The ongoing saga of falling oil prices and rig count declines continues to be the
US oil country
tubular casing (OCTG) market’s fiercest nemesis, as the most recent week-on-week drop
US gas and oil rigs ( down 55) marks the biggest drop in the past six years.
Tuesday reports out of Wall Street indicate that oil earmarked for February delivery settled at under $46.75 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and players in the
US energy markets say this is cause for continued concern. “Buyers are looking for any loophole possible to cancel already-booked orders,” according to one SteelOrbis source, while others say that distribution and service centers they’ve talked to have put everything on hold.
And while prices have not wavered since our last report a week ago, with
US domestic spot holding in the approximate range of $59.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,300-$1344/mt or $1,180-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill; futures offer prices from Korean producers for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing still at $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports and Taiwanese holding at $46.00-$47.00 cwt. ($1,014-$1,036/mt or $920-$940/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports, “the market is so bearish at this point that it really doesn’t matter what the price is, no one is booking anything.”