2019 is behind us and, as of tomorrow, sober January begins for yours truly. It’s a great way to shake off the cobwebs and get back to health (Losing Weight: eat less, exercise more).  

As we welcome 2020, a couple of enhancements to the hottake I’m excited about. I’m recording the first podcast this week which will do a deeper dive into the key issues driving my 2020 expectations. The website now has an email distribution you can sign up for so that the daily post can be sent directly into your inbox. And finally, we’ve been loading all the hottakes from 2019 in the archives and by topic to make it easier to search.

The topics for the 2020 look ahead:

1. Mergers and equity acquisitions.  They are coming at a much higher pace.
2. I’m really worried about natgas prices. There is just too much of it.  <$2/mcf avg. is possible
3. Oil production declines in the US should support prices that average in the low $60s
4. Rigs and DUCs.  I think rigs bottom out at 620 as companies maintain a good completion clip to convert DUCs to cash and fix the balance sheet
5. The U.S. election is going to put our industry in focus. It’s up to us to represent it.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for an amazing 2019. Happy New Year.

#hottakeoftheday