Sentence 1: Many factors beyond our control affect oil and natural gas prices, including, but not limited to: the cost of exploring for, producing and delivering oil and natural gas; the discovery and development rate of new oil and natural gas reserves, especially shale and other unconventional natural gas resources for which we market our rigs; the rate of decline of existing and new oil and natural gas reserves; available pipeline and other oil and natural gas transportation capacity; the levels of oil and natural gas storage; the ability of oil and natural gas exploration and production companies to raise capital; economic conditions in the United States and elsewhere; actions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; political instability in the Middle East and other major oil and natural gas producing regions; governmental regulations, sanctions and trade restrictions, both domestic and foreign; domestic and foreign tax policy; the availability of and constraints in pipeline, storage and other transportation capacity in the basins in which we operate, including, for example, takeaway constraints experienced in the Permian Basin; weather conditions in the United States; the pace adopted by foreign governments for the exploration, development and production of their national reserves; the price of foreign imports of oil and natural gas; the strength or weakness of the United States dollar; the overall supply and demand for oil and natural gas; and the development of alternate energy sources and the long-term effects of worldwide energy conservation measures.
Sentence 2: Volatility in oil, gas and NGL prices is due to a variety of factors that are beyond QEP's control, including: changes in local, regional, domestic and foreign supply of and demand for oil, gas and NGL; the impact of an abundance of oil, gas and NGL from unconventional sources on the global and local energy supply; the level of imports and/or exports of, and the price of, foreign oil, gas and NGL; localized supply and demand fundamentals, including the proximity, cost and availability of pipelines and other transportation facilities, and other factors that result in differentials to benchmark prices from time to time; the availability of refining and storage capacity; domestic and global economic and political conditions; changes in government energy policies, including imposed price controls or product subsidies or both; speculative trading in crude oil and natural gas derivative contracts; the continued threat of terrorism and the impact of military and other action; the activities of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producing countries, including the ability of members of OPEC to maintain oil price and production controls; political and economic conditions and events in the United States and in or affecting other producing countries, including conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, South America and Russia; the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies; weather conditions and natural disasters; domestic and international laws, regulations and taxes, including regulations or legislation relating to climate change, induced seismicity or oil and gas exploration and production activities; technological advances affecting energy consumption and energy supply; conservation efforts; the price, availability and acceptance of alternative energy sources, including coal, nuclear energy, renewables and biofuels; demand for electricity and natural gas used as fuel for electricity generation; the level of global oil, gas and NGL inventories and exploration and production activity; and the quality of oil and gas produced.
Semantic similarity (0-5): 3