Week 22: May 28, 2017 -- June 3, 2017

Wow, this has been an incredible week. Despite the OPEC cut (wink, wink) global crude oil supplies actually increased during the first quarter 2017. The price of oil continues to fall and already the extension of the OPEC / Russia cut seems to be falling apart. One wonders if the current agreement will even amount to anything, now that two countries who have no caps (Libya and off-hand I forget the other one -- maybe Iran) are increasing their production. After months of naysayers telling us US shale could not "make up" the cuts in oil production by OPEC / Russia, it's now being reported what we all knew: The US could add up to 1.5m barrels per day to global oil production next year, nullifying the impacts from the deal, which was extended by nine months.

Meanwhile, the US economy is on a tear, at least by some metrics. There were no headline stories today but the US unemployment rate is at a 16-year low. Again, at a 16-year low -- and no one is dancing in the streets. It just doesn't feel that good. Meanwhile, US markets scored a hat trick: all three major indices hit new records this week.

My biggest surprise: President Trump made it crystal clear that the US was leaving the Paris climate accord. I would have lost that bet; I was sure he would have waffled, threading the needle, perhaps by saying the US would abide but he wanted the US Senate to weigh in. Both Ivanka and Jared failed to attend the Thursday afternoon announcement. The story will have legs through this weekend's Sunday morning talk shows and then will quietly go away, mostly because Germany's Angela Merkel doesn't want to admit she really, really blew it. Meanwhile, the US economic engine will gather steam to further widen the gap between the US and the rest of the world. 

International:
Global crude oil supplies increased first three months of 2017 (during the OPEC cut); perhaps this is why
US exits Paris climate "agreement" 

National:
The number of US rigs now back to pre-surge number and "more of the same" likely
US refiners are processing crude oil at a pace never seen before

Operations
BR to place 16 wells in one drilling unit 
CLR to place 12 wells in one drilling unit
Statoil to place 8 wells on one pad
Random update of Whiting's drilling program northwest of Belfield

Fracking
EOG reports a well completed with almost 12 million lbs of sand  
an MRO re-frack

Pipelines
Faulty story about faulty leak

Miscellaneous
Bhutan: North Dakota #1 in immigrants from Bhutan