- Light, sweet crude for delivery rose 44 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $53.19 a barrel during the Globex electronic session of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery added 48 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $55.56/barrel. Prices continue to swing back and forth around the low $50-a-barrel level, and traders continue to weigh the outlook for a production cut struck by major oil-producing nations against the sizeable overhang in global oil stockpiles.
- According to the Leader-Telegram, after a business lull, jobs are opening up in the local frac sand industry in light of higher oil prices. Among those on the lookout for new employees is Texas-based Hi-Crush. It operates Wisconsin sand plants in the towns of Blair, Augusta, Wyeville and Whitehall. The company held a job fair recently in hopes of filling about 100 available positions.
- EOG has abandoned plans to build a frac sand transfer facility in Earlville, Ill., according to the NewsTribune. The plant was heavily contested when first proposed in 2014. The facility was approved by the city council after many hours of hearings and opposition. The company reportedly backed out because of the price of oil and uncertainty with regard to the new presidential administration.