By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Eagle Media
The Kansas Geological Society announced the donation and public release of what it calls a significant legacy in earth science: geological-mapping data from Kansas dating back a hundred years. Along with the Kansas Geological Foundation, they're offering access to mountains of carefully cataloged paper seismograms dating to 1923. If you're interested, reach out at KGSlibrary dot com.
US Crude prices through July of this year average just under $68 a barrel. The average so far in August is just over $64.
The benchmark futures contract on the NYMEX gained a few cents Friday to settle at $63.66 per barrel. Light sweet crude has held under $64 for eleven consecutive trading sessions. But prices spiked on Monday, with NYMEX crude rising two percent to close in on $65 a barrel. London Brent was also higher, rising toward $69 a barrel by Monday midday.
Kansas oil prices are up a dollar from a week ago, but down $3.50 from the first of the month. Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson is fetching $54 a barrel.
The weekly Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes has only been this low twice in the last five years. The tally is down one oil rig to a total of 538. The report from Texas is down two rigs. North Dakota is down one.
The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service drops to 15, with six active rigs east of Wichita, down two, and nine in Western Kansas, which is down three.
Operators completed 33 wells in Kansas last week, with 19 in Western Kansas. Independent Oil and Gas Service reports 792 new well-completions so far this year, compared to 862 a year ago. Operators completed producing wells in Barton and Stafford Counties. In Ellis County, operators completed four wells including one dry hole. Operators in Finney, Gove and Pratt counties also reported dry holes this week.
Kansas regulators okayed 11 new drilling locations, with seven in Western Kansas including one new permit in Stafford County. With 458 so far this year, new permits trail last year by more than 28%.
The Energy Information Administration reports commercial crude stockpiles dropped six million barrels to 420.7 million as of August 15. That's about six percent below the five-year seasonal average.
At 13,382,000 barrels per day, US crude production is up slightly from a week ago but down slightly from the same week a year ago. EIA says output so far this year is up two percent from last year at this time. The four-week average is down slightly.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserves added 200,000, now topping off at 403.4 million barrels. Strategic stockpiles are up seven percent or 26 million barrels from a year ago.
US crude exports topped four million barrels a day for the first time since June and only the 12th weekly tally this year. The Energy Information Administration says crude exports are up 22 percent from last week, up eight percent from a year ago and up nearly three percent from two years ago.
EIA reports imports at just under 6.5 million barrels a day, down nearly half a million barrels a day from a week ago, down two percent from a year ago, and down six percent from two years ago
The US is a net crude importer, importing more than we export by more than two million barrels a day. But refined-product exports dwarf imports by more than five million barrels a day.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused India of profiteering from purchases of Russian crude oil during the war in Ukraine. Bessent says Russian oil now accounts for 42% of India's total oil purchases, up from under 1% before the war. Bessent told CNBC that India is “making billions” reselling Russian crude.
The Times of India reported that some refiners in India were postponing new orders for Russian crude, awaiting clarity on the potential impact of additional tariffs. The Trump administration has threatened an additional 25% tariff at the end of the month because of India's Russian oil purchases.
China is the largest importer of Russian oil. They typically take shipment from ports in Russia's Far East, but Bloomberg reports a near-doubling of deals at ports in the Baltic Sea and Black Sea.