By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Eagle Media
May crude prices in New York settled 21 cents higher Friday, at $68.28 per barrel for the near month contract. That's a weekly gain of about a dime. Prices were up another dollar by lunchtime Monday, topping $69 a barrel for the first time in a month.
Prices at CHS are a dollar lower than last week, a half dollar lower than the first of the month, and a buck-and-a-half lower than the first of the year. Kansas Common crude starts the week in McPherson at $58.50 per barrel.
Crude imports from Canada cascaded, contributing to a drop in all crude imports, and a two-year low in net crude imports.
U.S. crude imports averaged 5.4 million barrels per day in the week through March 14, down 85,000 barrels a day from the week before. Crude imports from Canada fell by more than half a million barrels per day, to 3.1 million daily barrels. That's the lowest since March 2023.
The Energy Information Administration says we are still a net crude importer, but that's down by 1.44 million daily barrels to 741,000 barrels per day, the lowest since October 2023. U.S. crude production last week dropped by two thousand barrels a day tot 13,573,000 barrels per day, the fifth highest weekly tally in government records. The Energy Information Administration says the four-week and cumulative year-to-date averages set new record highs near 13.5 million barrels a day.
Crude stockpiles rise, while fuel inventories drop. Commercial crude inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels to 437 million, or about five percent below the five year average. Stockpiles of regular gasoline and diesel were both lower. Gasoline demand was unchanged from a week ago, while diesel demand dropped.
The Energy Department took delivery on another 300,000 barrels for the Strategic Petroleum Reserves last week, raising the dip stick to just under 396 million barrels, up 34 million from last year.
The weekly Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes is up two gas rigs but down one oil rig for a total of 593 active rigs. Texas is down one, Louisiana is up one, and Oklahoma is up two rigs.
The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service shows five active rigs in eastern Kansas and 12 in the western half of the state. Drilling was underway on Friday on a lease in Barton County and two in Finney County. Operators on Friday were preparing to spud a new well in Ellis County.
Operators in Kansas completed 18 wells last week. Nine of those were west of Wichita, including one in Ellis County, one in Haskell County and two in Stafford County. Independent Oil and Gas Service reports 269 newly completed wells so far this year.
Kansas regulators okayed 22 new drilling locations, with eight in western Kansas including one in Russell County, two in Finney County and three in Haskell County. That's 158 new permits so far this year compared to 193 a year ago.
The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources reports January production averaged 1.17 million barrels a day, down about 20,000 daily barrels from the month before. DMR said the state's closely watch gas-capture rate returned to 95% after a brief hiatus. Permits and rig counts are up compared to last year at this time.
An official in Saudi Arabia says the kingdom is not providing logistical support or fuel for U.S. military operations in Yemen, calling Middle East media reports "misleading." President Donald Trump ordered military operations targeting Houthi militants, which were expected to continue for days and possibly months.
Venezuela says it will continue crude production and exports after Chevron leaves next month. The Administration gave the U.S. oil company until next month to get out of the South American nation. Reuters reports on three possible scenarios by which the national oil company PDVSA intends to pump between 105,000 and 138,000 barrels per day after the oil major's departure.