2011 Oil & Gas Industry Perspective

摘要

Last year was a historic one for the North American oil and gas industry, marked by the discovery and expansion of a multitude of oil and gas shale plays, the doubling of North American proven gas reserves, a blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that lasted months to become the worst environmental disaster on record, and new (or threatened) rules and legislation that would constrain hydraulic fracturing, offshore permits, and derivatives trading and hedging. In the short term, oil and gas companies face a bifurcated future: ■ Gas-weighted players will be hard-pressed to show they can grow margins through at least 2014, as North American production continues to increase and demand remains stagnant, keeping prices range-bound on the lower end.