Global oil barrel prices may have edged up by about 3 percent on Monday, after OPEC President and Qatar energy minister Mohammed bi Saleh al-Sada confirmed member countries would hold an informal meeting on Sept 26-28; but by the time the markets closed on Tuesday, prices dipped once more.
Today, U.S. crude oil closed down $0.25, to $42.77 per barrel; Brent crude closed down $0.41 to $44.98.
Although some market watchers are optimistic that OPEC may finally take action due to the still problematic global oil supply glut, others feel the oil cartel is unlikely to curb any production since OPEC has said they believe demand will pick up in Q3 and Q4 of this year.
In terms of
US rig counts, the most recent data from Baker Hughes indicates for the week of August 5, the number of rotary rigs drilling for oil increased by seven, to 381. Although the uptick is certainly a positive, the current rig count is still 289 fewer than this time last year.
Year-on-year oil exploration in the
US is still down by 43.1 percent.
Sources close to SteelOrbis say that the current sentiment as it pertains to both the
US and domestic J55 ERW OCTG casing market remains tepid. On-the-ground import, finished J55 ERW OCTG casing is still available at “a deep discount,” sources note, but some, and certainly not all, buyers are becoming increasingly reluctant to book older-stock material due to possible quality degradation.
In terms of current futures offers, prices from Korean and Taiwanese OCTG produces for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing have remained lateral and are still trending in the approximate range of $27.50-$29.50 cwt. ($606-$650/mt or $550-$590/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf Coast ports.
Ex-
US mill pricing is still an anomaly, sources note, adding that buyers are more inclined to turn to distribution centers than they are to place fresh orders with pipe mills.