Articles tagged 1Q2024 earnings

Data centers were the topic du jour during recent first quarter earnings calls, and continue to grab headlines across the energy industry. NGI captured some of the overarching questions and issues surrounding the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) – breaking down everything from estimates about a potential surge in demand from natural gas-fired generation to grid reliability concerns.

Expectations for North American upstream natural gas capital expenditures in 2024 continue to show a year/year decline in the low- to mid-single digits, with subdued rig counts persisting throughout the year. Eventually, those rigs would need to resume work to account for the in-service of more Lower 48 LNG export capacity next year, and possibly to gear up for the rapid growth in data centers – although it is uncertain as to what that opportunity for incremental gas demand may be.

LNG remains a major driver for the U.S. natural gas industry and will play an even larger role for incremental demand. 

Mergers by exploration customers and low natural gas prices continue to be a headwind in the Lower 48 for the oilfield services sector, but impacts may begin to ease later this year, according to completions expert Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. 

As wildfires rage across Western Canada, Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. has taken measures to mitigate potential impacts to its natural gas operations, according to CFO Tavis Carlson.

Alberta’s Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is taking a glass-half-full view of the current natural gas price slump, according to CEO Scott Stauth.

Sempra is betting on substantial growth in global LNG demand over the coming years despite regulatory uncertainty over the future of U.S. exports, management said.

While regulatory uncertainty has clouded the outlook for large U.S. export projects, Chart Industries Inc. reported lower global prices and a continued rise in demand is driving an uptick in international LNG and natural gas projects this year.

New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE) expects its floating LNG (FLNG) platform offshore Altamira, Mexico to produce first volumes later this month after experiencing a mechanical issue in April.

Williams executives are expecting strong growth for natural gas consumption in the years ahead, but said those levels of demand may not come “quite as quickly as a lot of people think,” and, in one case, that demand was not enough to overcome opposition to a pipeline project.