Canadian crude shipments to the United States by rail could rise more than 60 percent this year on demand by Gulf Coast refiners for the heavy crudes and the wide differential between Canadian grades and the U.S. benchmark. The rail shipments could reach as much as 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) by year end and average some 400,000 bpd in 2019, estimated analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Last year, the shipments averaged 130,000 bpd, according to U.S. government data. Canadian [Read more]
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Canada Weekly Rig Count Down 35% to 136
Western Canada’s fleet of drilling rigs went down by 74 rigs to the current count of 136 actively drilling rigs according to data collected by Baker Hughes for the week of December 29th. From one week ago, Alberta rig counts decreased from 162 to 118, the Saskatchewan rig count decreased by 29 to 3. Oil drilling went from 120 to 62; gas rigs went down from 90 to 74. View a full breakdown of western Canada’s rig activity. [Read more]
U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for first week in three
U.S. energy companies this week cut oil rigs for the first week in three even though crude prices hovered near their highest level since the spring of 2015. Drillers cut 5 oil rigs in the week to Jan. 5, bringing the total count down to 742, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. In the prior two weeks, drillers did not add or remove any rigs. The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is much higher than a [Read more]
Frigid weather sends heating prices soaring as energy usage spikes
NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A severe winter storm in the U.S. Northeast brought plunging temperatures on Friday, driving regional natural gas prices to all-time highs, disrupting refinery operations and causing electrical outages. From Baltimore to Caribou, Maine, efforts were under way to clear roadways from Thursday’s snowfall. Temperatures were expected to be 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit below the average for this time of year and could set records, according to the National Weather [Read more]
Canadian oil exports to U.S. dip in November
Canadian exports of crude oil fell 2.4 percent month-on-month in November to 3.28 million barrels per day, Statistics Canada data said on Friday, after a decline in shipments to the United States. The 80,000 bpd drop in exports to Canada's biggest customer came in the same month TransCanada Corp's Keystone pipeline, which carries crude from Alberta's oil sands to U.S. refineries, was shut down following a leak in rural South Dakota. Keystone restarted in late November but the 590,000 bpd [Read more]
Trump moves to vastly expand offshore drilling off US coasts
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration moved Thursday to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans with a plan that would open up federal waters off California for the first time in more than three decades. The new five-year drilling plan also could open new areas of oil and gas exploration in areas off the East Coast from Florida to Maine, where drilling has been blocked for decades. While some lawmakers in those states support offshore drilling, the plan [Read more]
U.S. shale returns to growth, posing problem for OPEC: Kemp
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices have risen above $60 per barrel which should accelerate shale drilling and production in the next few months, provided the price increase is sustained. U.S. crude futures are trading over $60 for all delivery months between February and August 2018, an increase of about 40 percent since the middle of 2017. And the futures strip for 2019, the benchmark against which U.S. shale producers can execute hedges for next year’s output, is trading over $56, [Read more]
New U.S. refining demand expected to spur Canadian heavy oil demand in 2018
CALGARY - A new forecast from Deloitte says demand for Canadian heavy oil will likely rise this year as shrinking volumes from Mexico and Venezuela open new opportunities to sell to U.S. refineries. The accounting and consulting firm says the demand surge will work to overcome recently steeper price discounts received by Canadian producers due to pipeline outages that have stretched tight export transportation capacity. The report forecasts the benchmark West Texas Intermediate [Read more]
Fort Hills partners settle funding dispute, Total reduces stake in project
CALGARY - Suncor Energy Inc. and Teck Resources Ltd. are getting a bargain price for bigger stakes in the Fort Hills oilsands mine they are buying from partner Total S.A., analysts say. The two Canadian companies announced Wednesday they will pay an additional $420 million to take over a three per cent stake in the project from the French oil giant. Suncor (TSX:SU), the operator, is paying about $300 million to increase ownership to 53.06 per cent and Teck (TSX:TECK.B) is paying [Read more]
Abolish fossil fuels? Any volunteers for this weekend? Didn’t think so
It doesn’t take many days in one’s life of consumerism to recognize that “vital information” provided to you by someone selling something is to be taken with a grain of salt, to put it mildly. A sexy model draped over the hood of a car is not indicative of the life you will lead if you buy those wheels, unless that sort of thing happens to you regularly at present. Information from special interest groups who have vested interests, careers and/or funding to protect therefore need a little [Read more]