April 2020
News & Resources
Industry at a glance
Oil benchmarks suffered historic losses after the Coronavirus crushed demand and raised fears about dwindling storage capacity during an all-out price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which flooded the market with product. The combination of issues caused WTI ($30/bbl) and Brent ($34/bbl) to plummet 40% and 38%, respectively, in March. Prices for oil in storage dropped further in April, with Brent assessed at $17.80/bbl and WTI at $10/bbl. Despite the plethora of bad news, drilling activity in the U.S. declined just 2.4%, with an average of 771 rigs running in March, only 19 less than tallied in February. International drilling activity increased 52 rigs, with Canada adding 45 units, to average 1,334 in February.
About the Authors
Craig Fleming
World Oil
Craig Fleming Craig.Fleming@WorldOil.com