By JOHN P. TRETBAR
The Kansas Geological Society met last week (4/11) to recognize and name eight new oil fields and four infield wildcat discoveries in Kansas. There are 17 new fields identified across the state so far this year.
Kansas regulators approved 17 new drilling locations last week, 370 so far this year, compared to 438 a year ago. There are ten new drilling permits east of Wichita and seven in Western Kansas, including one in Barton County and one in Stafford County.
Kansas operators have spudded 341 wells so far this year, compared to 385 at this time last year. Total footage is down about 21% from a year ago. Independent Oil & Gas Service says Kansas operators completed 27 wells in the week through April 13th, with 11 west of Wichita and 16 in the eastern half of the state. That's 546 completed wells statewide so far this year compared to 467 by this time a year ago.
The Kansas Rig Count was down slightly despite slight gains east of Wichita. According to Independent Oil & Gas Service, the tally in Western Kansas was 23 active rigs, down three from the week before.
The weekly Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes shows 748 active drilling rigs in the US, down three rigs. At 588 rigs, the oil count was down two. The count of gas drilling rigs was down one at 157 rigs. The breakouts show five fewer directional rigs, three fewer horizontal rigs, and five additional vertical drilling rigs compared to last week. The total in Oklahoma was down three rigs, Texas was down two. New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Louisiana were each up one.
The Energy Information Administration says crude inventories grew by 600,000 barrels from the previous week, at just over 470 million barrels. Stockpiles are about three percent above the five year seasonal average. EIA said gasoline and diesel inventories each dropped last week. Both are well below the five-week average for this time of year. The weekly government report showed US crude imports down by nearly a million barrels a day at 6.2 million barrels per day. That equals the average for the last four weeks, which is down by just under one percent from the same four weeks a year ago. Crude production in the US increased by 112,000 barrels per day last week to 12.34 million barrels per day.
The government predicts better pump prices than last year, even as those prices start to rise. The Energy Information Administration forecasts average pump prices for the year just under $3.50 a gallon coast to coast. EIA is predicting lower average crude-oil prices than last year. The report also forecasts lower crack spreads, the term used to describe the markup at the refinery between crude oil and gasoline prices. At the extremes, EIA expects summer gasoline prices this year to range from $3.08 to $3.95 per gallon
Environmental activists are hoping to accelerate the greening of America's number-four crude-producing state. Colorado activists are hoping to ban new oil and gas drilling in the state within seven years. The news releases and other announcements all use the word "fracking" but the measure being considered would ban all new drilling permits by the year 2030. The group submitted language to the Colorado Legislative Council to place a measure on the 2024 statewide ballot. It would need just over 124,000 signatures to force a statewide vote.
A report filed in the Canadian Parliament asserts that country will need thousands of additional oil and gas workers. The government projects 14,000 job openings from now through 2031, an increase of 13%. The projection includes oil and gas extraction and does not include support industries.
Exxon Mobil is talking to Pioneer Natural Resources about a possible acquisition. The Wall Street Journal report prompted an 8% spike in the stock price at Pioneer, the number three producer in the Permian Basin.