By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Eagle Communications
New reporting shows Kansas crude production on a par with the last several years, which have been the lowest in state history.
The Kansas Geological Survey says Kansas operators pumped nearly 14 million barrels of oil in the first six months of this year. That's 77,171 barrels per day, which is down by 227 barrels per day from the first half of last year. Last year's total output was the second lowest 12-month total on record in Kansas. The lowest was a year earlier.
Kansas Geological Survey says output in Barton County averaged 4,125 barrels per day for the first half of the year. That's up 100 barrels per day from a year ago. Ellis County production is down 77 barrels per day from a year ago, at 6,016 barrels per day. That's still enough to lead the state. Output in Russell County was up slightly to 3,718 barrels per day. Stafford County production was slightly lower at 2,512 barrels per day.
Crude prices lost a little ground on Friday, closing at $88.75 per barrel for the near-month contract in New York, down 62 cents on the day but $1.06 higher than a week earlier. Prices were down nearly two percent on Monday, dropping below $87 a barrel. In London, Brent crude dropped a few cents below $91 by lunchtime Monday.
Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson starts the week at $79 a barrel. That's up a dollar from a week ago, but down two dollars from the first of the month.
New reporting shows Kansas crude production on a par with the last several years, which have been the lowest in state history.
The Kansas Geological Survey says Kansas operators pumped nearly 14 million barrels of oil in the first six months of this year. That's 77,171 barrels per day, which is down by 227 barrels per day from the first half of last year. Last year's total output was the second lowest 12-month total on record in Kansas.
Output in Barton County averaged 4,125 barrels per day for the first half of the year. That's up 100 barrels per day from a year ago. Ellis County production is down 77 barrels per day from a year ago, at 6,016 barrels per day. That's still enough to lead the state. Output in Russell County was up slightly to 3,718 barrels per day. Stafford County production was slightly lower at 2,512 barrels per day.
U.S. crude production dropped to its second highest weekly total ever, just a week after output reached the all-time high. The Energy Information Administration reported output of 13,217,000 barrels per day in the week through Oct 13. That's down a thousand barrels per day from the all time record a week earlier but more than a million barrels per day higher than the same week a year ago.
U.S. crude stockpiles dropped by nearly five million barrels. EIA said inventories reached 419.7 million barrels as of Oct. 13. That's about five percent below the five-year average for this time of year. The Energy Information Administration reports nearly six-million barrels per day in crude imports for the week, down 387,000 barrels from a week ago. Four-week average imports are up 5.5% over a year ago.
An oil deal worth more than $50 billion turns out to be the second-largest oil-patch acquisition this month. Oil major Chevron will buy global independent Hess Corporation for $53 billion. The deal comes less than two weeks after Exxon Mobil said that it would acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion. Chevron is the seventh-largest oil company in the world by revenue. Adding Hess to its roster gives the company a major oil field in South America as well as extensive shale properties in the Bakken Formation in North Dakota. Exxon Mobil and Pioneer Natural Resources announced an all-stock merger agreement a week ago.
The Biden administration last week rolled back Trump-era sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector after the government there announced concessions to opposition parties for an election next year. A new general license issued by the Treasury Department authorized the OPEC member to produce and export oil to its chosen markets for the next six months without limitation. A senior State Department told Reuters they'll reverse sanctions relief unless they begin freeing Americans and other political prisoners detained there.
The Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes is up one oil rig and one gas rig for a total of 624 active rigs as of Friday, Oct. 20. The count in Texas is up seven rigs while New Mexico is down three.
The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil & Gas Service is up one at 16 active rigs in the eastern half of the state, and down three at 22 active rigs in western Kansas. The tally is up five percent from a month ago, but down more than 35% from a year ago.
Kansas operators have spudded 1,041 new wells this year, which lags last year's count by 331 wells. Total footage drilled is down 26%. There was one new drilling permit filed in Barton County last week, among ten in western Kansas and 46 statewide.
Independent Oil & Gas Service reports operators completed 13 wells in western Kansas, including four in Ellis County, and one each in Barton and Stafford counties. There are 21 newly-completed wells in the eastern half of the state.
So far this year, operators across Kansas have completed 1,378 wells, which is about 85 wells ahead of last year.
Texas continues to rewrite the record books. Texas producers have once again broken the 30- and 40-year-old oil-patch output records that held up until this summer. Oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids all reached new plateaus in August. The Texas Oil and Gas Association reports crude production topped 5.6 million barrels per day, an all-time record.
The government is predicting a significant drop in production from the nation's top shale plays beginning next month. A monthly forecast from the Energy Information Administration says total crude production in the top seven domestic shale basins will drop by 50-million barrels per day in November. Gas output is predicted to drop by 451-million cubic feet per day.
The Energy Information Administration's monthly productivity report tracks new-well production, regional output, and drilled but uncompleted wells. DUCs were down 54 wells nationwide last month. Wells in six of the seven basins tracked were completed, placed into production, and taken off the four-thousand-plus national roster of DUCs.