BHP Cuts US Shale Drilling Rigs, Keeping Eye on Costs

BHP has said it will continue focusing on cutting costs with plans to cut U.S. shale drilling rigs, as the company says it has flagged roughly $4 billion in productivity gains.

According to Mining Weekly:

Mackenzie said on Wednesday that the company had also moved quickly to respond to lower petroleum prices by reducing the number of shale drilling rigs in the onshore US business by about 40% by the end of this financial year.

The majority of the drilling would now be focused on the Black Hawk acreage, while the company’s dry gas development programme would be reduced to one operated right in the Haynesville, with a focus on continued drilling and completions optimisation, ahead of full field development.

Andrew Mackenzie, the CEO of BHP, said:

Our operational performance over the last six months has been strong. We are reducing costs and improving both operating and capital productivity across the group faster than originally planned.

Click here for the full article.