CIR Research Desk

The upstream oil and gas industry is experiencing a genuine technological transformation — not the AI-hype version that fills press releases, but the kind measured in dollars per foot drilled, barrels produced per well, and days spud-to-TD. The numbers from 2023–2025 make the efficiency gains impossible to

The U.S. LNG export boom is no longer a future story — it's present tense and the upstream implications are being felt in real-time. As of mid-2025, U.S. LNG export capacity stands at approximately 14–15 Bcf/d following the addition of Sabine Pass Train

Six months into 2025, the upstream oil and gas industry delivered a performance that surprised almost nobody who was paying attention — and confused everyone who wasn't. WTI averaged roughly $69/bbl through the first half, a number that looks stable in isolation but masked considerable volatility: a Q1

Why Summer Storage Matters More Than You Think The natural gas market's summer "fill season" runs roughly April through October, when producers, utilities, and gas marketers inject natural gas into underground storage to build inventory ahead of winter withdrawal demand. It's one of the

The Forgotten Region's Quiet Comeback The Rocky Mountain region doesn't get the attention its oil and gas production warrants. No single basin in the Rockies commands the headlines that the Permian, Eagle Ford, or Appalachian basins generate daily. But collectively — across the Uinta Basin in Utah,

The Consolidation Arithmetic The numbers are stark: since 2022, the U.S. upstream sector has seen over $250 billion in merger and acquisition activity, dominated by mega-deals that have concentrated production capacity among a shrinking number of large operators. ExxonMobil's $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural