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BHI: US rig count jumps 19 units to 876

The US drilling rig count jumped 19 units to reach 876 during the week ended July 24, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. The gains came primarily from rigs drilling on land. Land rigs were up 17 units to 841. Those drilling in inland waters also increased, up 2 units to reach 4 rigs working. During the week, rigs targeting oil jumped 21 units to 659. Gas-directed rigs, meanwhile, were down 2 units to 216. Rigs considered unclassified were unchanged at 1 rig working. Rigs engaged in horizontal drilling increased 12 units to 662. Directional drilling rigs lost 1 unit to 83. Rigs drilling offshore and in the Gulf of Mexico were both unchanged this week, both maintaining counts of 31. Canada’s rig count continued its upward climb, increasing 8 units to an even 200. Its count has now risen in 9 of the last 11 weeks. This […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Exclusive: Total seeks buyer for half of Texas refinery

General view of the Total’s oil refinery at La Mede near Marseille, southern France, April 16, 2015. French oil major Total S.A. ( TOTF.PA ) is selling a 50 percent stake in its sole U.S. refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, and has retained investment bank Lazard to advise on the deal, according to a source familiar with the matter. The French oil major, which has been trying to reduce its downstream exposure for three years, intends to remain operator of the 225,000 barrel-per-day plant, which it has owned for more than 40 years, the source said. The move reflects Total’s efforts to shift more capital toward production, two people familiar with refining transactions added. Lazard and Total both declined to comment. The sale would be the latest step by a big oil company to move away from the downstream sector, which has long been considered a low-margin drag on […]

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Ruble Falls for Fifth Week Tracking Oil as Russia’s RTS Slides

The ruble fell, extending the longest weekly slump since November, and bonds declined as the selloff in oil drove the price of Brent to a three month-low. A dollar-denominated gauge of stocks entered a bear market. Russia’s currency weakened 1.1 percent against the dollar to 58.4980 by 6:47 p.m. in Moscow. It declined 2.6 percent this week, the most since the period ended June 7. The RTS Index extended the retreat from its peak in May to more than 20 percent. Oil, which along with natural gas accounts for half Russia’s revenue, has tumbled in London and entered a bear market in New York amid a persisting surplus. The ruble’s correlation with oil rose to 0.47 this week, the highest level in two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The ruble is a petrocurrency, and oil is on another leg down,” Vladimir Miklashevsky, a strategist at Danske Bank […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Weatherford: Future looks grim

Rig services company Weatherford says the future does not look good for the North American market. Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock BAAR, Switzerland, July 24 (UPI) — With few prospects for a recovery in the crude oil market, rig services company Weatherford said it was making deeper cuts in its North American portfolio. "Market conditions will not improve significantly in the balance of the year," Weatherford President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Duroc-Danner, said in a statement. "There will be modest activity increases in North America and selected international geographies but these will not be material." Weatherford, which has headquarters in Switzerland, joins peer companies Baker Hughes and Halliburton in announcing downbeat expectations for the trajectory in crude oil markets. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil, traded Friday at around $48.60 per barrel, down about 18 percent from July 1 and more than 50 percent below June […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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British shale pioneer to push back against local council

Shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources says it will appeal county decision to deny permits for a drilling campaign that would include hydraulic fracturing. Photo courtesy of Cuadrilla Resources LONDON, July 24 (UPI) — British shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources said it planned to appeal June’s decisions by a county council to deny permits for a hydraulic fracturing campaign. "We have given careful consideration to appeal the planning decisions taken by Lancashire County Council," Cuadrilla Chief Executive Officer Francis Egan said in a statement. "This is a natural step in the democratic process for deciding any planning application." The council in Lancashire last month voted to refuse a permit to start a hydraulic fracturing campaign in the Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood sites. The council said it refused the applications because of noise and visual impact concerns, and "potentially severe" impacts on road infrastructure and traffic, respectively. In the past, the […]

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Why do Russians love Putin so much?

Vladimir Putin first stepped into power 15 years ago. His leadership has been bolstered by portraying himself as a patriotic and unshakable president, with unmatchable athletic ability. But in the past year, Putin’s relationship with the West has deteriorated. Russians are struggling under western sanctions after Putin’s annexation of Crimea and continuing support for Russian-separatists in Eastern Ukraine. The rouble has tumbled and the price of oil – Russia’s main export – has slumped. But despite all this, President Putin’s popularity at home has gone up. The Levada Center – an independent Russian polling and research agency – found 87 percent of Russians approved of Putin. Just down from a record high of 89 percent in June. It’s a big increase from 2012 when 64 percent approved of him. So, why are Russians rallying around their leader? Presenter: Laura Kyle Guests: Dmitry Babich – Political Analyst and Contributor to […]

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Oil Turning Back to Bear Erases $100 Billion From Shale Drillers

The Permian Basin in Mentone, Texas. Crude oil slipped back into a bear market Thursday, disappointing U.S. shale drillers that pinned their hopes on higher prices. West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark U.S. contract, tumbled 21 percent since June 10 to $48.45 a barrel, erasing more than $100 billion in market value from the companies in the Bloomberg Intelligence North America Independent Explorers and Producers Index. Crude’s recovery fizzled amid a worldwide glut that shows little sign of abating. U.S. production remains near the highest level in four decades, output from Saudi Arabia and Iraq surged to record levels, and Iran is focused on resuming exports after reaching a nuclear agreement with world powers. “The commodity price is telling the U.S. shale sector to shrink,” said Subash Chandra, an oil analyst at Guggenheim Securities LLC in New York. “Barrels from the U.S. are on a collision course with barrels coming […]

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Oil prices climb, but stay in bear market territory

Stacked rigs are seen along with other idled oil drilling equipment at a depot in Dickinson, North Dakota June 26, 2015. Oil prices edged up on Friday after closing at their lowest in months in the previous session as oversupply and disappointing Chinese factory activity dragged on the market. Oil prices in the United States have slumped more than 20 percent in the past six weeks, a slide considered by many traders to constitute a bear market. The oil demand outlook dimmed further on Friday after a preliminary private survey showed factory activity in China’s struggling economy contracted by the most in 15 months in July. "Concerns around the demand environment were heightened further today by the PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) read out of China," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. "The lack of supply side response means that the downtrend looks to be […]

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Oil Prices Enter Bear Market Amid Global Glut of Crude

U.S. oil prices sank into a bear market Thursday as a global glut of crude shows little sign of abating. Prices had settled below the key $50-a-barrel mark for the first time since early April on Wednesday, and they kept falling for most of Thursday. An unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories, announced earlier this week, combined with high production already coming from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is raising concerns that the market is settling into a long period of oversupply. Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled down 74 cents, or 1.5%, at $48.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since March 31. The U.S. benchmark has posted losses in 17 of the past 21 sessions. That skid has now dropped it into a bear market, down more than 21% from the 2015 high that it hit just a month […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple