Permian gas production averaged 15.76 Bcf/d last week, up 0.37 Bcf/d on the week and 0.45 Bcf/d above our forecast for August. Power demand in the basin remained robust and averaged 0.49 Bcf/d, up 0.02 Bcf/d on the week. Storage facilities injected an average of 0.08 Bcf/d, compared to an average injection of 0.05 Bcf/d in the prior week. Exports to Mexico averaged 1.58 Bcf/d, up 0.03 Bcf/d on the week. 

Read more in the RBN NATGAS Permian Report.

Crude oil prices moved lower on Tuesday, with WTI continuing to bounce on either side of $90/bbl as it has for the past five days.   The September contract settled at $90.50/bbl, down $0.26/bbl.   Yesterday API inventory stats indicated a build of 2.2 MMbbl for the week ended August 5, versus industry expectations of a 0.4 MMbbl draw.  This morning, in part due to that report, WTI is trading down about $1/bbl to the $89/bbl range.

The average cost for gasoline and diesel in the U.S. fell another $0.15/gallon last week, to $4.15 for gasoline and $4.99 for diesel. This marks 7 straight weeks of price declines for diesel and 8 weeks of declines for gasoline. Even though inventories are still low, supply is slowly catching up with demand and driving prices down.

Overall feedgas last week averaged 10.56 Bcf/d, up 310 MMcf/d week-on-week, driven by higher flows to Sabine Pass. Average weekly feedgas to Sabine Pass was up 560 MMcf/d week-on-week to 4.28 Bcf/d, about 95% of full-utilization levels throughout the week.  

Read more in the RBN LNG Voyager Report.

U.S. Gulf Coast terminals loaded their highest volume of crude oil for export in July – a monthly record since the ban on exports was lifted in 2015 – at 3.5 MMb/d, up 0.5 MMb/d from June. Due to sustained high volumes, crude oil shipments from Corpus Christi also edged up to 2.1 MMb/d, a new record for the region.

Read more in the RBN Energy Crude Voyager Report .

Cove Point feedgas was down 80 MMcf/d week-on-week to 720 MMcf/d, which is around full utilization at the terminal. Flows to the terminal dropped sharply at the beginning of August, falling to 720 MMcf/d after having been above 800 MMcf/d nearly every day since November. Cove Point had been producing additional cargoes over its typical level since last winter, with record feedgas consumption and LNG output, but that appears to have come to an end, at least for now, with the terminal dropping back to “normal” operations as of August 1.

Climate bill would force oil companies to pay more to drill on federal land (Bloomberg)

The climate-and-tax bill passed by the Senate would force oil companies to pay more for drilling on federal land and block them from stockpiling leases at rock-bottom prices, changes that conservationists and good-government groups have sought for years.

Supporters of the changes argue the current approach cheats taxpayers, with annual rental fees for some leased land sometimes amounting to less than the cost of a cup of coffee.

Ukraine halted oil flows to Europe over payment issue, Russia's Transneft says (Reuters)

Ukraine has suspended Russian oil pipeline flows to parts of central Europe since early this month because Western sanctions prevented it from accepting transit fees from Moscow, Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Tuesday.

Benchmark Brent crude oil jumped by $2 per barrel to trade near $98 as the news added to concerns about reduced energy supplies.

U.S. Manufacturing Activity Shows Signs of Peaking (Reuters)

John Kemp

U.S. Sour Crude Cargo Sails to Germany as Russia Sanctions Bite (Reuters)

A tanker of U.S. sour crude was delivered at Germany's port of Rostock last week for the first time ever, according to sources, analysts and vessel tracking data, as local refiners test alternatives to Russian oil.

The European Union plans an almost-complete embargo of Russian barrels by year-end, and is trying to wean itself off Russian crude imports, which have fed inland refineries in Germany, Poland and other central European nations via pipeline.