OPEC+ unlikely change policy on output at Oct. 2 panel
Five sources within the group said that despite recent drops in oil prices an OPEC+ panel will not recommend any changes this week to its current agreement to reduce production or to begin unwinding cuts made since December. On Wednesday, 1200 GMT, top ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies, led by Russia, will meet online to form a Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). Brent crude oil prices fell in 2024. Last month, Brent crude dropped below $70 a barrel for the first since 2021. This was due to concerns about global supply and demand outside of OPEC+.
Gunvor chair: Mideast conflict will not affect oil supply but demand is a concern
The CEO of trading firm Gunvor is confident that the conflict in the Middle East won't impact oil supply. He said this on Tuesday. He told the Gulf Intelligence Energy Markets Forum, held in Fujairah that the situation in the Red Sea and Yemen was a nuisance but not disruptive. The market, he said, was more concerned about the weak demand. Brent crude prices dropped by over 2% on Tuesday, to about $70. The prospect of increased supply and a tepid growth in global demand outweighed concerns regarding the escalating conflict and its impact on crude oil exports from Middle East.
New refineries bring down profits for global refiners
Oil refiners across Asia, Europe, and the United States have seen their profitability drop to multi-year-lows. This is a significant downturn in an industry which had previously enjoyed booming returns following the pandemic. It also highlights the global slowdown. This weakness is another sign of a softening consumer and industrial demand in China due to the slowing of economic growth and increasing penetration of electric cars. The pressure on prices has been exacerbated by the addition of new refineries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. TotalEnergies, a refiner, and Glencore, a trading firm, saw a boom in profits in 2022-2023.
Kazakhstan asks for a delay in maintenance of the giant Kashagan Oilfield.
Trading sources familiar with the matter claim that Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry has asked shareholders to delay next year's maintenance, which was scheduled to start at the site on October 1st. Two sources claim that the ministry requested a delay in a letter sent to the partners of the North Caspian Operating Company consortium (NCOC), which operates Kashagan. The letter cited the fear of natural gas shortages during the winter season as the main reason. They added that a decision is expected on September 10. In October, the field that produces 400,000 barrels of oil per day was to be closed for 28 days to perform maintenance.
Sources say that OPEC+ is likely to continue with its planned production increase from October.
OPEC+ will proceed with a planned increase in oil production from October as Libyan outages, and pledged reductions by some members, to compensate for the overproduction, counteract the impact of sluggish consumer demand, according to six sources within the producer group. Eight OPEC+ member countries are expected to increase their output by 180,000 barrels a day in October as part of a strategy to unwind the most recent layer (2.2 million bpd) of cuts while maintaining other cuts until end-2025. Oil prices have been impacted by a slowdown in the growth of demand, notably China.
Asian Countries Looking to Release Oil Reserves after U.S. Request
The world's biggest economies said on Thursday they were looking into releasing oil from their strategic reserves, following a rare request from the United States for a coordinated move to cool global energy prices.The U.S. move reflects frustration with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as Russia who have rebuffed Washington's requests to speed up oil production as the world economy rebounds from the pandemic.It also comes as U.S. President Joe Biden fends off political…
Libya's NOC to Lift Force Majeure at Es Sider Oil Port
Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Wednesday that it is ready to lift force majeure at Es Sider oil port, allowing a tanker on standby to load crude from storage.The state oil company urged all Libyan parties to support it and called on what it described as "foreign mercenaries and armed groups" to leave the oil port immediately.The Delta Ocean Suezmax tanker arrived at the port on July 5 and has been waiting since then, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.The tanker was chartered by trader Unipec, according to a shipping and a trading source.
OPEC, Russia Extend Record Oil Cuts
OPEC, Russia, and allies agreed on Saturday to extend record oil production cuts until the end of July, prolonging a deal that has helped crude prices double in the past two months by withdrawing almost 10% of global supplies from the market.The group, known as OPEC+, also demanded countries such as Nigeria and Iraq, which exceeded production quotas in May and June, compensate with extra cuts in July to September.OPEC+ had initially agreed in April that it would cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) during May-June to prop up prices that collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis.
Iraq to Further Cut Oil Output
Iraq will further cut its oil output and remains committed to the OPEC+ deal, finance minister and acting oil minister Ali Abdul Ameer Allawi said on Twitter.OPEC and its allies such as Russia are due to decide later this month whether to extend record oil cuts they approved in April. Iraq has shown weak compliance with its output reduction targets in May.+(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Jon Boyle)
Oil rises 5% in second weekly gain on output cuts, demand hopes
Oil prices settled 5% higher on Friday in their second consecutive week of gains as U.S. producers cut production with the number of drilling rigs falling to a record low, and as more states moved ahead with plans to relax lockdowns intended to halt the coronavirus pandemic.The number of operating oil and natural gas rigs fell by 34 to an all-time low of 374 this week - reflecting data going back 80 years - as the energy industry slashes output and spending to deal with the coronavirus-led crash in fuel demand.North…
Country-by-Country Look at Dropping Fuel Demand
It's hardly news that the COVID-19 pandemic has sent most every market into tumult, most notably the oil and gas market as political power plays flood the world with oil precisely when demand has plummeted. Here we provide some recent insights on just how steep falls in fuel demand has been as lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus limit the movement of more than 4 billion people.UNITED STATESU.S. fuel demand has dropped 28% in the last four weeks, the Energy Information Administration said on April 29.Overall finished motor gasoline demand is still down 44% over the past four weeks from the year-ago period…
Oil in Floating Storage More Than Doubles in a Month
The volume of key oil products held in floating storage around the globe has more than doubled in the past month to about 68 million barrels, according to data from oil analytics firm Vortexa.The figure, which includes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as of April 22, compares with around 30 million barrels in the previous month, Vortexa said.With available space on land storage tanks scarce, traders around the world have been rushing to book tankers of different sizes to store oil products as lockdowns around the world to tackle the coronavirus pandemic hammer oil demand.Floating storage has increased in northwest Europe, the Mediterranean,
U.S. Crude Hits 18-year Low as Lockdowns Spread
Oil prices fell for a third session on Wednesday, with U.S. crude futures tumbling to an 18-year low and Brent hitting a more than 16-year low as travel and social lockdowns to counter the coronavirus raised prospect of the steepest ever annual fall in oil demand.U.S.
Coronavirus Spurs Oil Majors to Cancel IP Week Events
The list of parties at London's International Petroleum Week, one of the world's biggest oil industry gatherings, continues to shrink as hosts such as ExxonMobil and Azerbaijan's SOCAR cancel events due to the coronavirus, trading sources said. IP Week is a key oil traders' gathering that takes place every year in February. This year, it is scheduled for Feb. 24-27. Oil majors, national oil companies and trading firms host receptions for networking throughout the week. Spooked by the epidemic, several oil companies based in Asia said last week they would skip IP Week this year.
Oil Steadies After Brief Slide
Oil steadied on Tuesday, as expections of output cuts from OPEC and allied producers brought prices back up after they slid briefly following comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that a trade deal with China may be delayed.Brent crude futures rose 5 cents to $60.97 a barrel by 11:18 a.m. EST (1618 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 9 cents to $56.05 a barrel. Trump said a U.S.-China trade agreement might have to wait until after next November's presidential election, denting hopes of a quick resolution to a dispute that has weighed on the world economy."I have no deadline…
U.S. Shipping Sanctions Give Boost to EU Refiners
U.S. sanctions imposed last month on subsidiaries of vast Chinese shipping fleet Cosco have given an unexpected boost to European refiners as less crude oil from the North Sea and West Africa heads east, traders and analysts said.Freight rates have soared as oil producers scramble for non-blacklisted vessels, discouraging longer-distance voyages.Complex refining margins for advanced facilities capable of extracting even more valuable products like diesel and gasoline, have been especially strong in Europe, industry sources said.The U.S.
OPEC+ Extends Output Cuts
OPEC and its allies led by Russia agreed to extend oil output cuts until March 2020 on Tuesday, seeking to prop up the price of crude as the global economy weakens and U.S. production soars.The alliance, known as OPEC+, has been reducing oil supply since 2017 to prevent prices from sliding amid increasing competition from the United States, which has overtaken Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world's top producer.Asked by reporters whether agreement had been reached, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said…
Oil Prices Fall After Trump's Tariff Threat Against China
Oil prices fell on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would sharply raise tariffs on Chinese goods this week, risking the derailment of trade talks between the world's two biggest economies.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.68 per barrel at 1338 GMT, down 26 cents. WTI hit $60.04 earlier in the session, its lowest since March 29.Brent crude futures were broadly steady at $70.88 per barrel, having earlier hit its lowest since April 2 at $68.79.Trump said on Twitter on Sunday that he would hike U.S.
Strikes Impact Shell's Pernis Oil Refinery
Striking workers at Royal Dutch Shell's Pernis plant in the Netherlands have taken offline a thermal gasoil installation, a Dutch union said on Monday, in the first sign of any impact from industrial action on Europe's largest oil refinery.Shell said earlier in the day that the unit had been shut. It later clarified that it had only repeated what the unions had said and would not comment on the status of the refinery.The refinery, near Rotterdam, has the capacity to process 404,000 barrels per day of oil.The CNV…
Oil Prices Rise on Lower U.S. Stocks, OPEC+ Supply Cuts
Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday, boosted by a decline in U.S. inventories, ongoing supply cuts from OPEC and its allies, and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran.Brent crude futures were at $71.80 a barrel at 1313 GMT, up 18 cents from their last close and near Wednesday's five-month high of $72.27 a barrel.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.83 per barrel, up 7 cents.Both contracts traded slightly lower earlier in the day.U.S. crude inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels in the week to April 12, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed on Wednesday."The latest weekly statistics on U.S.
