US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that reverses his predecessor’s Arctic offshore oil and gas leasing ban and directs Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke to allow responsible development of other US offshore areas’ energy resources. Oil and gas trade associations and other business groups immediately hailed the president’s Apr. 28 action. Environmental organizations and California, Oregon, and Washington’s Democratic governors promptly condemned it.

James M. Trimble has been elected Lafayette, La.-based Stone Energy Corp.’s interim chief executive officer and president, effective immediately. He succeeds David H. Welch, who is retiring.

According to an old, half-serious joke, the best place to look for oil is in an oil field.

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) will study the Salina del Istmo province in the southern Gulf of Mexico in a multiclient 3D wide azimuth survey covering deep and shallow-water areas near the Cantarell and Ku-Maloob-Zaap reservoirs.

The US tally of active drilling rigs increased by 13 to 870 during the week ended Apr. 28, marking the 12^th double-digit rise during 15 straight weeks of gains, according to Baker Hughes Inc. data.

ExxonMobil Corp. today announced estimated first quarter 2017 earnings of $4 billion compared with $1.8 billion a year earlier. The supermajor attributed the earnings jump to improvements in commodity prices, cost management, and refining operations.

Chevron Corp. reported earnings of $2.7 billion for this year’s first quarter compared with a loss of $725 million in same quarter in 2016. Included in the quarter was a gain of $600 million from the sale of an upstream asset. Foreign currency effects decreased earnings in this year’s first quarter by $241 million compared with a decrease of $319 million a year earlier.