Land market steadies after late 2018 dip

摘要

When oil prices took a sudden and surprising dip in late 2018 after what had been a relatively strong and stable year, it caught the industry off guard. It also led to a bit of panic in the industry, with worries that the price slump would lead to another market downturn in 2019. "Fortunately, it did not. It rebounded," Chris Menefee, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Independence Contract Drilling (ICD), said. "But it still caused some uncertainty... and it couldn't have come at a worse time," he added, noting that it led E&P companies to adopt a more conservative approach as they finalized 2019 budgets. Some rigs also were cut when oil prices dropped. "In our business, it just takes a little while to get that going again," Mr Menefee said.