Australia became the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2015 and is likely to overtake Qatar as the world’s largest LNG exporter by 2019. As Australia’s LNG exports have increased, primarily from LNG projects in eastern Australia, the country has had natural gas supply shortages in eastern and southeastern Australia and an increase in domestic natural gas prices.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney today released details of the fiscal year (FY) 2017 final budget results. The deficit in FY 2017 was $666 billion, $80 billion more than in the prior fiscal year, but $36 billion less than forecast in the FY 2018 Mid-Session Review (MSR). As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the deficit was 3.5 percent, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous year.

Libya’s oil production increased steeply to the current level of 850,000 b/d from a low point in August 2016 of below 300,000 b/d. Production surpassed 1 million b/d in July.

U.S. Rig Count is up 360 rigs from last year's count of 553, with oil rigs up 293, gas rigs up 69, and miscellaneous rigs down 2 to 2. Canada Rig Count is up 59 rigs from last year's count of 143, with oil rigs up 38 and gas rigs up 21.

OGJ - Oil and gas will remain crucial energy components as their share of the total global mix falls from 53% now to 43% in 2050, Torstad said during a presentation at the National Press Club sponsored by the US Energy Association. “We’ve assumed a generally steady change toward 2050, with less crude oil production but more natural gas and electricity, where solar and wind power will grow because of cost reductions,” she said.

The sum total in August of all net foreign acquisitions of long-term securities, short-term U.S. securities, and banking flows was a monthly net TIC inflow of $125.0 billion. Of this, net foreign private inflows were $131.5 billion, and net foreign official outflows were $6.5 billion.

EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 81,000 b/d month-over-month in November to 6.12 million b/d.

World oil demand growth in 2017 is now expected to increase by 1.5 mb/d, representing an upward revision of around 30 tb/d from last previous report, mainly reflecting recent data showing an improvement in economic activities. Positive revisions were primarily a result of higher-than-expected oil demand from the OECD region and China. In 2018, world oil demand is anticipated to grow by 1.4 mb/d, following an upward adjustment of 30 tb/d over the previous report, due to the improving economic outlook in the world economy, particularly China and Russia.

Economic activity in the United States has been growing moderately so far this year, and the labor market has continued to strengthen. The terrible hurricanes that hit Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and our neighbors in the Caribbean caused tremendous damage and upended many lives, and our hearts go out to those affected. While the effects of the hurricanes on the U.S. economy are quite noticeable in the short term, history suggests that the longer-term effects will be modest and that aggregate economic activity will recover quickly.

U.S. Rig Count is up 389 rigs from last year's count of 539, with oil rigs up 311, gas rigs up 80, and miscellaneous rigs down 2 to 2. Canada Rig Count is up 47 rigs from last year's count of 165, with oil rigs up 22 and gas rigs up 25.

EIA forecasts Brent spot prices to average $52/b in 2017 and $54/b in 2018, which is $1/b higher in 2017 and $2/b higher in 2018 compared with last month's forecast. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) average crude oil prices are forecast to be $3.50/b lower than Brent prices in 2018.

Falling global crude oil stockpiles in 2017 will help put the market “roughly” into balance in 2018, but an increase in prices could be limited, especially if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries doesn’t stick to its agreement to curb output, the International Energy Agency said.

Rosneft has recently inked a number of deals which could facilitate the company’s ambitions to develop international gas trading and export operations, the latest stage in a long-running attempt to become a major gas player and access the lucrative export market.

Baker Hughes, a GE company (NYSE:BHGE) announced today that the Baker Hughes international rig count for September 2017 was 931, down 21 from the 952 counted in August 2017, and down 3 from the 934 counted in September 2016. The international offshore rig count for September 2017 was 190, down 11 from the 201 counted in August 2017, and down 31 from the 221 counted in September 2016.

U.S. Rig Count is up 412 rigs from last year's count of 524, with oil rigs up 320, gas rigs up 93, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 2. Canada Rig Count is up 44 rigs from last year's count of 165, with oil rigs up 25 and gas rigs up 19.