By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Independent Oil & Gas Service reports a realignment of the drilling rig fleet in Kansas. There was an increase in Kansas drilling contractors working out of state last week, as well as an increase in the number of Kansas rigs shutdown or stacked.
The active rig count was slightly lower. In eastern Kansas, there are 12 rigs moving in, rigging up, drilling or relocating. That’s up one for the week. West of Wichita the count dropped to 35 active rigs, down two. Drilling is underway this week on one lease in Russell County.
Operators filed 28 permits for drilling at new locations across Kansas last week, including five in Barton County. There are 12 new permits in eastern Kansas and 16 west of Wichita. So far this year, we have 1,718 new drilling permits across Kansas. That’s 359 more permits than last year at this time, but five thousand less than the total by this time in 2014.
The Kansas Corporation Commission reported a total of 166 new intent-to-drill notices across Kansas during November. That’s up one from the month before, up 16 from a year earlier, but down more than 300 from the total in November of 2014. So far this year, operators filed 1,801 intents, just 24 more than last year at this time, but well behind the 6,814 intents filed through November of 2014. There were two new intents filed in Barton County, five in Ellis County, two in Russell County and three in Stafford County.
Independent Oil & Gas Service reports just 56 new well completions for the week across Kansas. In the western half of the state, there were 20 newly completed wells, but 11 of them were dry holes. Barton County added one completion last week. Russell County added two, although one of those was a dry hole. So far this year, operators have completed 1,486 wells. That’s 243 completions ahead of last year at this time, but nearly four thousand less than at this point back in 2014.
There was an increase in Kansas drilling contractors working out of state last week, as well as an increase in the number of Kansas rigs shutdown or stacked. Independent Oil & Gas Service said the active rig count was slightly lower. In eastern Kansas, there are 12 rigs moving in, rigging up, drilling or relocating. That’s up one for the week. West of Wichita the count dropped to 35 active rigs, down two. Drilling is underway this week on one lease in Russell County.
Baker Hughes reported 1,075 active rigs nationwide, down ten oil rigs but up nine rigs searching for natural gas. Oklahoma was down three and Texas down down two rigs for the week. New Mexico gained two rigs. Canada was down 13 rigs at 186.
OPEC and Russia have agreed to a deal to cut production to mop up a growing global oil supply glut. The Wall Street Journal said the deal would cut output by a collective 1.2 million barrels a day.
The Association of American Railroads reports another increase in oil-by-rail traffic. For the week ending November 24, more than 12-thousand tanker cars shipped petroleum across the U.S., an increase of 39.7% over last year at this time. The cumulative total for the year is 17% ahead of last year. Canada’s oil-by-rail figures increased 36% over last year to more than 11-thousand tanker cars. Canada is 21.5% ahead of last year’s cumulative total.
The government reported total U.S. crude oil production for September was up about 129-thousand barrels per day over the month before at 11.475 million barrels per day. That’s about 21% higher than the total in September of last year. Kansas production for September was 94-thousand barrels per day, down two-thousand barrels from the month before, and a thousand barrels per day lower than last September’s total.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a slight increase in U.S. crude production last week to just under 11.7 million barrels per day. That’s nearly two million barrels per day more than last year at this time.
Crude oil imports averaged 7.2 million barrels per day last week, down by 943,000 barrels per day from the previous week. The four-week average is up 0.3% from last year at this time.
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories dropped by 7.3 million barrels and (at 443.2 million barrels) are about 6% above the five year average for this time of year.
Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.7 million barrels last week and are about 4% above the five year average for this time of year.
Mexico’s new president likened it to selling oranges and buying orange juice. The new government detailed plans Sunday to build an $8 billion oil refinery and to renovate six others as the oil-producing country attempts to lower its dependence on fuel imported from the U.S.
The U.S. Geological Survey announced the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico could hold much more oil and gas than once thought. The basin’s “Delaware Basin” could hold upwards of 46 billion barrels of oil and some 280 trillion cubic feet of gas, making it the largest continuous oil and gas resource ever assessed.
The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to open more public lands to oil and gas leases. They will allow waivers for drilling to encroach into the habitat of the endangered greater sage grouse. Earlier protections for the bird habitats affected millions of acres in the American West including parts of Kansas.