Baker Hughes Inc: US rig count drops 18 units; global count could fall 30% in 2016 lweb.es/f775
OEF REVIEW:With oil-directed rigs representing two thirds of the decline, the US drilling rig count fell 18 units to 619 during the week ended Jan. 29, the latest Baker Hughes Inc. data show (OGJ Online, Jan. 22, 2016). The overall count is down 924 year-over-year and the lowest since Aug. 6, 1999. Martin Craighead, BHI chairman and chief executive officer, forecasted more pain in 2016 for the worldwide drilling industry“. At current commodity prices, the global rig count could decline as much as 30% in 2016, as our customers’ challenges of maximizing production, lowering their overall costs, and protecting cash flows are now more acute,” he said.
OEF REVIEW:Global energy demand will increase 25 percent between 2014 and 2040, driven by population growth and economic expansion, ExxonMobil said today in the 2016 edition of The Outlook for Energy. At the same time, energy efficiency gains and increased use of renewable energy sources and lower carbon fuels, such as natural gas, are expected to help reduce by half the carbon intensity of the global economy.
OEF REVIEW:Three major U.S. shale oil companies have slashed their 2016 capital spending plans more than expected in a bid to survive $30 a barrel oil prices, with one of them saying prices would need to rise more than 20% just to turn a profit.
OEF REVIEW:A change to the North Sea Brent crude oil futures contract will alter the way prices for Brent futures are compared to futures prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil. Beginning January 29, the Brent contract will expire, or rollover to the next month, approximately two to three weeks before expiration of the WTI contract for delivery in the same month. Prior to the change, the Brent contract rollover was only five to seven days ahead of the WTI rollover.
OEF REVIEW:The Great Green Fleet is a Department of the Navy initiative highlighting how the Navy and Marine Corps are using energy efficiency and alternative energy to increase combat capability and operational flexibility. At the close of the ceremony, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) left the pier to begin its deployment, becoming the first U.S. Navy ship running on an alternative fuel blend as part of its regular operations.
OEF REVIEW:The oil tanker that left the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, late last week is the bearer of the first freely traded U.S. crude in about four decades – made possible by congressional legislation that President Obama signed to end a 1970s-era ban on exports. It’s a new day indeed.
OEF REVIEW:The International Energy Agency’s Monthly Oil Report provides an overall view of the state of the international petroleum market and projections for oil supply and demand 12-18 months ahead. These are the IEA’s highlights of the current report.
OEF REVIEW:The International Energy Agency (IEA) considers that South East Asia is moving to the center of the global energy area and is a key pillar for Asia’s growth. This report covers the prospects for energy demand and fossil-fuel supply, as well as priorities for policy makers. There is a special chapter concentrating on Malaysia
OEF REVIEW:The world’s largest independent refiner, Valero Energy, which has 15 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 2.9 million barrels a day, plus 11 ethanol plants and a wind farm, presented its second quarter 2015 business update: – Earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.66 versus $1.22 in the second quarter of 2014. – Refineries operated at 96% throughput capacity utilization. – Advances made in capital investments designed to increase the company’s ability to access and process more North American crude oil. 
OEF REVIEW:This Energy Information Administration (EIA) presentation for the October 2015 Oil and Money Conference covers the following questions: 1) What are the key cyclical and structural factors driving oil demand? 2) How is demand changing in developing countries? 3) To what extent will a prolonged period of low prices result in a return to higher demand growth? and 4) How is the landscape of oil trading changing with the decreasing presence of key financial institutions? Note for the article: CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy.
OEF REVIEW: Oil and gas hedging protections for North American exploration and production companies will fall in 2016 to 11% of total production volumes leaving many companies at a high risk of financial stress. For the remainder of 2015 such companies have 28% of production hedged.
Statoil and its partners have put the first subsea gas compression facility on line at Aasgard in the Norwegian Sea. Subsea compression will add some 306 million barrels of oil equivalent to total output over the field’s life.
OEF REVIEW: Decline rates in conventional fields will play a critical part in rebalancing the oil market and determining where oil prices settle in the longer term. Decline rates will cut output by several million barrels a day in 2016 and 2017 unless oil producers invest to maintain production levels from existing fields and develop replacement fields.
Baker Hughes Incorporated announced that the worldwide rig count for August 2015 was 2,226, up 59 from the 2,167 counted in July 2015, and down 1,416 from the 3,642 counted in August 2014. The average U.S. rig count for August 2015 was 883, up 17 from the 866 counted in July 2015, and down 1,021 from the 1,904 counted in August 2014.
Crude oil production for October from seven major U.S. shale plays is expected to drop 80,000 barrels a day to 5.21 million b/d.
U.S. Federal waters in offshore Alaska are estimated to hold around 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the vast majority of which is located in the Arctic. Experts believe that the Chukchi Sea may represent one of the world’s largest sources of untapped oil and gas.