drilling – JKempEnergy.com

Best in Energy – 15 May 2023

Argentina set to reverse gas pipeline (Reuters)

G7 plans tighter sanctions on Russia (Reuters)

EU LNG import capacity surges (Bloomberg)

U.S./Iran tanker seizures (Bloomberg)

Sour crude market tightens (Reuters)

EUROPE’s middle distillate inventories rose +2 million barrels in April and are up +28 million barrels from their cyclical low in June 2022. Stocks are still -35 million barrels (-8% or -1.15 standard deviations) below the prior ten-year seasonal average but the deficit has narrowed from -63 million barrels (-13% or -2.05 standard deviations) in June 2022:

U.S. OIL AND GAS drilling activity is slowing sharply in response to the fall in prices since the middle of 2022. The total number of active rigs fell by -17 over the seven days ending on May 12 with a particularly large decline in rigs targeting primarily gas-rich formations (-16). The decline in gas rigs was the largest for more than seven years since February 2016. Exploration and production firms are scaling back in response to prices that have fallen close to their lowest levels in real terms for three decades. Lower drilling conserves cash as well as signalling to investors and futures traders the sector’s determination to act quickly to avert prolonged over-production:

Best in Energy – 25 April 2023

U.S. shale sector has matured (Bloomberg)

Iraq/Turkey oil flows still halted (Reuters)

Global diesel margins narrow (Reuters)

China’s hydrogen deployment (Xinhua)

U.S./China and the route to conflict (FT)

Global supply chains are changing (WSJ)

EUROPE’s front-month gas futures price has fallen below €40 per megawatt-hour, down from €189 at the start of winter 2022/23, to encourage more consumption from energy-intensive industries and power generators while redirecting LNG flows to customers in South and East Asia:

CHINA’s southwest received far less precipitation than average in the second half of 2022 and low rainfall has persisted into 2023, threatening hydroelectric power generation and industrial output:

Best in Energy – 30 March 2023

U.S. oil and gas expansion stalled in first quarter

China independent refiner in marketing deal

China starts up new refinery for heavy crudes

Ford invests in China/Indonesia nickel project

Asia’s thermal coal imports accelerate in March

California to regulate gasoline refining margins

U.S. LNG delayed by tighter financial conditions

Central banks warn over price-price spiral ($FT)

Europe’s gas storage outlook for 2023/24 ($BBG)

U.S. gas production increased by 4% in 2022

U.S. INTEREST RATE traders expect the central bank to lower its target for the federal funds rate to 4.25-4.50% by December 2023, down from 4.75-5.00% at present. Tighter credit conditions and increased caution among households and businesses following regional bank failures are expected to enforce a slowdown on borrowing and economic growth, bearing down on inflation:

U.S. PETROLEUM INVENTORIES including the strategic reserve fell -11 million bbl in the seven days to March 24, after declining -10 million in the week to March 17:

Best in Energy – 9 March 2023

Tesla plans to eliminate dependence on rare earths

U.S. energy secretary address to Houston CERAWeek

U.S. oil well initial productivity is declining ($WSJ)

Keystone ordered to trim pipeline pressure ($BBG)

U.S./EU embark on race for energy subsidies ($BBG)

U.S. LNG exports projected to grow in 2023 and 2024

Nord Stream sabotaged by pro-Ukraine team ($WSJ)

Russia/NATO energy war enters attrition phase ($FT)

U.K. workforce remains smaller than before pandemic

India tries to improve electric reliability in April/May

(see also formal press release by the power ministry)

China’s refined petroleum exports set to slow

U.S. solar installers forecast to rebound in 2023

U.S. oil firms embrace hydrogen production idea

U.S./Australia submarine sales agreement ($WSJ)

U.S. PETROLEUM INVENTORIES including the strategic reserve increased by +2 million barrels over the seven days ending on March 3. Stocks have increased in 10 of the last 14 weeks by a total of +31 million barrels from their recent low on November 25, 2022, arresting the previous downward trend. Inventories are still -231 million barrels (-12% or -2.15 standard deviations) below the prior ten-year seasonal average. But the deficit has narrowed from -278 million barrels (-15% or -3.05 standard deviations) in November:

Best in Energy – 24 February 2023

U.S. central bank grapples with long and variable lag

BASF to cut chemicals production in Germany ($FT)

Cheniere outlines plan for U.S. LNG expansion ($FT)

U.S. shale firms squeezed by rapid cost rises ($FT)

G7/EU claim success on Russia oil sanctions ($WSJ)

Hafnium prices surge on increased aerospace demand

U.S. PETROLEUM INVENTORIES including the strategic reserve rose by +3 million barrels over the seven days ending on February 17. Increased inventories of commercial crude (+8 million), distillate fuel oil (+3 million) and jet fuel (+1 million) were partly offset by reductions in gasoline (-2 million), propane (-3 million) and other oils (-3 million).

Petroleum inventories have risen for seven consecutive weeks by a total of +55 million barrels, the largest increase over any similar period since June 2020, when the market was absorbing the impact of the first wave of the pandemic and lockdowns.

Total inventories are still at the lowest seasonal level since 2005 and -235 million barrels (-13% or -2.22 standard deviations) below the prior ten-year average, but the deficit has narrowed from -291 million barrels (-16% or -3.06 standard deviations) on December 30:

Best in Energy – 23 February 2023

Chesapeake to reduce gas drilling and completions

Auto firms split on electrification timeline ($WSJ)

Commodity markets adapt to Russia/Ukraine war

Europe’s gas storage and refill for winter 2023/24

U.K. government to cut costs for big energy users

U.K. steelmaker plans to close coking ovens

U.S./Russia/China armaments supply ($WSJ)

IEA chief warns EU about complacency ($FT)

BRENT’s six-month calendar spread is trading in a backwardation of $1.80 (71st percentile for all days since 1990). The spread has tightened from a contango of $0.65 (34th percentile) since December 9 as expectations for a soft-landing in the global economy have increased. But it is well below levels before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, implying the market is comfortably supplied despite sanctions on Russia and output restraint by OPEC⁺ and U.S. shale firms:

Best in Energy – 20 February 2023

Freeport LNG’s poor safety culture ($FT) ¹

Asia’s diesel margins fall to 11-month low

IEA chief warns of gas shortage next winter

Pakistan/Bangladesh hit by expensive LNG

China becomes major LNG reseller ($BBG)

CFTC reports still disrupted by cyber attack

U.S. construction worker shortages ($FT)

Semiconductor prices fall by a third ($BBG)

China/Russia diplomatic ties deepen ($WSJ)

U.S./China espionage history review ($FT)

¹ Freeport LNG suffered a catastrophic failure after multiple safety systems failed and personnel ignored warning signs and lost situational awareness about the state of the plant. The resulting explosion is a classic example of what James Reason called an “organisational accident” – multiple systems should have prevented an incident but they were allowed to erode because of a poor internal safety culture leading to a rapid increase in risk (“Managing the risks of organisational accidents”, Reason, 1997).

Reason’s book is one of the best I have read on any topic, offering powerful insights in an engaging and accessible way. He provides a general framework for understanding why many catastrophic industrial and transportation failures happen. Everyone operating critical systems and machinery should be required to read it as part of their training. I can strongly recommend it to everyone else who is interested in safety, reliability and resilience systems.

U.S. OIL AND GAS drilling rates have stalled in response to the slump in prices since the third quarter of 2022. There has been no net increase in the number of active rigs (760) for the last 31 weeks:

Best in Energy – 1 February 2023

South Asia’s LNG buyers express interest after prices fall

France’s nuclear generators key for power prices in 2023

India to boost government capital spending in 2023/24

U.S. refiners predict high margins on Russian sanctions

U.S. road haulage firms see recovery in late 2023 ($WSJ)

Greek tankers resume shipments of Russian oil

Pakistan prepares for IMF loan – or debt default

U.S. gas consumption hit record on December 23

Freeport LNG requests authorisation to restart one unit

U.S. CRUDE OIL including condensates production fell by -35,000 b/d to 12.38 million b/d in November compared with October. But production was up by +585,000 b/d (+5.0%) compared with the same month a year earlier. Annual growth levelled off at around +600,000 b/d for most of 2022:

Best in Energy – 19 December 2022

U.K. parliament warns hydrogen is not a panacea

Employment transition and future energy system

Europe’s challenge to refill gas storage in 2023

ING bank closes offices to conserve energy ($BBG)

U.S. SPR to purchase small amount of crude oil

U.S. shale chief warns against more drilling ($FT)

China set for surge in coronavirus cases ($BBG)

Australia/China try to mend relations ($BBG)

U.S. southeast prepares for cold snap ($BBG)

U.K. utilities warn of cash crunch risk ($FT)

U.S. WELL DRILLING shows signs of having hit a peak and starting to fall as the sector responds to lower prices. The number of active rigs targeting oil or gas has fallen in the most recent two weeks and is no higher than at the end of October. As a result, the rig count has increased by an average of just +1.0 per week in the last 13 weeks:

Best in Energy – 27 October 2022

LNG stocks in floating storage off coast of Spain ¹

U.S. trucking firms report mixed demand ($BBG)

U.S. officials try to finalise Russia oil price cap

U.S. officials water down price cap plan ($BBG)

U.S. uranium indigenisation strategy planned

U.S. uncompleted oil wells at lowest since 2013

¹ Floating storage is more expensive than storing on land. Storing LNG is especially expensive because it needs to be kept super-chilled. But the extreme contango in European futures for nearby delivery months has made relatively long duration floating storage commercially viable. As a result, Europe’s available inventories are even higher than shown in the daily storage reports from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

U.S. PETROLEUM INVENTORIES including the strategic reserve fell by -5 million bbl in the week to October 21. Stocks have depleted by a total of -491 million bbl since the start of July 2020 and are at the lowest seasonal level since 2004. Oil inventories are on an unsustainable trajectory. “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop,” according to the aphorism popularised by Herbert Stein, chief economic adviser to U.S. President Richard Nixon. Global production must grow faster. Consumption must grow more slowly. Or both: