Market conditions for US domestic J55 ERW OCTG casing have remained mostly stable in the past week, with “official” spot market prices still trending in the range of $60.00-$62.50 cwt. ($1,322-$1,378/mt or $1,200-$1,250/nt), ex-mill, although deals at the service center level remain prevalent, which is consistent with the last two months of the year.
“Everything is the same and we’re all heading into end-of-year mode,” a source said, noting that it’s widely expected that service centers will soon start their “fire sales” in hopes of dwindling down their inventory as a means of avoiding the year-end inventory tax.
Rig counts, and drilling activity, are still strong. The most recent report from Baker Hughes indicates that the number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up by 145 from levels seen during the same reporting period in 2017.
Year-over-year oil exploration in the US is up by 21.2 percent.