By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Eagle Media
US weekly crude production is back within fracking distance of the all-time record high. The Energy Information Administration reports average output of 13,501,000 barrels a day. Production tops 13.5 million for the first time since April 2nd and only the 14th time ever. The best-ever weekly production average dates back to December of last year, when output topped 13.6 million barrels a day.
Crude oil exports dropped by nearly a hundred thousand barrels a day from last week's 21-month high. The government reports crude exports dipped under 4.5 million barrels a day, from over 5.2 million a week ago. Four week average crude exports are up 200,000 barrels from a year ago.
Crude imports are up 14% from last week, but barely changed from a year ago at about 6.5 million barrels a day.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve tops out at 406 million barrels this week after taking delivery on another 200-thousand barrels. The SPR is up 24 million barrels from a year ago, and nearly 42-million barrels since refills resumed in April of 2024.
Commercial inventories, not including the SPR, dropped by more than half a million barrels to just under 415 million. EIA says stockpiles are about four percent below the five-year seasonal average.
Weekly statistics from the oil patch in Kansas continue to sag. The Kansas Corporation Commission okayed five new drilling locations statewide this week, with one east of Wichita and four in Western Kansas including one new permit in Russell County. That's two in Russell County this year.
Operators completed nine wells in Kansas during the week. Independent Oil and Gas Service notes six in Western Kansas and three east of Wichita. The total this year is 850 wells, down from more than a thousand a year ago. Just 586 wells have been drilled to total depth this year, down more than 40 percent from a year ago. Overall drilling activity is down 36%.
The Kansas Rig Count is down 25% from last week, with eight active rigs West of Wichita, down two, and four rigs in eastern Kansas, down two. The total is half what it was a year ago.
Current rig counts in Texas and New Mexico confirm that shale-oil producers in both states are getting more bang for the buck. The rig count in Texas is up four from last week, but remains 31 rigs lower than a year ago. Baker Hughes reports New Mexico increased by one rig last week but is nine rigs lower than a year ago. Both state's have produced dramatic increases in oil output. Baker Hughes reports 549 active rigs nationwide as of Friday, up seven for the week but 38 rigs lower than last year at this time.
The number of producing oil wells in North Dakota rose to an all-time high in July, leading to a big bump in production. The Department of Mineral Resources reports the #3 crude-producing state pumped 1.16 million barrels per day in July, up about two thousand barrels from June. DMR reported a slight increase in the amount of natural gas captured at oil wells in the state to 95.2%, dropping the amount of flared natural gas by 15%. Officials say there are 19,547 producing wells in the state, up 38 from the month before.