The Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently raised a few eyebrows across the energy industry with a report that producers in three key shale states — including Texas, the nation’s #1 oil producer — seem to be extracting larger amounts of “heavier” crude oil. Of course, the oil is only heavier relative to the light and superlight grades that have been produced in copious amounts since the dawn of the Shale Revolution. But these denser, lower-API volumes have recently helped drive growth in total crude output. In today’s RBN blog, we unpack what the EIA discussed in its writeup, explore some of the possible drivers behind the apparently heavier oil production, and discuss what it might mean for the domestic market.
The Crude Voyager is a weekly analysis of U.S. Gulf Coast loading activity that explains the ebbs and flows of crude loadings, destinations, and geopolitical issues impacting U.S. exports. It outlines the major paths for laden tankers hauling U.S. crude all over the world and reflects the change in tanker departures to the main regions that consume U.S. crude.
The EIA, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy (DOE), provides important data, forecasts and analysis on a national level, weaving global developments into its commentaries and outlooks. Among its regular releases is the widely tracked Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), which gives all of us a granular glimpse of U.S. crude oil balances. Investors and traders watch it very closely and respond to movements in reported supplies, demand and balances. The agency also regularly publishes a variety of more focused reports, including a January article from its Today in Energy series based on a monthly dataset of crude production by API gravity category with data back to 2015. The report highlighted a surge in the proportion of U.S. crude oil production with an API gravity between 35.1 and 40 (light-green layer in Figure 1 below). API gravity, or just API in common usage, is the primary index to specify the density of crude oil in the U.S. and much of the global market. Crude with a higher API gravity is lighter, or less dense, while oil with a lower API gravity is heavier, or denser.
Figure 1. Lower 48 U.S. Crude Oil Production by API Range. Source EIA
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About the song
“The Weight” was written by Robbie Robertson and appears as the fifth song on side one of The Band’s debut album, Music from Big Pink. The lyrics are a pastiche of Southern images regarding strange characters you might meet on the backroads of rural America. “Nazareth” comes from the brand inside of Robertson’s Martin D-28 that he was using while composing the song; it is the hometown of the Martin guitar manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania. “Fanny” refers to Robertson’s friend, Fanny Steloff, who founded the New York City Gotham Book Mart he was fond of visiting. “Anna Lee” is singer/drummer Levon Helm’s lifelong friend, Anna Lee Amsden from Turkey Scratch, AR. “Crazy Chester” was a bizarre character in Fayetteville, AR, who carried a holstered cap gun with him everywhere he went. Released as a single in August 1968, “The Weight” only went to #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart but became a staple of airplay on progressive FM radio in the U.S. in the late 1960s. The song appears in the film Easy Rider, but the version heard on the soundtrack album is by A Group Called Smith, due to licensing issues. Personnel on the record were: Levon Helm (lead, backing vocals, drums), Rick Danko (lead, backing vocals, bass), Robbie Robertson (acoustic guitar), Richard Manuel (Hammond organ), and Garth Hudson (piano).
Music from Big Pink was recorded in early 1968 at A&R Recorders (Studio A) in New York City and Gold Star Studios and Capitol in Hollywood. Produced by John Simon, the album was released in July 1968 and went to #30 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Al Kooper said in Rolling Stone magazine, “This album was recorded in approximately two weeks. There are people who will work their lives away in vain and not touch it.” The album title refers to the pink house — aka Big Pink — that Band members Danko, Hudson and Manuel were living in at 2188 Stoll Road (later re-addressed as 56 Parnassus Lane) in West Saugerties, NY, while their first album was being written and recorded. The house is still there — and actually available for rent on VRBO. One single was released from the LP.
The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto in 1967 by Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, and Levon Helm. They were formerly known as Ronnie Hawkins’ backing band, The Hawks. They toured with Bob Dylan as his first electric backing band in 1966. They released their debut album for Capitol Records in 1968. In 1976, the band filmed and recorded The Last Waltz at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, a documentary celebrating The Band before they officially broke up in 1978. The band, minus Robertson, began touring and occasionally recording again in 1983 until 1998. They have released ten studio albums, nine live albums, ten compilation albums, and 32 singles. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. All the band members have had successful careers as solo artists. Richard Manuel died in March 1986, Rick Danko died in December 1999, Levon Helm died in April 2012 and Robbie Robertson died in August 2023.
