Halliburton, one of the world’s largest oilfield services providers, is the latest to announce staff reductions as the U.S. oil industry faces rising costs, falling prices, and heightened volatility. According to sources familiar with the matter, the company has quietly rolled out workforce cuts over the past several weeks, with at least three business divisions losing between 20% and 40% of employees.
At the center of this transition is Michael Wirth, Chairman and CEO of Chevron, who has spent more than four decades in the industry. Under his leadership, Chevron is pursuing a dual strategy—strengthening its oil and gas portfolio through major acquisitions like Hess, while simultaneously investing in lower-carbon technologies such as renewable diesel, hydrogen, and geothermal energy.
The AI revolution is turbocharging demand for natural gas, and EQT is emerging as the central supplier. The company’s combination of cost discipline, infrastructure focus, and environmental leadership makes it a key player in America’s twin goals of AI competitiveness and energy security.
From its experimental beginnings to its role in America’s energy independence, the Bakken story is one of persistence, innovation, and scale. Today, the basin continues to set benchmarks for drilling efficiency and technological advancement, with leading operators, counties, and contractors driving its growth.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is moving forward with one of its largest workforce reductions in recent memory, announcing plans to cut 20%–25% of its global staff by year-end 2025. With approximately 13,000 employees worldwide, the move is expected to impact 2,600 to 3,250 positions, according to multiple reports.
Diamondback Energy is moving quickly to integrate its recently acquired Double Eagle IV assets, with new regulatory filings and well activity signaling a concentrated development push in Reagan County, Texas.
The U.S. drilling landscape continues to show signs of strain as the Baker Hughes rig count slipped by two last week, leaving 536 rigs active nationwide.
Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) has announced a non-binding open season for its proposed Forza Pipeline Project, designed to expand natural gas transportation capacity in the Delaware Basin (Southeast New Mexico).
Between 2020 and 2024, 93% of U.S. crude oil growth came from just 10 counties in the Permian Basin, led by Lea and Eddy in New Mexico and Martin and Midland in Texas. Year-to-date drilling reinforces this trend, with Eddy and Lea surpassing 1,300 wells drilled and major operators like Exxon, Diamondback, and OXY dominating activity.
Diamondback Energy announced two major Midland Basin transactions today: the $750M sale of Environmental Disposal Systems to Deep Blue, nearly doubling Deep Blue’s water infrastructure scale, and the $500M sale of its 27.5% stake in EPIC Crude Holdings to Plains All American Pipeline. Together, the moves highlight Diamondback’s strategy of recycling midstream capital while reinforcing its long-term focus on Permian development and sustainable water management.
