News from the Oil Patch, Sep.28
By John P. Tretbar
Crude-oil production in the United States tops 13.9 Million barrels per day for the third week in a row. Four-week average production tops 13.9 million for the first time ever. The Energy Information Administration reports output of 13,939,000 barrels per day for the week through Sept. 18. That's down five-thousand daily barrels from the week before, and just eight-thousand barrels a day under the all-time record set the week before that. The cumulative, year-to-date average is up tw0 percent from a year ago, at 13.7 million barrels a day.
Commercial stockpiles rose three million barrels this week to just over 426 million, up 12 million barrels from a year ago and about two percent above the five-year average. Inventories at Cushing, Okla. rise to 23.7 million barrels this week. That's an increase of 2.2 million barrels from last week, equal to the tally a year ago, and up 900,000 barrels from two years ago. The Strategic Petroleum Reserves dips another 400-thousand barrels to just over 284 million. That's down 30% or 121 million barrels from a year ago.
US crude shipments from Canada drop 25 percent this week to their lowest level this year. Canada's crude shipments for the week ending Sept. 18 drop 1.1 million barrels to 3.2-Million barrels a day. Weekly shipments dropped lower than that only three times last year. The average for Canadian imports so far this year is over 3.8 million barrels a day. Shipments from Saudi Arabia drop nearly a quarter-million barrels to just over 126,000 barrels per day.
Crude-oil exports are down 32 percent or 1.5 million barrels a day from last week, at 3.2 million barrels a day. That's a five-week low. Refined product exports are up four percent.
The Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes is up three oil rigs and one gas rig from a week ago for a total of 599 active rigs as of Friday. That total is up 50 rigs from a year ago. New Mexico jumps three rigs as Texas drops by two. Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming each gain one rig for the week.
The Kansas Rig Count from Independent Oil and Gas Service is down one in eastern Kansas at eight rigs. The tally is unchanged west of Wichita at 13 rigs, with drilling underway Friday on two leases in Stafford County, one in Finney County, and one in Gove County. The statewide report is down nearly five percent from last month, but up 75 percent from a year ago.
Operators complete nine new wells this week, including one dry hole and eight producing oil and gas wells. Independent Oil and Gas Service reports two new oil wells placed on pump in Gove County and one in Rooks County. That's 599 new well-completions this year, compared to 850 a year ago.
Kansas regulators okayed 13 drilling permits for new locations this week, with six in eastern Kansas and seven west of Wichita. That include new permits in Finney and Stafford counties. So far this year, the Kansas Corporation Commission has approved 553 new drilling locations, compared to 515 by this time last year.
North Dakota set another state record in July for the total number of producing oil wells. The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources reports more than 20-thousand active wells, an increase of 111 wells from June to July. The number of inactive wells is just under 500. This is the third month in a row in which North Dakota operators have broken that record.
Output in the number-three crude producing state was up slightly, rising toward 1.2 million barrels a day. Operators flared about seven percent more natural gas at oil wells in July than they did in June. The gas-capture rate drops to 95.3%. Natural gas production is up one percent month-over-month.