The WTI prompt-month contract traded down $0.29 to $57.15/Bbl on Monday morning (7:51 AM CT)
Geopolitical noise remains elevated, with US-led diplomacy on Ukraine, ongoing attacks on Black Sea shipping, and the renewed risk of US military action in Venezuela following last week’s detention of a supertanker
Ukraine said it struck both the Afipsky refinery and an oil storage site in Russia’s Volgograd region
Ukrainian drones also hit Russia’s Korchagin offshore platform in the Caspian Sea, forcing a shutdown, according to Bloomberg
Middle East crude market softens (Bloomberg)
The premium of Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude over Brent has narrowed to its lowest level since early October
The move reflects concerns that Middle East exporters are offering more crude than the market can easily absorb, at a time when Asian refiners have no shortage of alternative barrels
Reinforcing the ample near-term availability of barrels, Saudi Aramco cut its official selling prices for Asia to the lowest in five years
Natural gas continues to trade near Fridays lows
The January Henry Hub contract is down again today, with prices trading near Friday’s lows
Lower-48 population-weighted weather forecasts shifted colder over the weekend, but are still expected to remain above the ten-year average from this week through the end of the month
Dry gas production has fallen below 108 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P
Haynesville rig count jumps to one-year high
Data from Baker Hughes released on Friday shows the number of drilling rigs operating in the Haynesville has jumped to 45, a new one-year high
The number of rigs operating in the region has trended higher throughout 2025, starting the year at 31
The Haynesville will need to be one of the primary drivers of US gas production growth over the next year as LNG feedgas demand rises and output from the Permian Basin slows
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