The most commonly heard spot price transaction range for US domestic oil country tubular goods casing (OCTG) is still hard to pinpoint, sources note, adding that distribution centers are selling “everything they have in stock, at a premium, because they know if a customer needs something right away, they have the upper hand.”
Sources close to SteelOrbis, however, say that mills are currently offering US domestic J55 ERW OCTG in the approximate range of $45-$47 cwt. ($992-1036/mt or $900-$940/nt), ex-mill, although some customers have reported paying up slightly higher.
“Spot market prices are all over the map because demand is getting weird with the addition of so many rigs,” one source said.
Last week, Baker Hughes reported that for the week ending Jan. 27, the number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was up 15, to 566. The current total rig count (oil and gas rigs combined) reflects a 15 percent year-over-year increase from the same reporting period in 2016.
In terms of offshore offer prices, trader sources have continued to indicate that offers for US import J55 ERW OCTG casing from Korea and Taiwan are still trending quiet, a trend which is, at current, largely tied to the Lunar New Year holiday.