The Biden administration’s threat of a possible release of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve resulted in a drop in oil futures on Friday. Many Oklahoma energy stocks took the same route.
West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell 80 cents or 1% to $80.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the third-weekly decline in a row for the U.S. benchmark. The Dow Jones Market Data reported it was a 0.6% loss for the week.
Global benchmark Brent crude for January delivery dropped 70 cents or 0.8% to finish the day at $82.17 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. It amounted to a weekly decline of 0.7%.
The Biden administration indicated it was continuing to look at “every tool in our arsenal” to lower gasoline prices. Press Secretary Jen Psaki at the White House said Friday it included discussions with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Some analysts say it means the Biden White House isn’t quite sure what to do. They also believe that any release of crude from the SPR will only serve to increase demand.
Friday turned out to be a weak day for Oklahoma energy stocks with many reporting losses of more than 2%. One significant gain was reported by Unit Corporation which saw stocks soar by nearly 9%.
Apache (APA) up 0.04 at 29.45 – change 0.13%
Cheniere (LNG) up 0.09 at 104.31 – change 0.08%
Chevron (CVX) up 0.07 at 114.23 – change 0.06%
ConocoPhillips (COP) up 0.22 at 72.36 – change 0.30%
Diamondback Energy (FANG) up 1.18 at 109.95 – change 1.08%
Energy Transfer LP (ET) down 0.04 at 9.13 – change 0.44%
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) up 0.42 at 23.31 – change 1.83%
EOG Resources (EOG) down 0.08 at 94.84 – change 0.09%
ExxonMobil (XOM) down 0.49 at 63.82 – change 0.77%
Kinder Morgan (KMI) down 0.11 at 16.68 – change 0.66%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) down 0.05 at 16.68 – change 0.30%
National Oilwell Varco (NOV) down 0.22 at 13.76 – change 1.58%
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) down 0.04 at 32.08 – change 0.13%
Phillips 66 (PSX) down 0.40 at 77.47 – change 0.52%
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) up 0.24 at 183.24 – change 0.13%
Valero (VLO) down 0.64 at 76.58 – change 0.83%
CLOSING TOP UTILITY STOCKS
American Electric Power (AEP) down 0.59 at 82.02 – change 0.72%
CenterPoint (CNP) down 0.17 at 26.60 – change 0.64%
Entergy (ETR) down 0.52 at 101.60 – change 0.51%