Page 10 - LatAmOil Week 20 2020

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These moves include the EastMed pipeline deal sailing through a Greek parliamentary committee.
The notable first action of the new govern- ment in Iraq will no doubt test its mettle and attract interest as the likely forerunner of other major decisions.
Flashpoints involving Iran and the US, and the Gulf of Aden, feature, as do the woes of the iconic American University of Beirut, for so long a beacon of sanity and hope in this trou- bled region.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then please click here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor.
Historic lows for North American rigs
The active US oil and gas rig count has fallen to an all-time low for the second consecutive week. In the week up to May 15, the total rig count dropped by 35 to 339, according to the latest data from oilfield services firm Baker Hughes. This comes after active US rigs had decreased to a previous all-time low of 374 the previous week.
The previous record-low was 404 rigs, recorded in May 2016 during the last downturn. Records of rig counts begin in the 1940s.
The collapse has been rapid, with the US rig count standing at 987 a year ago, declining somewhat to 796 at the start of 2020 and remain- ing relatively steady until mid-March, when it
was still at 792. The oil rig count stands at 258 as of May 15, having slumped from 683 on March 13. The gas rig count has shown a much more modest decline from 107 to 79 over that period, illustrating the toll on oil-focused producers in particular.
Rig counts in Canada have also fallen to a record low, dropping to 23 in the week up to May 15. The oil rig count has stood at just seven for three consecutive weeks, and has been in single figures since the start of April. It is worth noting that rig counts typically drop in Canada in the spring as snow melts, forcing a lot of activity to stop. Nonetheless, the severity of this downturn has exacerbated the situation. For comparison, during the last downturn the lowest Canadian rig count was 36, recorded in May 2016.
There is concern that the bottom of the market has not yet been reached, and more rig cuts will follow. However, in better news for the industry, there appears to be little sign of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices going negative again as the June contract comes up for expiry on May 19. As of press time, WTI had jumped to around $32.5 per barrel – its highest level in around two months. This is being attributed to output cuts and early signs of a gradual recovery in demand for fuel.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the North American oil and gas sector, then please click here for NewsBase’s NorthAmOil Monitor. ™
“ oil and gas
MEXICO
Retail fuel group reports gasoline consumption down in Mexico
The active US
rig count has fallen to an all-time low for the second consecutive week
ONEXPO, a Mexican retail fuel association, reported last week that gasoline consumption had dropped significantly as a result of the measures introduced to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Citing official data from the Ministry of Energy, the group noted that gasoline sales had gone down to 538,000 barrels per day in the week ending on April 10. This marks a decline of 32% on the figure of 797,000 bpd recorded for the week ending on March 20, it said.
Onexpo did not provide any more recent figures, as the ministry has yet to release infor- mation for the full month of April.
Nevertheless, it referred to unofficial data indicating that consumption levels subse- quently fell even further and reached 319,000 bpd by late April.
The association also cited official data from the Ministry of Energy showing that demand for other types of motor fuel was down. Diesel sales totalled 380,000 bpd in the week ending
March 20 but dropped to 305,000 bpd in the week ending April 10, a decline of nearly 20%.
The decline is likely to exacerbate the hard- ships that weak demand poses for fuel retailers, according to Grupo Arco, a company that oper- ates a chain of 105 filling stations in Mexico.
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Pemex controls about 65% of Mexico’s filling stations (Photo: Informador)
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 20 21•May•2020