OPEC, for some quiet moments..

[admin]

Drillers in the U.S. idled ten more oil-directed rigs this week, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes. The Houston-based service company reported 737 active rigs, of which 545 were seeking oil, on Friday, seven fewer than the week prior. The number of rigs seeking oil is now at the lowest level since June 4, 2010, when Baker Hughes also reported 545 active oil rigs.

U.S. drillers idle 10 oil-directed rigs: Baker Hughes

For the first time in seven years, OPEC’s newest member will increase crude production. It will likely be just a blip. The start of Indonesia’s Banyu Urip oil field in Java will be the single biggest addition to global supply this year, helping the returning member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries inch up output by about 1% this year and 5% the next to approximately 830,000 bopd. The decline will resume from 2017, according to BMI Research.

Indonesia returns to OPEC as an oil consuming nation

Australia’s $170-billion LNG construction boom is winding down, and the hunt for new work is picking up. As plants owned by companies including ConocoPhillips and Chevron Corp. prepare to start production, workers and engineering firms that helped build them, including San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., are looking for new contracts. That’s proving tough at a time when commodity prices are putting future energy and mining developments in doubt.

LNG builders plan life after $170-billion boom in Australia

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan energy package Thursday, which included an amendment offered by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) to lift the ban on U.S. crude oil exports. The crude oil exports amendment was approved by a bipartisan vote of 255-168. Lifting trade restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports would further enhance the nation's economic and national energy security, strengthen America’s geopolitical standing around the world, and provide meaningful benefits to American families and consumers.

IPAA cheers House passage of legislation to lift oil export ban