United States

The U.S. natural gas rig count rose one unit to 84 for the period ending Friday (Jan. 8), while gains in the oil patch saw the overall domestic drilling tally surge higher, according to the latest weekly numbers published Friday by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). In the United States, drillers added eight…

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices continued to set records in North Asia on Wednesday as buyers scrambled for prompt cargo deliveries amid a supply shortage and cold snap. Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. purchased a cargo from PetroChina Co. Ltd. at $21.70/MMBtu for delivery to China early next month. The transaction was above the previous high…

New regulation over the permitting process involved in the importing and exporting of fuels in Mexico published in the country’s Official Gazette on Dec. 26 could prove harmful to competition in the Mexican energy sector. Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica (Cofece), the federal economic competition commission, published a statement last week warning the rules…

U.S. demand for petroleum products eased lower last week and lagged well behind year-ago levels, although commercial crude stockpiles declined by 600,000 bbl for the period amid an increase in exports, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday. A gauge for domestic demand, EIA reported 19.088 million b/d of total products supplied during the most…

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers are anticipating that 2021 will be much different than 2020. Covid-19 and uncertain long-term economics dashed the plans for a number of U.S. gas export projects to make a positive final investment decision (FID) this year. Most of those projects pushed their planned FID dates into 2021, with the…

After sinking to their lowest levels in more than two years over the summer, U.S. liquefied natural gas exports surged to a record high in November, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency said U.S. LNG exports reached 9.4 Bcf/d last month, surpassing the previous record set in January on strong global demand…

Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot prices are at two-year highs and are projected to remain strong enough next summer to prevent significant cancellations of U.S. LNG cargoes in 2021, BofA Global Research analysts said. Projected U.S. LNG export arbitrages for next summer are now positive, in the range of $0.75-$1.00/MMBtu, the analysts said in…

European liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are on track to beat last year’s levels, driven in part by strong deliveries from the United States earlier in 2020, according to data intelligence firm Kpler.  The firm said this week domestic gas exports to Europe have nearly doubled this year, thanks in large part to a particularly…

Petroleum demand in the United States declined around 2% last week as motor gasoline use fell, while demand for jet fuel saw an uptick for the period leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its updated Weekly Petroleum Status Report, EIA recorded roughly 19.2…