Active Rigs Hit The '90' Mark -- April 22, 2015

The Red Queen is still on the treadmill. Reuters is reporting:

The American Petroleum Institute said U.S. crude stocks rose by 5.5 million barrels last week, higher than the 2.9-million-barrel build expected to a record 480.2 million barrels.

Stocks at the key delivery point of Cushing, Oklahoma rose by 572,000 barrels, the API said. Energy markets intelligence firm Genscape said tanks at Cushing were nearly 80 percent full.

Active rigs, a new low, tracked here:

	4/22/2015	04/22/2014	04/22/2013	04/22/2012	04/22/2011
Active Rigs	90	187	186	210	175

RBN Energy: a great article -- update on US condensate exports.

Natural gas producers are probably turning green with envy: Processed condensate exports out of the US Gulf are strong and getting stronger. Since the Department of Commerce threw the doors open to the export of lightly processed condensate, new loading points have emerged, new target markets have been found, and more companies have become involved. Today we describe how attention is now turning from regulatory and logistical issues to the challenge of finding buyers.

The volume of very light crude oil with an API Gravity above 50 degrees being produced from U.S. shale plays such as the Eagle Ford and more recently the Permian, has expanded beyond the level of domestic demand. We have described the loosening of export regulations implemented by the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) since June 2014, to allow lease condensate produced at the wellhead to be exported provided that it is first processed through a distillation tower and is kept segregated on its journey to export marine docks. Last week we detailed the expansion of Plains All American (PAA) and Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) infrastructure to transport processed condensate from the Permian and Eagle Ford Basins to Corpus Christi and Houston. 

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From Late Last Night

Readers have sent me a couple of interesting articles, but I'm too tired to post any more tonight. Watch for them tomorrow.

The post at this link was going to be the last for the night; but then I got sent a bunch of stories which I felt compelled to post.  Don't miss that link: it's the real Bakken.

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Music

I just posted this the other night, but I need to catch a second wind.

Stayin' Alive, The Bee Gees
Hunter S. Thompson:

“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.” 

Dancing Queen, ABBA