Daily News Energy Headlines from December 11, 2015

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News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) dealing with the energy markets.

PRODUCTION
U.S. Oil Rig County Falls - Baker Hughes reports that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. declined by 21 for the week ending December 11 to 524.

NATURAL GAS
U.S. Gas Prices Below $2 - With warm weather forecast for the eastern U.S., natural gas prices in the U.S. fell to less than $2 per million British thermal units for only the second time in three years.

FINANCIAL
Dow and DuPont Agree on Merger - Chemical giants Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) (Dupont) (Wilimington, Delaware) have agreed on an all-stock merger of the two companies, valued at approximately $130 billion. The merger is expected to face intense regulatory scrutiny.

Permian Paradox: Oil & Gas Production is Still Rising, but Local Economic Index Keeps Falling- Call it the Permian Paradox: Oil & Gas Production in the Permian Basin is still rising while nearly every other local economic indicator continues falling. Crude-oil production is on track to hit a record 2 million barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) by yearend 2015, industry sources predict. But Amarillo Economist Karr Ingham told The Midland Reporter-Telegram the Texas Permian Basin Petroleum Index he tracks posted its 10th consecutive monthly decline in September, falling 26.6% below the September 2014 reading.

CRUDE OIL
IEA: Global Oil Glut to Persist Through 2016 - In its latest monthly report, Paris-based International Energy Agency reaffirmed that the global oil glut will persist until at least late 2016, particularly as Iran readies to begin oil exports as sanctions on the country are lifted.

China Reports Doubling of Strategic Oil Reserve - China says that it doubled its strategic oil reserves between November 2014 and the middle of this year. The country increased its reserves to approximately 190.5 million barrels by mid-2015, outpacing analysts' estimates.

Mexico Exports Increasing Amounts of Crude to Europe and Asia - The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that while U.S. imports of Mexican crude oil have been at their lowest level since 1990, the country's exports to Europe, particularly Spain, and Asia has been on the rise.

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Energy asset information on power plants, oil refineries and natural gas infrastructure is now more important than ever. A unit of Industrial Info Resources, IIR Energy provides infrastructure information on these assets, as well as real-time tracking of planned and unplanned interruptions affecting the trading, logistics and marketing communities. We are the number one source for information about electricity outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.