Activity within the US J55 ERW OCTG casing spot market continues to be slow but steady, sources note, adding that current market conditions are expected to remain stable in the upcoming weeks.
As with last week, pricing for unfinished domestic J55 ERW OCTG casing on the spot market is trending between $60-$65 cwt. ($1,322-$1,433/mt or $1,200-$1,300/nt), ex-mill, although some mills are increasingly willing to negotiate deals.
Global benchmark Brent crude prices jumped by 3 percent today, to above $80 per barrel, which is the highest level in four years. And while Donald Trump is calling for OPEC to increase production, stating that “OPEC must get prices down now!” a formal recommendation has not yet been made.
Trump today told the United Nations General Assembly that he believes that “OPEC and OPEC nations are, as usual, ripping off the rest of the world and I don’t like it, nobody should like it,” he said. “We want them to stop raising prices.”
Meanwhile, in the US, drilling activity has plateaued. According to news reports, during the month of July, the number of US wells waiting on completion (DUC) was recorded at 8,033; in the Permian, DUCs were recorded at 3,470, which reflects a 49 percent increase from the same reporting period in 2017.
Experts predict a modest increase in drilling activity for the remainder of 2018.