[Geodesic]

This really doesn't gibe with Simmons claim that the oil infrastructure is basically inadequate and falling apart.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... MaBCGooOf0

Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rigs operating in the U.S. increased this week to the highest level in 16 years as drilling rose in Texas and the Dakotas, according to data published by Baker Hughes Inc.

Oil rigs rose by seven to 444, the highest level since the week ended Dec. 17, 1993. The count has more than doubled since June, when it bottomed out at 179.

[dinopello]

We're gonna pump like there's no tomorrow !

Simmons underestimated the Stimulus

Pelosi needs fuel for her big jets

[Rod_Cloutier]

Thats scary! From 179 to 444 in only 7 months.

This paints a clear picture that inventory stocks are being burned through rapidly, that the economic demand for oil is rising again, and that oil companies are now scrambling to make up for accellerating oil field depletion.

Many on this site forcast this would happen. That as soon as the economy recovered we soon would hit the ceiling on oil production again almost immediatly. Even if American demand is still falling, the growth of energy usage in China and India are bound to push oil prices higher. In fact, I am surprised with their double digit growth rates that this is not happening faster.

I think the price mechanism is being distorted as Chinese companies, (and their government), secure private non-disclosed contracts for oil at a fixed price with rogue regiemes such as Iran. As the Chinese are securing their oil supplies privately, not by publicly buying the oil on the open market, they are thus avoiding driving the market price of oil higher thru concealment of their hidden agenda.

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Geodesic', 'T')his really doesn't gibe with Simmons claim that the oil infrastructure is basically inadequate and falling apart.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... MaBCGooOf0

Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rigs operating in the U.S. increased this week to the highest level in 16 years as drilling rose in Texas and the Dakotas, according to data published by Baker Hughes Inc.

Oil rigs rose by seven to 444, the highest level since the week ended Dec. 17, 1993. The count has more than doubled since June, when it bottomed out at 179.

[shortonsense]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Geodesic', 'T')his really doesn't gibe with Simmons claim that the oil infrastructure is basically inadequate and falling apart.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... MaBCGooOf0

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Geodesic', 'T')his really doesn't gibe with Simmons claim that the oil infrastructure is basically inadequate and falling apart.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... MaBCGooOf0

Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rigs operating in the U.S. increased this week to the highest level in 16 years as drilling rose in Texas and the Dakotas, according to data published by Baker Hughes Inc.

Oil rigs rose by seven to 444, the highest level since the week ended Dec. 17, 1993. The count has more than doubled since June, when it bottomed out at 179.

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('baha', 'T')o me this just means they are searching frantically for oil. Unfortunately (for them) most wells drilled are just dry holes.

[Geodesic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('shortonsense', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Geodesic', 'T')his really doesn't gibe with Simmons claim that the oil infrastructure is basically inadequate and falling apart.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... MaBCGooOf0

[shortonsense]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Geodesic', '
')How disingenuous of you to leave out the fact that he's a financier intimately involved in the oil business for what, 30 years?

[Tanada]

Let us not get carried away folks, in 1993 there was a glut soon to burst onto the world stage, not long after that the price started going down and it stayed down for almost a decade. No Oil major in the USA was about to drill a bunch of wells in the USA while the world import price was rock bottom.

When the price started shooting up in 2004 the drill rig capacity ended up concentrated in the places willing to spend the most money, which was not the USA. When the price crashed at the latter half of 2008 the rigs started going idle as they completed whatever projects they were working on at the time. After a very slow 2009 and the slow decade of the 1990's there were suddenly a lot of idle rigs in the USA, and then in the latter half of the year the price settled into the 70-80 price band and suddenly it was very profitable to drill wells in the USA.

There is nothing the least bit mysterious about it, this is just a normal boom-bust-boom cycle for the drill rig owners. We can't look at every single news item and declare it is proof of anything or we end up sounding like Pollyanna and looking foolish as all get out.

[TheDude]

Mid November 2008 429 oil rigs were drilling for oil, 96.6% of the current number.

[pup55]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')aybe I am just odd but it seems obvious to me that nobody wanted to drill in the USA when the world oil price was crashing down into the $30's. Now that the price is dynamically hovering in the 70-80 band it is well worth it in money term

[eXpat]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Geodesic', 'T')his really doesn't gibe with Simmons claim that the oil infrastructure is basically inadequate and falling apart.

[obixman]

I think I can state with some assurence that the RIchmond refinery will be kept going in some capacity. As long as it operates, Chevron is grandfathered in for the envirnomental demage it's done through the years - the refinery has been there from early on - before there was ANY environmental movement. As I understand it, the cost of environmental remediation will be in the several billions of dollars.

Hence the factility will continue operating in some capacity. May not be any/many people there, though.

[copious.abundance]

Closing refineries is not a sign of inadequate oil infrastructure, it is a sign of *excess* oil infrastructure.

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('OilFinder2', 'C')losing refineries is not a sign of inadequate oil infrastructure, it is a sign of *excess* oil infrastructure.

Speaking of someone being humiliated, someone here doesn't know the difference between a rig and a well.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dreamtwister', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('baha', 'T')o me this just means they are searching frantically for oil. Unfortunately (for them) most wells drilled are just dry holes.

[Bas]

anyone any idea from which countries those rigs came from? It would sure be nice if other countries/regions had rigcounts....

[shortonsense]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('OilFinder2', 'S')peaking of someone being humiliated, someone here doesn't know the difference between a rig and a well.