By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Eagle Media
U.S. crude production averages 13,327,000 barrels a day, up 43,000 barrels from last week and 27,000 barrels a day from a year ago. Cumulative output so far this year is just over 13.4 million barrels a day, about two percent higher than a year ago.
The latest reporting from the Kansas Geological Survey shows slight increases in Kansas crude-oil production. The statewide average for January through April is 69,352 barrels per day, up nearly 900 daily barrels from the tally at the end of March. The average in Ellis County is up 40 barrels to 5,339 barrels a day. Haskell and Finney counties posted slight increases with both averaging over four thousand barrels a day. Barton County inched upward at 3,759 daily barrels. Russell County inched downward to 3,239 barrels a day. Stafford County posted output of 2,407 barrels per day, up by 40 barrels from the Q1 average.
Independent Oil and Gas Service reports 18 new well-completions statewide, with ten in Western Kansas. That's 759 wells so far this year, down from 836 wells a year ago and over a thousand two years ago.
Kansas drilling permits are also declining, down 27% from a year ago and 44% from two years ago. Regulators okayed seven new permits last week. Of those, two are in Western Kansas, and five are in Anderson County.
The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service is up two in Western Kansas at 12 rigs, and down two east of Wichita at eight rigs. The tally is up by 54% from a month ago but down 31% from a year ago.
The Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes is holding steady at ten-month lows. The breakout for oil exploration is up one rig, offsetting the gas count which is down one, for a total of 539 active drilling rigs. Louisiana is up two rigs. Texas and Wyoming are each down one.
U.S. crude imports rose nearly a million barrels a day to 6.90 million. The Energy Information Administration reports a 16 percent rise from last week, and ten percent from last year, but a decline of three percent from two years ago. Crude exports increased for the second week in a row to just over 3.5 million barrels a day. Imports outpace exports by more than 3.3 million barrels a day.
The U.S. adds 200,000 barrels to the Strategic Petroleum Reserves this week, raising the dip-stick to 403.2 million barrels. Since refill operations resumed in April of 2024, the government has amassed more than $938 million in refill savings, thanks to cascading crude prices.
Commercial stockpiles, not including strategic reserves, rose by three million barrels to 426.7 million. That's about six percent below the seasonal five-year average.
The number of active wells is up, but output is down, in the #3 crude-producing state. That's according to the latest numbers available from the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources. Monthly statewide output for May averaged 1.11 million barrels a day, that's down five percent or 60,000 barrels a day from April. Natural gas production dipped three percent. The state's gas capture rate held steady at 95.7%.