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Oil Markets
Oil spent another week struggling for direction, trading in a range between $70 and $66 per barrel. It started off last week testing $70 per barrel on both Monday and Tuesday but failed to make gains at that level. By Wednesday, the bears were entirely in control following news of a more significant increase in U.S. crude oil product inventory like gasoline, driving prices sharply lower on the day. Thursday was a classic Doji candlestick as the market floundered for direction. Friday was a bit of a relief rally, but most importantly, oil again failed to reach the previous week’s closing price. ~Gary Ashton, INVESTOPEDIA
Investopedia
Crude oil prices just posted their longest losing streak in three years, registering six straight weeks of declines, and one veteran oil watcher says there could be much more volatility ahead.
Tom Kloza, co-founder of the Oil Price Information Service, told CNBC’s “Futures Now” this week that oil prices have been so volatile that a slump to $50, or even a spike above $100 could not be completely ruled out.
FRIDAY’s CLOSING PRICES
West Texas Intermediate futures for September delivery CLU18, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rose 82 cents, or 1.2%, to $67.63 a barrel. The gain halted a two-session skid for the contract.
Brent crude for October LCOV18 rose 74 cents, or 1%, to $72.81 a barrel.
Both contracts booked weekly declines, with WTI posting a fall over the 5-session stretch of 1.3%, and Brent posting a drop over the same period of 0.6%.
RIG COUNT
Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. gained +13 for the week ended August 10, 2018, up to 1057. Land rigs jumped +10 to 1035. The offshore rig count was +3 at 20. Rigs drilling in the inland waters remained flat at 2 for the week.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count was up +10 at 869 for the week. There are 101 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 82.2 percent of all drilling activity.
US oil rigs tested an all-time high of 1,609 in October 2014. In contrast, the rigs hit 316 in May 2016—the lowest level since the 1940s.
Natural Gas Rig Count: The natural gas rig count – which plunged to its lowest last August – was up +3 increasing to 186. The number of rigs drilling for gas is higher by 5 rigs than last year’s level of 181.
AMONG MAJOR OIL- AND GAS-PRODUCING STATES:
GAINERS
Louisiana gained six rigs and New Mexico increased by five. Alaska and Oklahoma each gained two. California and Ohio added a rig apiece.
UNCHANGED
Five states were unchanged this week, namely Colorado, North Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
LOSERS
Texas, meanwhile, lost two rigs, while Arkansas, Kansas, and Pennsylvania each decreased by one.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 485 rigs compared to last week’s 480 rigs
– Eagle Ford 79 rigs compared to last week’s 80 rigs
– Cana Woodford 68 rigs compared to last week’s 68 rigs
– Williston 56 rigs compared to last week’s 56 rigs
– Marcellus 52 rigs compared to last week’s 53 rigs
– Haynesville 49 rigs compared to last week’s 48 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 25 rigs compared to last week’s 25 rigs
– Utica 24 rigs compared to last week’s 23 rigs
– Granite Wash 17 rigs compared to last week’s 16 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 6 rigs compared to last week’s 7 rigs
For more details on the latest national and state news regarding last Friday’s Baker Hughes rig count data, check out the interactive rig count dashboard on the Oklahoma Index tab of our website.
Compiled and Published by GIB KNIGHT
Gib Knight is a private oil and gas investor and consultant, providing clients advanced analytics and building innovative visual business intelligence solutions to visualize the results, across a broad spectrum of regulatory filings and production data in Oklahoma and Texas. He is the founder of OklahomaMinerals.com, an online resource designed for mineral owners in Oklahoma.
SOURCE: Baker Hughes
