Saudi Arabian producers have continued their standoff with the
US shale industry, with each side essentially daring the other to blink first. In the past seven days, crude prices have tipped below that $75 per barrel mark; sources close to SteelOrbis continue to worry that if prices tick down another $5, this could halt oil production efforts in the
US. Others are more optimistic, citing a recent report from CITI that predicts $50 per barrel would be the critical “tipping point” that could level domestic production.
“OPEC is well known to be able to produce oil at roughly half the
US per-barrel costs, and they can easily push prices down and make money,” said one Texas-based source. “At this point, it looks like we’re heading into a situation where we’ll see flat demand, falling rig counts and a relative dogfight.”
For now, the most commonly reported spot price transaction range for
US unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing continues to trend sideways at $59.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,300-$1344/mt or $1,180-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill. Futures offers from
Taiwan are also neutral, still at $46.00-$47.00 cwt. ($1,014-$1,036/mt or $920-$940/nt, DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports, while Korean offers for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing have also held neutral since our last report a week ago, in the approximate range of $980-$1,000 cwt. ($49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports.