Sensible regulatory change by the US Department of Energy should be followed by legislation killing the changed regulation.

Following a 43-drilling rig loss last week, Canada has fallen more than 100 rigs in 2 weeks with a 61-unit loss for the week ended Dec. 28, according to Baker Hughes data. With 70 rigs running, the count is below the 136 units drilling this week a year ago.

US crude oil and natural gas liquids production broke records in November and the first 11 months of this year, the US Energy Information Administration reported. November’s total US crude production averaged nearly 11.7 million b/d, 15.7% higher than a year earlier, as NGL production for the month climbed 11.2% to an average of almost 4.6 million b/d during the same period, EIA said.

US crude oil inventories for the week ended Dec. 21, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, remained virtually unchanged from the previous week, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed. EIA released the Weekly Petroleum Status Report 2 days later than normal because of the closure of the federal government on Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 for the Christmas holiday.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery settled down by more than $1.60/bbl on the New York market Dec. 27 while Brent crude for February dropped more than $2/bbl in London. Analysts attributed volatile oil prices to uncertainty about the world economic outlook amid thin holiday trading volumes.