ICYMI: Bakken Oil Reaches Asia For First Time Ever -- May 14, 2017

Active rigs:

$47.82	5/14/2017	05/14/2016	05/14/2015	05/14/2014	05/14/2013
Active Rigs	51	27	83	189	190

Wow, it never quits, the real "Orient Express": now we have a twice weekly freight train from China to Europe. Takes 16 days; arrives in Europe in a shorter time than shipping by sea. The 1,000th freight train departed China on Saturday, headed for Madrid. No doubt carrying solar panels.

Meanwhile, ICYMI: Bakken light reaches Asia for the first time, from Oilprice.com, article by Zainab Calcuttawala, an American journalist based in Morocco. We've talked about this before, the difference between US refiners and Asian refiners:

The Swiss energy trader shipped 600,000 barrels of crude from the Bakken formation along with Mars Sour crude from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) onto the carrier Maran Canopus in late March. The vessel is destined for Singapore, according to the document.

North Dakota’s mix of light oil reached Europe last year, just months after the United States Congress lifted the decades-old ban on crude oil exports in December 2015. Japan may soon follow; refiners from the country say the formula of oil works well with existing facilities.