Oil & Gas Prices - May 4

[dan_s]

Opening Prices:
> WTI is down 10c to $19.68/Bbl, and Brent is down 2c to $26.42/Bbl.
> Natural gas is up 8.9c to $1.979/MMBtu.

EIA now has actual production thru February.

On April 30 Reuters reported U.S. crude oil output rose to 12.83 million b/d in February from 12.75 million bpd in January, which was revised up by about 2,000 b/d, the EIA said in a monthly report on Thursday. Crude production hit a record high at 12.87 million b/d in November but production growth stalled as independent exploration and production (E&P) companies cut spending on new drilling to meet shareholder demand for better financial returns. In Texas, the biggest oil producing state, crude output dropped by about 5,000 b/d to 5.4 million b/d from a monthly record high of 5.41 million b/d in January, the EIA said in its 914 report. In the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico, which is the nation's second-biggest producing region behind Texas, oil output rose 41,000 b/d to a record high of 2.02 million b/d in February. Monthly gross natural gas production in the U.S. Lower 48 states, meanwhile, slipped for a third month in a row to 105.26 Bcf/d in February from 105.96 Bcf/d in January, according to EIA. That was the first time output has declined for three consecutive months since October 2016. The monthly record high for gas output was 107.04 bcf/d in November. In Texas, the biggest gas producing state, output declined 0.3% to 29.67 Bcf/d in February from a record 29.76 Bcf/d in January. In Pennsylvania, the second-biggest gas-producing state, output rose 1% to 19.86 Bcf/d in February. The state's all-time high was 19.92 Bcf/d in November.

My take is that March actual production might be slightly higher than February and then U.S. oil & gas production will beginning falling rapidly.

[dan_s]

Closing Prices:
> WTI prompt month (JUN 20) was up $0.61 on the day, to settle at $20.39/Bbl.
> NG prompt month (JUN 20) was up $0.103 on the day, to settle at $1.993/MMBtu. < We may top $2.00 sooner than I expected.