Podcast/Audio - US lawmakers from oil-producing states are trying to increase pressure on the White House to do something to help drillers getting hammered by plummeting prices -- from aggressive diplomacy to banning crude imports.

U.S. Commercial crude stocks jumped 13.83 million barrels to 469.19 million barrels during the week

The preliminary level for dry natural gas production in January 2020 was 2,930 billion cubic feet (Bcf), or 94.5 Bcf/d. This level was 5.9 Bcf/d (6.7%) higher than the January 2019 level of 88.6 Bcf/d.

A group of six U.S. senators wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week saying Saudi Arabia and Russia “have embarked upon economic warfare against the United States” and were threatening U.S. “energy dominance”.

Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Russian counterpart Alexander Novak have not held any discussions about a joint agreement to balance oil markets, indicating no resolution to the price war.

Oil exporters in the Middle East and North Africa region will lose $192 billion in crude income in 2020

Sovereign wealth funds from oil-producing countries mainly in the Middle East and Africa are on course to dump up to $225 billion in equities,

gas prices in Europe and Asia have collapsed to record lows, while the U.S. Henry Hub benchmark tumbled to its lowest since 1995.

Rosneft entered into an agreement with a company 100%-owned by the Russian government on the sale of shares and termination of its participation in all projects in Venezuela,

«Газпром нефть» и компания Halliburton заключили Меморандум о взаимопонимании, направленный на разработку программы технологического сотрудничества.

U.S. Rig Count is down 44 rigs from last week to 728, Canada Rig Count is down 44 rigs from last week to 54

Russia ramped up measures to combat the virus on Wednesday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing that next week would be a paid non-working week throughout the country.

Some US shale producers have been pressuring the Trump administration to intervene in the price war, which broke out after Russia earlier this month declined to go along with an OPEC proposal for production cuts to prop up prices.

China is saving about $250mn a day after crude prices crashed this year amid dual demand and supply shocks.

Aramco plans to supply 12.3 million barrels per day of crude in the next two months, after talks with Russia to deepend OPEC+ output cuts floundered, starting a price war. The company will draw 3 million barrels per day from its stocks, producing 12 million barrels per day.