U.S. Rig Count, Western U.S. Power Reliability: Your Daily Energy News

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Energy Market highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy

PRODUCTION
U.S. Drillers Add Rigs - The U.S. oil and gas rig count rose by nine to 779 in the week ending November 11, its highest since March 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Company (NYSE:BKR) (Houston, Texas) said. U.S. oil rigs rose nine to 622 last week, their highest since March 2020, while gas rigs held steady at 155. (Reuters)

CRUDE OIL
Chinese Refiners Seek Less Saudi Crude Oil - Several Chinese refiners have asked Saudi Aramco to reduce December-loading crude oil volumes, two sources close to the matter told Reuters, as COVID-19 restrictions and a faltering economy have weakened fuel demand in the country. The refiners sought to trim supplies for December by about half of the previous month's level, the sources said. (Reuters)

POWER
Western U.S. Faces Power Reliability Issues with Growing Use of Renewables - A group responsible for power market reliability in the Western U.S. said the growing use of renewable generation will require the region to boost planning reserves in coming years to help maintain grid reliability. The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) said in a recent reliability assessment that planning reserve margins for 2023 rose from 16.9% in 2021 to 18.3% in 2022 due in part to the increase in variable resources, like wind and solar, that only produce power when the wind blows or the sun shines. That means electric companies will have to hold more resources to account for that increased variability to maintain system reliability. "If nothing is done to mitigate the long-term risks within the Western Interconnection, by 2025 we anticipate severe risks to the reliability and security of the interconnection," WECC said in the assessment. (Reuters)

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About IIR Energy
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 commodity-trading community. We are the number one source for information about power plant outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).