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Baker Hughes: US drilling rig count decreases to 1,860

The US drilling rig count dropped 6 units to 1,860 rigs working during the week ended June 6, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. The decline follows BHI’s report that the average US rig count for May was 1,859, 24 more than April’s count and 92 more than in May 2013. During the week, land rigs declined 5 units to 1,787 and offshore rigs fell 2 units to 58, while rigs drilling in inland waters edged up a unit to 15. Gas rigs decreased 6 units to 320. Unchanged from a week ago were oil rigs at 1,536 and rigs considered unclassified at 4. Directional drilling rigs jumped 9 units to 221. Horizontal drilling rigs edged down a unit to 1,250. Canada’s rig count, meanwhile, increased 16 units to 214, a gain of 62 from this week a year ago. A 17-unit spike in oil rigs to 122 was nicked […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Canada Aims to Sell Its Oil Beyond U.S.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would ship from oil fields in Alberta, Canada (above) to the Gulf of Mexico, but the project remains uncertain. The Washington Post/Getty Images Last fall, Canadian oil producer Husky Energy Inc. sent a batch of crude on a journey to India. It was just a drop in a sea of global oil transactions, but a step toward reshaping North American energy trading. The million-barrel shipment to Indian Oil Corp. , described by Husky as a test sale, foreshadowed what Canadian producers hope will become many new overseas markets for their oil. "We are doing it opportunistically to have the wheels greased" for more exports far afield if they become feasible, said Asim Ghosh, Husky’s chief executive. Recently, Husky also shipped a batch of oil to Italy’s Eni SpA. While the U.S. debates whether to loosen a decades-old prohibition on shipping its oil overseas, Canada […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US coal stockpiles stand at 126 million st, down 32%: Bentek

Washington (Platts)–6Jun2014/440 pm EDT/2040 GMT US coal stockpiles fell to 126 million st for the week ending Friday, down 32% from the five-year average, Bentek Energy said. Bentek, a unit of Platts, said lower coal production and higher coal consumption during the week meant US coal stockpiles have dipped for the second week in a row. At this time last year, US coal stockpiles totaled 176 million st. The decline comes as utilities are also face depleted natural gas inventories, though storage is building. Working gas in storage totaled roughly 1.5 Tcf for the week ending June 6, but inventories are still 37% below the five-year average. Bentek estimates US coal production declined 3% for the week ending Friday to 18.4 million st, while coal consumption increased 6% to 18.3 million st. Coal consumption increased all regions, with the largest increases in ERCOT, PJM and the Southeast. –Andrew Moore, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Increases in U.S. crude oil production come from light, sweet crude from tight formations

U.S. crude oil production has grown rapidly in recent years , primarily from light, sweet crude (a characteristic of crude quality, as measured by API gravity and sulfur content) from tight resource formations. Roughly 96% of the 1.8-million-barrel per day (bbl/d) growth in production from 2011 to 2013 consisted of light sweet grades with API gravity of 40 or above and sulfur content of 0.3% or less. EIA’s new forecast of U.S. crude production by quality indicates that the U.S. supply of light, sweet crude will continue to outpace that of medium and heavy crude through 2015. More than 60% of EIA’s forecasted production growth for 2014 and 2015 consists of sweet grades with API gravity of 40 or above. The growth in this particular type of crude oil (as well as many forecasts for a continuation of this trend) has sparked discussion of how rising crude oil volumes […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil-by-rail sets U.S. record

More crude oil was delivered on the U.S. rail network during first quarter 2014 than any other quarter in history, the Association of American Railroads said. AAR said 110,164 carloads of crude oil were shipped during the first quarter of the year. "[That’s] 1.4 percent more than in the fourth quarter of 2013 and, by 1,559 carloads, the most ever in any quarter," the association said in a statement Thursday. "In the first quarter of 2014, crude oil accounted for 1.6 percent of total originated carloads for U.S. rail traffic." The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said in its latest monthly report total U.S. crude oil production averaged 8.3 million barrels per day in April, the highest monthly average since March 1988. By 2015, the average should reach 9.2 million bpd, the highest level in more than 40 years. The increase in crude […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Peak Oil: Facts To Keep In Mind

Good news sells, and doesn’t rock any boats, but policy makers and politicians comforted by rosy forecasts are unable to understand the risks and properly prepare the country for long-term energy sustainability…. A more prudent, conservative US oil forecast would look very different. It would consider that, although surprises are always possible, the most productive fossil fuel resources do tend to be discovered first and produced first. It would take note of the fact that production in fracked wells declines extremely quickly, requiring an accelerating drilling treadmill to maintain—let alone grow—production, with associated collateral environmental impacts. It would assume that most tight oil plays producible at current oil prices have already been discovered and put into production, and that major new resources—if they exist—are unlikely to be forthcoming unless there is a significant rise in oil prices. In short, the forecast would be based on actual data from existing […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Crude Oil Prices, Opec And Other Peak Oil Stories

Commodities / Crude Oil When In Doubt, Worry About Oil One of the starkest oil worry pot pourri presentations – ruthlessly mingling fact, fiction and fantasy (but pretending its all fact) – can be had here http://energypolicy.columbia.edu… Steve Kopits is the Managing Director of a known and still-in-business oil and energy forecasting firm, Douglas-Westwood. Both Kopits and D-W would appear to be (still) employable, but for how much longer we can only guess. The Kopits presentation is showcased by the Dublin sustainable economy and development firm FEASTA, with an even more ghastly presentation by David Knight called ‘Peak Oil and Climate Change – Two Sides of the Same Coin?’ FEASTA says that, as it perceives things,  Global Warming and Peak Oil are the two largest threats to the planet, human life and civilization. To be sure this inevitably includes oil prices. Where is any so-called “peak oil induced” takeoff […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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UN pushes sustainable energy – Peak Oil

On World Environmental Day, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored that sustainable energy is the golden thread that links poverty eradication, equitable economic growth and a healthy environment. Speaking today (5 June)at the first annual Sustainable Energy for All forum, Ban pointed out three goals for 2030: “universal access to modern energy services. Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency. Twice as much renewable energy in the global energy mix. Our efforts so far show that these objectives are realistic. Our focus now must be to achieve them.” He said this can bring us closer to our goals of universal energy and a life of dignity and opportunity for all. Ban said “along with its campaign on energy and women’s and children’s health, the Decade can bring us closer to our goals of universal energy and a life of dignity and opportunity for all. Modern energy […]

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Modeling Peak Oil and the Geological Constraints on Oil Production

Geological constraints have the potential to substantially increase the future oil price.” Wow. Talk about the obvious. Northwest Resident on Fri, 6th Jun 2014 3:32 pm  “…geological constraints have the potential to substantially increase the future oil price…” And economic constraints have the potential to substantially sink the future oil price via demand destruction because there is a point at which very few will be able to afford that increased future price. Salaries and government hand-outs don’t increase to keep pace with the rising price of oil. Just exactly the opposite. The higher the price of oil gets, the more businesses can’t afford to continue operations, the more people lose their jobs or don’t get raises, and the less tax revenue the government collects to redistribute to the poor and unemployed. shortonoil on Fri, 6th Jun 2014 4:02 pm  “Our approach […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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WTI Crude Swings Before Monthly U.S. Payrolls Data; Brent Steady

West Texas Intermediate crude swung between gains and losses before data that may signal strength in the economy in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London. Futures were little changed in New York , poised for a second weekly decline. Payrolls probably rose by 215,000 in May, a Bloomberg News survey shows before a Labor Department report today. That compares with a 288,000 increase in April. Production in Libya , a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, was stable at 171,000 barrels a day as of yesterday, according to National Oil Corp. “Today’s most important economic key number will be this afternoon’s U.S. employment status with the nonfarm payroll and unemployment rate data,” Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. in Middelfart, Denmark , said in a report. “Expect volatility in the market around these numbers.” WTI for July delivery […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple