Swing Producer Or "Most Responsive Producer"? -- February 6, 2018; Chinese Crude Oil Imports Surging

Permian is now seen as #2; second to Saudi Arabia for "spare oil output capacity -- Bloomberg via Rigzone:

The U.S.’s Permian Basin is looking like Saudi Arabia, with as much as 1 million barrels of spare oil capacity ready to go into production, according to Nansen Saleri, former head of reservoir management at Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest crude exporter.

Oil producers in the Permian Basin have at least a combined 500,000 barrels a day of idle oil production capacity, according to Saleri, who is now chief executive officer of Houston-based consultant Quantum Reservoir Impact. Saudi Arabia’s spare capacity is about 1.5 million barrels a day.

The Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico is the engine for U.S. shale production and acquisitions, helping to increase U.S. output to more than 10 million barrels a day in November for the first time in more than four decades.

Exxon Mobil Corp. is spending billions to triple output by 2025 from the Permian, where its costs are as low as $15 a barrel.

Unsaid: the Bakken can easily ramp up similarly. By the way, does anybody really believe Exxon's new play (currently very little infrastructure in place) has a break-even as low as $15/bbl?
 
Swing producer, previous posts:

• Moving from "swing producer" to "most responsive producer", November 21, 2017
• The global market no longer has any swing producer, February 1, 2017
• The definition of a swing producer, February 25, 2016
• The US is now the swing producer, August 16, 2015
• The baton has been passed; the US is now the swing producer, January 24, 2015

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China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia

When I first saw the headline, I thought the story was more about the competition between Russia and Saudi Arabia for market share. Maybe it was. But a closer look at the graph -- wow, look at the rate of increase in China's crude oil imports. Crude oil from Saudi Arabia has remained relatively constant. Russia's? Huge increase in the amount of oil they are exporting to China. Overall: China -- crude oil imports are surging.

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French Total To Strengthen Ties With Qatar

Link here.

Qatar Petroleum said on Monday it had signed an agreement with French oil and gas major Total to acquire a 25 percent stake in an exploration block, offshore South Africa, in a deal that would strengthen Total's ties with the Qatari energy giant.