BKR Rig Count | The total active drilling rigs in the United States increased by 4 last week to 584. Oil rigs decreased by 1 at 478, and gas rigs decreased by 1 to 100. Rig count in the Permian Basin remained flat at 305 | Jul 12 | BKR NAM Rig Count
US Crude Inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), decreased by 3.4 MMbbl to 445.1 MMbbl (about 4% below the 5y average for this time of year). On the products side, gasoline decreased by 2.0 MMbbl (1% below the 5y average). Distillate fuels increased by 4.9 MMbbl (8% below the 5y average). Total commercial petroleum inventories increased by 2.6 MMbbl | July 5 | EIA Weekly Report
Saudi crude oil exports to China will rebound in August to at least 44 million barrels after deep price cuts by Aramco supported demand | Saudi crude oil exports to China will fall in July for a third straight month to about 36 million barrels amid plant maintenance and as some refiners opted for other sources of cheaper oil. The reduction underscores the challenge the world's top oil exporter faces in maintaining market share in the world's largest crude import market. July exports are expected to be down from about 39 million barrels in June, possibly the lowest levels for the year | July 11| Reuters
OPEC has stuck to its forecast for relatively strong growth in global oil demand in 2024 (2.25 mbpd) and 2025 (1.85 mbpd), both forecasts unchanged since January 2024, citing resilient economic growth and strong rebound in air travel in the summer months. Similarly on the supply side, OPEC has kept its non-OPEC+ liquids supply growth estimates unchanged at 1.23 mbpd for 2024 and 1.10 mbpd for 2025. Non-OPEC+ growth will mostly be driven by the U.S, Canada and Brazil | Jul 10 | Reuters, OPEC
Kazakhstan to Offset OPEC+ Production Cuts by September 2025 | Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry has announced that it will, by the end of September 2025, make allowances for surpassing its OPEC+ oil production limit in the first half of this year. Kazakhstan increased its daily oil and gas condensate production by 4% in June compared with May, reaching 7.24 million tonnes. As per Kazakhstan's energy ministry calculation, oil production reached 1.538 million bpd, exceeding the OPEC+ quota by around 70,000 bpd | June 9 | GlobalData, Reuters
Austria Ponders Terminating Gas Contract with Russia | Austria's energy minister has formed a commission to investigate whether the nation can annul a gas-supply agreement with Russia, aiming to reduce reliance on Russian energy. The contract, held by OMV and Gazprom, is currently set to run until 2040. Chancellor Karl Nehammer and his conservative party concur with the need to transition away from Russian gas. However, as the parliamentary election approaches on 29 September 2024, the coalition partners have shown increasing discord. In May, Russian gas accounted for 90% of Austria's net gas imports | July 10 | GlobalData
Argentina may soon begin exporting LNG from the Vaca Muerta shale play after Golar LNG signed a 20-year deal with Pan American Energy to deploy a Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) vessel in the country. The project is expected to start LNG exports by 2027. The shale play is estimated to hold recoverable resources consisting of 16 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, making it the world’s second-largest shale gas deposit | Jul 8 | OilPrice
Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers that a weakening labor market poses as much of a risk to the U.S. economy as high inflation. He acknowledged the need to balance waiting for more economic data confirming lower inflation before reducing interest rates however, "reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment," while lowering rates too soon could "stall or even reverse the progress we've seen on inflation." He gave no indication about the timing of any future actions | Jul 9 | Axios
Saudi Arabia Nets $12bn from Aramco Share Sale After Increasing Offer | The revenue will likely go towards helping Saudi Arabia diversify its economy away from oil and gas production under the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan. The plan aims to leverage Saudi Arabia’s “unique strengths, such as its pivotal role in the Arab and Islamic worlds, its strong investment capabilities, and its strategic geographical position,” according to a previous Saudi Government statement | July 10| GlobalData
