By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Fewer wells spudded but more footage drilled: that's the ongoing assessment of current drilling activity in Kansas from Independent Oil & Gas Service. IOGSI reports 134 spuds in the week through February 16. Total footage topped 391,000 feet. The Kansas Rig Count west of Wichita dropped by five rigs to nineteen. Drilling was underway Friday on a lease in Ellis. Stafford County operators were drilling on one lease and preparing to spud two new wells.
Kansas regulators approved 25 new drilling permits last week, with nine in Western Kansas including two in Barton County and one in Stafford County. That's 193 new drilling locations statewide since the first of the year, compared to 138 at this time last year. Operators completed sixty new wells in Kansas last week, including one in Barton County and two in Ellis County, according to Independent Oil & Gas Service. That's their best weekly tally since January of 2019.
The Weekly Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes on Friday showed 760 active drilling rigs across the US, an increase of one natural-gas rig, but the oil rig count was down two. The count in Louisiana was down two rigs. New Mexico was down one. Oklahoma was up one.
Domestic crude inventories grew by more than 17 million barrels, to a total of 471.4 million as of February 10. The Energy Information Administration says that's about eight percent higher than the five-year average for this time of year.
The government reports a slight increase in U.S. crude production last week. Operators pumped 12.256 million barrels per day in the week through February 10. That's up about 4,000 barrels per day from the week before and nearly 700,000 barrels per day higher than a year ago.
The Energy Information Administration said imports dropped to 6.2 million barrels per day, down more than 800,000 barrels.
The auto club Triple-A reports the national average pump price for gasoline on Thursday was down a penny from a week earlier at $3.42 per gallon. Diesel prices were also a penny lower at $4.53 per gallon. In Kansas, pump prices dropped two cents lower for gasoline, at $3.14 per gallon, and four cents lower for diesel, with an average price of $4.06 per gallon.
U.S. oil-by-rail shipments declined for the week but remain about ten percent ahead of a year ago. The Association of American Railroads reports 10,662 tanker carloads of petroleum and petroleum products rolling the rails in the week through February 11th. That's down more than 100 carloads from the week before, but up 10.2% year-over-year. Association of American Railroads says Canadian traffic was up for the week but down a little over one percent from last year.
Operators of the Keystone Pipeline blame a flawed weld and what was called "bending stress" for a crude-oil spill in northern Kansas December 8. TC Energy says stress on the weld flaw led to a crack and eventually an instantaneous rupture. A news release posted on the company Web site February 9 asserts the weld was completed at a fabrication facility within applicable inspection and testing standards. The company said the pipeline was operating within maximum pressure limits, although independent analysis shows a dramatic increase in volumes just before the spill. TC Energy also reduced its estimate of how much crude actually spilled to just under 13,000 barrels. That's based on the amount of oil needed to recharge the pipeline when they restarted it. The company estimates the pipeline spill has cost them $480 million.
Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir announced the arrest of two suspects now charged with drug possession and oilfield thefts. Deputies arrested Lori Fiscus, 42, and Kurt Woods, 29, both of Great Bend, during a traffic stop February 14. Bellendir says deputies had sought Woods in connection with a series of thefts involving brass valves taken from tank batteries.
The government reported a slight uptick in the number of wells in US shale plays that have been drilled but remain uncompleted. The tally through January rose by 42 wells nationwide. The Eagle Ford shale in South Texas was the only basin that notched a decline. The biggest increases were in Colorado and Wyoming.
OPEC's monthly analysis shows world economic growth speeding up alongside worldwide oil demand. The oil cartel predicts global demand will rise by 2.3 million barrels per day this year to nearly 102 million barrels per day. OPEC's Monthly Oil Market Report also reports US crude imports hit a three-year high in January while exports dropped.
Europe’s natural gas prices have tumbled to their lowest level in nearly 18 months, dodging a much-feared energy crisis. The government says wholesale prices fell almost 5% Friday to hit $52 per megawatt hour, their lowest level since September 2021 and a fraction of the all-time high of reached in August last year. That's according to data from Independent Commodity Intelligence Service. CNN reports prices are down because of unseasonably warm weather this winter, as well as the region’s efforts to conserve gas, find alternative suppliers and fill storage facilities.
The Kremlin announced a crude output cut in response to Western sanctions prompted by the invasion of Ukraine. Russia says it will cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in March, in response to sanctions and the price cap on Russian crude. Bloomberg and Reuters quoted unnamed delegates from the OPEC-Plus group who say the rest of the group will hold to production targets agreed to last week, and will not increase production to make up the difference.