Wednesday, July 1, 2015 -- Part III - Global Energy; Oil Stockpiles Rise; Gasoline Stockpiles Fall; Refineries At Full Capacity

All that complaining by Saudi Arabia about losing market share? Look at the numbers (most recent data is April 15, 2015, but that is still six months after the Saudis made their announcement last October):

Look at it another way. Saudi's gain was clearly at the expense of Iraq.

Saudi oil imported into US: $35 billion, 5-year program, giving away their oil for $50/bbl, and Saudi manages to .... drum roll ... barely get back to "average." Talk about the Red Queen.

North Dakota produces about one million bopd. Unfettered, North Dakota could easily produce 2 million bopd, completely displacing Saudi oil. It would make no sense to do that, of course, but it helps me put things in perspective.

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WTI Slumps

Reuters is reporting:

Oil prices slumped on Wednesday, with U.S. crude headed for its sharpest daily loss since early April, after the first rise in crude stockpiles in the United States in more than two months.

The dollar's rally on Greece's debt default, Iran's renewed efforts to reach a nuclear deal with the West to freely resume its crude exports, and signs of OPEC output at three-year highs, further weighed on the market.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels last week, the first weekly build since April and versus a 2-million-barrel draw forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll on Tuesday.

The EIA also said gasoline stockpiles fell by 1.8 million barrels, indicating strong demand for fuels from the peak U.S. summer driving season, even as crude inventories rose.