US Crude Oil Imports From Saudi Arabia Jumped Almost 80% Year-Over-Year In October, 2018 -- January 3, 2018

More nonsense, from Bloomberg. A great headline but half-a-million bopd won't even come close to making a dent. Saudi Arabia is in deep trouble. Over at oilprice, "oil prices rise as Saudi exports plummet."

US crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia? Most recent data -- October, 2018 -- increase y-o-y; and, m-o-m:

• year-over-year
• October, 2018: 1,046 (a 79% increase over last year, same month)
• October, 2017: 582 
• month-over-month:
• October, 2018: 1,046 (a 7% increase over previous month)
• September, 2018: 981

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Back to the Bakken

Wells coming off the confidential list today -- Thursday, January 3, 2019 -- notice how little sand was used for the Three Forks well compared to the middle Bakken well -- that's a common them in the Williston Basin:

• 34991, SI/NC, Petroshale, Horse Camp West 2TFH, Mandaree, t--; cum --
• 33587, 950, Oasis, Muri 5298 14-28 10B, 50 stages; 10 million lbs, Banks, t7/18; cum 155K 11/18;
• 33584, 1,052, Oasis, Muri 5298 14-28 13TX, 50 stages; 4 million lbs, small/medium/large/ceramic, Three Forks, Banks, t7/18; cum 121K 11/18;
• 33430, SI/NC, MRO, Big Head USA 41-2TFH, Reunion Bay, no production data,
• 33018, SI/NC, Hess, EN-Thompson Trust-154-94-1930H-11, Alkali Creek, no production data,
• 32272, drl, Slawson, Submariner Federal 2-23-20H, Big Bend, no production data,
• 30890, SI/NC, Oasis, Stenberg 5199 11-9 8B, Poe, no production data,

Active rigs:

$47.26	1/3/2019	01/03/2018	01/03/2017	01/03/2016	01/03/2015
Active Rigs	66	53	39	60	171

RBN Energy: IMO 2020's effect on prices for crude, refined products and refinery residue, part 4.

The implementation date for IMO 2020, the international rule mandating a shift to low-sulfur marine fuel, is less than 12 months away. It’s anyone’s guess what the actual prices of Brent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and other benchmark crudes will be on January 1, 2020, or how much it will cost to buy IMO 2020-compliant bunker a year from now. What is predictable, though, is that the rapid ramp-up in demand for 0.5%-sulfur marine fuel is likely to affect the price relationships among various grades of crude oil, and among the wide range of refined products and refinery residues — everything from high-sulfur residual fuel oil (HSFO, or resid) to jet fuel. The refinery sector is in for an extended period of wrenching change, and today we conclude our blog series on the new bunker rule with a look at the structural pricing shifts needed to support the availability of low-sulfur marine fuel.