Daily Energy Report
Crude oil futures for March 2021 settled down, $0.16 @ $52.61/bbl, trading in a $0.96 range including the overnight. RBOB settled up, 1.96/cpg and heating oil settled up, 0.45/cpg.
According to leading data providers, the number of drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) that accumulated at the height of the pandemic has already subsided to pre-Covid-19 levels in the US. After increasing to a multi-year high of 6,548 wells in June of 2020, the number of wells in the country’s major oil regions trimmed down to around 5,700 wells by the end of December 2020. The inventory of ‘live’ DUCs-which excludes tentatively abandoned wells drilled a long time ago-also declined by around 800 wells during the same period, from 4,353 in June to 3,528 in December. The current level of horizontal oil ‘live’ DUC count is comparable to the level seen in early 2020, just before the market downturn started.
Natural gas futures for February 2021 settled up, $0.054 @ $2.656/mmbtu, trading in a .091-cent range including the overnight session.
During the summer of 2020, monthly exports of liquefied natural gas from the United States were the lowest in 26 months but have since increased, and in November estimated LNG exports surpassed the previous record set back in January 2020. In the December 2020 Short-Term Energy Outlook, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that November U.S. LNG exports reached 9.4 billion cubic feet per day, which is 93.0% of peak LNG export capacity utilization. Factors contributing to the increase in U.S. LNG exports in recent months include natural gas and LNG prices increasing in Asia and Europe because global demand increased after COVID-19 restrictions were eased and global LNG supply fell due to unplanned outages at several major facilities.
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Disclosure: The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The information in this message derived from third-party sources is believed to be accurate and reliable; Coquest does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information. Opinions expressed in this material are subject to change without notice. This report should not be interpreted as a request to engage in any transaction of futures, options, and/or OTC derivatives. The information contained in this material is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise of your independent judgment. Seek independent financial, tax, legal, and accounting advice from your own professional advisers, based upon your particular circumstances.
