This Week’s Market Buzz

• At press time, West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery rose 16 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $72.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That led the U.S. benchmark up by 0.7% for the week, based on the front-month contract, according to Dow Jones Market Data. September Brent crude the global benchmark, added 31 cents, or 0.4%, at $74.10 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, leaving it with a 0.7% climb for the week.

• Hart Energy reports that “The industry is currently experiencing a dramatic shift in fracking technologies and volumes. Nearly all producers are increasing lateral lengths up to 10,000 ft. or more. We are seeing more sand per lateral ft. each year, with 2,500 lb. per lateral ft. becoming common. Zipper-fracturing has become the norm, while Simul-frac experiments show promise. The industry shift to low-emissions technologies is driving the rapid adoption of bi-fuel frac fleets, as well as the uptake of eFleets and natural gas driven drilling rigs.

• Canadian National Railway (CN) reported about $540 million in petroleum and chemicals revenues, up 17% from the same quarter last year during the early months of pandemic lockdowns. Although revenues were only up slightly from the first quarter of 2021, CN specifically noted that increased volumes of crude oil and NGLs. CN cited rising frac sand volumes as a primary driver for growth in its metals and minerals division.

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