local CEOs are finalizing permits, reassessing drilling plans and readying teams to complete an inventory of unfracked wells. But few are predicting a flood of new activity in the Powder River and DJ basins, where drilling reached a fever pitch in recent years as part of a nationwide oil boom.

“I think you’re going to see companies looking harder at what they have, and putting some money into drilling at some level,” said Joseph DeDominic, who leads two Anschutz Corp. oil firms. “That’s what we’re doing.”

The renewed optimism comes as analysts continue to debate oil’s trajectory. ... Bears argue prices will remain soft, as Canadian crude comes back online following the devastating fires in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could boost output further, and U.S. demand will likely fall following the summer driving season, they say.

If nothing else, it's a summer job.

[tonyt53]

1. About $62 is break even.

[FBaggins]

2. It varies from well to well

There are plenty of places where they're already well past break-even. There are some where it's much higher than $62.