By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Eagle Media
Domestic crude production returns to record territory. The weekly tally from the Energy Information Administration shows U.S. output rose to the second-highest weekly average ever, 13,410,000 barrels per day.
That's just 5,000 daily barrels shy of the all-time high achieved two weeks earlier. The four-week average is up 6% from the same four weeks last year. Cumulative production so far this year is up more than 7%t over a year ago.
The Energy Department continues to buy low to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, after selling high to tame prices after the Ukraine invasion. The government took delivery last week on another 600,000 barrels of crude at prices roughly $20 a barrel lower than the sales prices two years ago.
The EIA said commercial crude inventories dropped by nearly 5 million barrels last week to 426 million barrels. That's about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.
The U.S. imported more crude oil than we shipped out by about 2.6 million barrels per day. Product exports outpaced imports by more than 5 million barrels per day.
EIA said crude imports last week averaged 6.7 million barrels a day, up 5% from a week ago. At just over 4 million barrels per day, crude exports were up slightly last week.
The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service is up one at 13 rigs east of Wichita and up two at 19 rigs in Western Kansas. The total is up 19% from a month ago but down about 16% last year at this time.
This week's completions reporting from Independent Oil and Gas Service notes 10 newly-completed wells in western Kansas including one in Barton County and one in Stafford County. Add 16 wells east of Wichita for a weekly total of 26.
That's 862 so far this year, compared to 1,120 a year ago. Regulators approved 25 new drilling permits across Kansas last week. There are two in Barton County out of six in western Kansas.
The year-to-date total is 639 permits, down from over 800 a year ago.
As Chinese profit margins dropped, so did Chinese interest in Russian crude oil, allowing India to surpass China as Moscow's biggest customer.
Reuters reports 44% of India's crude imports last month, more than 2 million barrels a day, came from Russia. That's up 4% from the month before and 12% higher than a year ago.
Mexico's first Liquefied Natural Gas facility ships its first cargoes. They set sail from a floating platform off Mexico's northeast coast earlier this month, then traveled through the Panama Canal to an import facility on Mexico's Baja peninsula. The shipment falls under the U.S. Energy Department's scrutiny and approval because the export terminal is fed by natural gas sourced from the United States.
Saudi Arabia's national re-branding effort away from crude oil will shrink its long-term oil investments by $40 billion in the next four years.
According to Goldman Sachs, the kingdom hopes to invest some $1 trillion in non-oil sectors by the end of the decade, although they still view natural gas as a key contributor.
Bloomberg reports Saudi oil earnings have dropped around one-third in just two years.
Libya’s eastern government said it will shut down crude output and exports as its fight for control of the central bank and the nation’s oil riches threatens a new round of conflict. Crude traders also eyed the escalating tensions in and around Israel.
A Greek-flagged oil tanker was repeatedly attacked last week and then abandoned in the Red Sea. It's now burning but has not sprung a major oil leak.
This is the most serious attack in weeks in the area where rebels have disrupted $1 trillion in regional trade and relief shipments. The U.S. State Department says the rebels appear determined to sink the ship and its cargo of about 1 million barrels of crude. The crew was evacuated.