By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Eagle Communications
Crude prices remain at three-month highs. The near-month Nymex contract has lost some ground since settling Wednesday over $84 per barrel for the first time since November. That contract settled Friday at $83.19 per barrel, 37 cents higher on the day and a weekly gain of 37 cents.
Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson starts the week at $73.50 per barrel after gaining half a dollar on Friday. Kansas prices are a half dollar higher than a week ago, and two dollars higher than at the first of the month.
The Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes has dropped every week since July 7. The oil count hasn't risen since June 9. Friday's tally shows 654 active drilling rigs in the U.S., which is down five gas rigs from last week. The oil tally was unchanged, the first time it hasn't dropped since July. Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania were each down two rigs. Oklahoma was up one.
Independent Oil & Gas Service (8/10) reported 26 active drilling rigs in western Kansas and 16 east of Wichita. The total is up three rigs, and seven percent ahead of a month ago, but 30% behind the same week a year ago. Kansas operators this year have spudded 742 wells, down 244 wells from a year ago. Total footage drilled is down 27 percent.
Operators in the Sunflower State completed 32 wells last week, 1,063 so far this year. Well completions outnumber last year by 13%. IOGSI reports ten new completions in western Kansas including one in Ellis County. Regulators in Kansas approved 19 new drilling permits, 781 so far this year, which is down nearly 20% from last year.
First the spiral, then the spike. The Energy Information Administration reports a big rebound in U.S. crude stockpiles after last week's historic drop. Inventories rose to just over 445 million barrels as of August 4th, up nearly six million barrels in seven days. A week ago the government reported inventories dropping 17 million barrels, an all-time record. The Energy Information Administration reporting shows domestic stockpiles remain at lows not seen since January.
U.S. crude production reached 12.5 million barrels of crude per day, up by 384,000 barrels from a week ago, and 340,000 barrels ahead of a year ago. The Energy Information Administration said U.S. output is at its highest level since April of 2020. The all-time high was set in March of 2020 at over 13 million barrels per day.
The Energy Information Administration said crude-oil imports averaged 6.7 million barrels per day in the week through August 4, up 14,000 barrels per day from the week before. Four-week average imports are up nearly three percent from the same four weeks a year ago.
The Energy Information Administration said regular gasoline inventories dropped by nearly three million barrels last week and are seven percent below the five-year seasonal average.
Diesel stocks are down 1.7 million barrels and are 17% lower than the five year average for this time of year. At the pump we're seeing double-digit spikes.
Regular gasoline prices in Kansas are rising faster than the national average, and are now more expensive than they were a year ago.
The statewide average on Thursday was $3.65/gal., up 41 cents from a month ago. The national average is higher, at $3.82/gal., but rising more slowly, nearly thirty cents in the last month. And the national average is still 18 cents lower than a year ago. The Kansas average is four cents higher than a year ago. Filling up your 15-gallon tank in our neighborhood will cost you a little over $54, up from $49 a month ago.
Despite an industry decline in overall railroad shipments, oil-by-rail held steady last month, and posted big gains last week. Operators moved 10,211 tanker carloads of petroleum and petroleum products across the country during the week through July 29. That's up more than a thousand carloads from a week earlier, up two percent from the weekly count a year ago and the highest weekly tally since March 30. The Association of American Railroads reported total rail shipments in July were down 3.3% compared to a year ago.
Kansas regulators report 99 new intent-to-drill notices across the state last week, 817 so far this year, compared to 925 through July of last year. There are two new intents filed in July in Barton County and two in Stafford County. So far this year, the Kansas Corporation Commission reports 29 new notices in Barton County, compared to 13 by the end of July last year. Ellis County has 24 new intents on file this year, compared to 16 by this time last year. Russell County posts four intents this year, compared to nine last year at this time. Stafford County has 21 new intent-to-drill notices on file this year, compared to 12 a year ago.
The annual convention and expo of the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association is coming up this weekend, August 20-22 at Wichita's Century II Convention Center. Among the events will be a panel discussion featuring U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas and three out of four Kansas U.S. Representatives. Find out more at their Web site at KIOGA.org.