- EIA weekly petroleum report, 9:30 a.m. CDT
- gasoline demand; weekly report
- after market closes:
- TSLA, 2Q20 earnings
- MSFT, 2Q20 earnings
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Toll House Tuesday
Now, on to Waffle Wednesday.
But that's only half the story. The other reason to thank readers: folks don't alert me to minor typographical errors that don't affect the story and which I generally eventually find and correct later. Sometime much later. But it's nice to not be "nickeled-and-dimed-to-death" on every inconsequential typographical error.
But please let me know if I make any significant errors, typographical or otherwise.And so we move on.
As the Middle East enters the hottest days of summer, Saudi Arabia is set to burn potentially record amounts of crude oil to run its power plants and keep its citizens comfortably air-conditioned.
Electricity consumption always soars around July and August, when temperatures in the kingdom can rise above 122 degrees Fahrenheit. That compels the government to use crude or fuel oil in addition to the much cleaner natural gas that normally fires the plants.
But this year the urge to drain oil is even stronger because of higher demand, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing many Saudis to cancel their summer holidays abroad.
Another difference is that record cuts to Saudi Arabia’s oil production since April -- part of a push by OPEC members to prop up prices in the face of the virus -- have reduced its supplies of gas, most of which come from the same wells as crude.
The extra oil going toward power may limit the price impact of OPEC’s plan to taper output restrictions from next month. The kingdom pumped 7.5 million barrels a day in June, the fewest since 2002, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Of those, it exported 5.7 million barrels daily, while keeping most of the rest for domestic refineries.
“They can simply import more gas or burn more crude in power generation,” said Carole Nakhle, chief executive officer of London-based consulting firm Crystol Energy.
“The second option is more likely and easier since the region has been doing this for years and decades and there is plenty of oil around today.”
Each August, Saudi Arabia uses 726,000 barrels of crude daily for power generation, according to average numbers over the past decade from the Riyadh-based Joint Organisations Data Initiative, which collates statistics among energy producers.
That’s more than double the amount for the cooler months of January and February. The record came in July 2014, when the Saudis burned 899,000 barrels a day.
$41.96 | 7/21/2020 | 07/21/2019 | 07/21/2018 | 07/21/2017 | 07/21/2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Active Rigs | 11 | 55 | 67 | 59 | 31 |
Pool | Date | Days | BBLS Oil | Runs | BBLS Water | MCF Prod | MCF Sold | Vent/Flare |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BAKKEN | 5-2020 | 31 | 35603 | 35645 | 20017 | 52348 | 0 | 50209 |
BAKKEN | 4-2020 | 30 | 53827 | 53895 | 45437 | 65539 | 0 | 62381 |
BAKKEN | 3-2020 | 29 | 46754 | 46820 | 44990 | 52231 | 0 | 49489 |
BAKKEN | 2-2020 | 15 | 33998 | 33589 | 65974 | 40193 | 0 | 3821 |
Pool | Date | Days | BBLS Oil | Runs | BBLS Water | MCF Prod | MCF Sold | Vent/Flare |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BAKKEN | 5-2020 | 31 | 31310 | 31352 | 16385 | 43477 | 0 | 41605 |
BAKKEN | 4-2020 | 30 | 48352 | 48515 | 39310 | 58332 | 0 | 55495 |
BAKKEN | 3-2020 | 30 | 55850 | 55549 | 43312 | 59891 | 0 | 56616 |
BAKKEN | 2-2020 | 5 | 9038 | 8929 | 8337 | 9030 | 0 | 8507 |
The Russian finance ministry has proposed the government cut state spending on the military by 5% between 2021 and 2023. The proposal, published on Monday, also includes budget spending cuts of 10% for the court system, the servicing of Russia’s debt and wages for civil servants.
Russia, which flexed its military muscle with its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and intervention in the Syrian conflict, dropped out of the list of the top five biggest military spenders in 2018 after its spending fell 3.5%.Dropped out of the top five?
September 21, 2021: update.
July 25, 2020: something tells me there is more to this story than meets the eye.
On July 2, a lesser-known conduit called Tesoro High Plains was ordered shut for the first time in its 67 years of operation. Together, the two pipelines ship more than one-third of crude from America’s prolific Bakken shale formation to market. Their travails signal the ebbing of the oil industry’s sway in the U.S. heartland and underscore the growing heft and savvy of challengers who’ve become emboldened to demand higher compensation and safeguards.
In the case of High Plains, which delivers oil to Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s 74,000 barrel-a-day Mandan refinery, the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs ordered it shut after determining the pipeline was trespassing on Native American land. The ruling also found the company responsible for $187 million in damages and gave it 30 days to appeal.
Tesoro has more than 1,000 miles of crude oil gathering and trunklines in the Bakken. Its High Plains Pipeline has a capacity of 250 million barrels per day, and it’s Bakken Area Storage Hub can hold more than 1 million barrels of oil. (sic)Screenshot from the Sidney Herald ("We're gonna need a larger storage hub." LOL):
Pool | Date | Days | BBLS Oil | Runs | BBLS Water | MCF Prod | MCF Sold | Vent/Flare |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BAKKEN | 5-2020 | 31 | 30443 | 30454 | 6856 | 45859 | 37953 | 7872 |
BAKKEN | 4-2020 | 30 | 27273 | 27316 | 7294 | 40989 | 33016 | 7936 |
BAKKEN | 3-2020 | 25 | 25269 | 25236 | 6103 | 39115 | 34367 | 4712 |
BAKKEN | 2-2020 | 29 | 29195 | 29254 | 8417 | 40159 | 35674 | 4447 |
BAKKEN | 1-2020 | 31 | 31280 | 31218 | 9386 | 41018 | 35713 | 5263 |
BAKKEN | 12-2019 | 31 | 38996 | 39038 | 10502 | 49735 | 44165 | 5525 |
BAKKEN | 11-2019 | 27 | 28680 | 28849 | 9050 | 31714 | 27188 | 4494 |
BAKKEN | 10-2019 | 21 | 38093 | 37734 | 13500 | 33460 | 23343 | 10080 |
Pool | Date | Days | BBLS Oil | Runs | BBLS Water | MCF Prod | MCF Sold | Vent/Flare |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BAKKEN | 5-2020 | 31 | 32549 | 32498 | 5897 | 49563 | 41019 | 8507 |
BAKKEN | 4-2020 | 16 | 16904 | 16984 | 6612 | 27131 | 21854 | 5253 |
BAKKEN | 3-2020 | 19 | 23146 | 23124 | 6359 | 35460 | 31156 | 4272 |
BAKKEN | 2-2020 | 29 | 28080 | 28103 | 9081 | 41017 | 36437 | 4541 |
BAKKEN | 1-2020 | 31 | 25160 | 25100 | 9114 | 34024 | 29623 | 4366 |
BAKKEN | 12-2019 | 31 | 28582 | 28687 | 9864 | 40521 | 35983 | 4502 |
BAKKEN | 11-2019 | 30 | 32284 | 32324 | 10448 | 33149 | 28419 | 4697 |
BAKKEN | 10-2019 | 15 | 26967 | 26713 | 9338 | 39278 | 27401 | 11833 |
Pool | Date | Days | BBLS Oil | Runs | BBLS Water | MCF Prod | MCF Sold | Vent/Flare |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BAKKEN | 5-2020 | 31 | 21951 | 21936 | 8826 | 50188 | 41536 | 8614 |
BAKKEN | 4-2020 | 16 | 15209 | 15286 | 4603 | 27466 | 22124 | 5318 |
BAKKEN | 3-2020 | 23 | 21397 | 21348 | 5945 | 34482 | 30296 | 4154 |
BAKKEN | 2-2020 | 24 | 20554 | 20623 | 7049 | 29523 | 26226 | 3269 |
BAKKEN | 1-2020 | 31 | 26211 | 26148 | 8863 | 33438 | 29113 | 4291 |
BAKKEN | 12-2019 | 31 | 29763 | 29831 | 10674 | 40247 | 35740 | 4471 |
BAKKEN | 11-2019 | 30 | 27377 | 27352 | 8479 | 44047 | 37761 | 6242 |
BAKKEN | 10-2019 | 10 | 16558 | 16402 | 6329 | 23656 | 16503 | 7127 |
Pool | Date | Days | BBLS Oil | Runs | BBLS Water | MCF Prod | MCF Sold | Vent/Flare |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BAKKEN | 5-2020 | 31 | 20069 | 20113 | 10639 | 83494 | 69100 | 14331 |
BAKKEN | 4-2020 | 30 | 25187 | 25293 | 11254 | 66524 | 53584 | 12881 |
BAKKEN | 3-2020 | 31 | 32424 | 32341 | 13662 | 75362 | 66214 | 9079 |
BAKKEN | 2-2020 | 29 | 29455 | 29529 | 13862 | 62185 | 55241 | 6885 |
BAKKEN | 1-2020 | 31 | 33845 | 33735 | 15298 | 62039 | 54015 | 7961 |
BAKKEN | 12-2019 | 31 | 30734 | 30793 | 14016 | 54717 | 48590 | 6078 |
BAKKEN | 11-2019 | 30 | 26601 | 26442 | 6988 | 30107 | 25811 | 4266 |
BAKKEN | 10-2019 | 3 | 1845 | 1828 | 297 | 1776 | 1239 | 535 |
"We did not find evidence that surgical-type face masks are effective in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza transmission, either when worn by infected persons (source control) or by persons in the general community to reduce their susceptibility (Figure 2).
However, as with hand hygiene, face masks might be able to reduce the transmission of other infections and therefore have value in an influenza pandemic when healthcare resources are stretched."The above quote is from the same CDC publication - their page 972, second column: link --
Despite the relaxation of OPEC+ cuts, crude continued to trade within the $40-43 range. Yet, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, had highlighted that although OPEC itself does not have a price target, current prices are not sustainable for the industry, leading to potential insecurity of supply in the long term.
CMarkits’ latest forecast sees an average price of $43 for Brent in July that may rise to $50 by December if demand continues to smoothly recover. Morgan Stanley had also raised its forecast for Brent by $5 to $40 in Q3, something we had predicted at the beginning of Q2."Insecurity of supply": code for "we'll do what it takes to drive oil prices up."
According to Chevron, the acquisition will add approximately 18 percent to its year-end 2019 proved oil and gas reserves at an average acquisition cost of less than $5 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) and nearly 7 billion barrels of risked resources for less than $1.50 per boe.
The figures are based on Noble’s proved reserves at the end of 2019.
Chevron stated the deal boosts its U.S. onshore portfolio with assets in the DJ and Permian basins. The company pointed out the 92,000 acres in the Permian are “largely contiguous and adjacent” to its existing assets.
Moreover, it noted the agreement includes an integrated midstream business and established position in the Eagle Ford. Outside the U.S., Chevron will gain a large-scale, producing presence in the Eastern Mediterranean in Israel as well as West Africa assets in Equatorial Guinea.
$41.97 | 7/21/2020 | 07/21/2019 | 07/21/2018 | 07/21/2017 | 07/21/2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Active Rigs | 11 | 55 | 67 | 59 | 31 |
Associated natural gas production out of the Permian Basin rebounded sharply a few weeks ago, indicating production curtailments that went into effect in May in response to low crude oil prices are coming back online. Just as abruptly as gas production dived in early May, it lurched upward in late June, nearly back to where it was before the shut-ins began. But the rig count has continued falling to a record low, and indications are that many of the wells drilled over the past few weeks have not been completed. The meager drilling and completion activity suggests that the natural declines of existing wells, which were temporarily exaggerated by the shut-ins, will now be felt — and felt for as long as rig counts remain depressed — not just in the Permian but also in other oil-focused basins. Daily gas production volumes in the Permian in the past 10 days or so already are slipping, despite shut-ins tapering. Today, we examine the latest production trends in the Permian and what it will mean for the gas production outlook.