Amid Yemen Chaos, China Lifts More Oil
China has managed to export a large shipment of crude oil from Yemen over the weekend, ship-tracking data showed on Monday, despite mounting chaos in the country after the launch of Saudi-led air strikes last week. The 2 million barrel Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), Tai Hung San, left the Yemeni port of Ash Shihr on Sunday, and has been chartered by PetroChina's shipping-arm Glasford, the data showed. The supertanker was sailing towards the Chinese port of Qingdao on Monday after exiting the Gulf of Aden.
Bets on Brent Crude Rally are Rising
Hedge funds increased their bets on rising Brent crude oil prices last week to their highest since July 2014, exchange data showed on Monday, in a sign large speculators are positioning for a possible rebound. Money managers increased their net long positions in Brent futures and options by 7,585 contracts to 193,196 in the week to March 24, InterContinentalExchange (ICE) data showed, taking the difference between bets on rising and falling prices to the highest since July 14. Brent prices have roughly halved since last summer…
Oil Prices Surge after Saudi Air Strikes in Yemen
Brent crude surged by as more than 5 percent on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies began air strikes in Yemen, before paring gains by almost half to trade back near $58 a barrel. The military operation against Houthi rebels, who have driven the president from Yemen's capital Sanaa, has not disrupted oil facilities of major Gulf producers. But fears that the conflict could spread stoked concerns about the security of Middle East oil shipments. Saudi Arabia's rival Iran, which backs the Houthi militia group, denounced the assault.
Oil Falls to $55 on China Slowdown, Dollar Reversal
Brent crude oil fell towards $55 a barrel in choppy trading on Tuesday after the dollar firmed, adding pressure to a market grappling with signs of slowing Chinese growth and Saudi Arabian oil production close to an all-time high. The dollar reversed early losses to rise 0.25 percent against the euro, pressuring dollar-priced commodities that tend to move inversely to the U.S. currency. Brent futures for May delivery were down 49 cents at $55.43 by 1414 GMT, off an earlier high of $56.79, while U.S. crude rose 3 cents to $47.48 a barrel.
N.Sea Forties Echo Platform Back to Full Output
Production at the Forties Echo platform in the North Sea is back online, a spokesman for operator Apache North Sea said on Friday, after ramping up over the past three days. The platform, which is in the British section of the North Sea, was struck by a supply vessel on Monday morning, triggering emergency procedures including the evacuation of some staff and a temporary shutdown of production. The spokesman said output was now back at full speed having begun to restart on Tuesday evening. The investigation into the incident is ongoing…
Andurand Oil Hedge Fund up 13.5%
Energy hedge fund Andurand Capital was up 13.5 percent at the end of February, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday, as one of the world's most famous oil traders extended a winning run. French fund manager Pierre Andurand, who made almost 50 percent last year betting on the oil crash, returned about 10 percent in January and 3 percent in February, the source said, as crude stabilised after hitting a six-year low near $45 a barrel. Andurand, whose career included stints at Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs and commodities trading giant Vitol…
Andurand Oil Hedge Fund up 13.5 pct
Energy hedge fund Andurand Capital was up 13.5 percent at the end of February, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday, as one of the world's most famous oil traders extended a winning run. French fund manager Pierre Andurand, who made almost 50 percent last year betting on the oil crash, returned about 10 percent in January and 3 percent in February, the source said, as crude stabilised after hitting a six-year low near $45 a barrel. Andurand, whose career included stints at Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs and commodities trading giant Vitol…
Oil Falls to $54 as Kuwait Forces Refocus on Oversupply
Brent crude oil fell back towards $54 a barrel on Thursday after Kuwait said OPEC had no choice but to keep production steady, refocusing the market on global oversupply. Brent had rallied by more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve indicated it would raise U.S. interest rates slower than previously thought, overshadowing data showing U.S. crude stocks at a record level. The dollar fell by its most in six years after the comments from the Fed, boosting oil and metals priced in the greenback as they became cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Oil Falls to $55, Dollar and Supplies Weigh
Kuwait says OPEC has no choice but to keep output steady. LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil fell back to $55 a barrel on Thursday after Kuwait said OPEC had no choice but to keep production steady, refocusing the market on global oversupply as the dollar recovered from sharp losses in the previous session. Brent had rallied by more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve indicated it would raise U.S. interest rates slower than previously thought, overshadowing data showing U.S. crude stocks at a record level.
N. Sea Forties Echo Platform Shut after Collision
The Forties Echo platform in the North Sea has been shut after being hit by a supply vessel, a spokesman for operator Apache North Sea said on Monday. Fifteen workers were taken off the platform and transferred to the nearby Forties Bravo platform following the collision, which happened at about 0840 GMT on Monday morning, the spokesman said. Another 15 remain on the platform. The spokesman also confirmed there had been no leak of hydrocarbons, but was unable to give a restart date for production.
Libya Exports Three Oil Tankers from Western Mellitah Port
Oil and condensate has been exported at least three times from the Libyan port of Mellitah since the start of this month, according to industry sources and ship-tracking data, a surprise move with other terminals in the west of the country largely shut. The North African OPEC member is split between two rival governments each allied to heavily armed groups that have been fighting for control of the oil-producing nation since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The Mellitah port, not far from Libya's western border with Tunisia…
Oil Above $60, Saudis See Stability
Saudi oil minister says market will balance. Brent crude oil steadied above $60 a barrel on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia's oil minister said he expected the oil market to balance itself. Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said he hoped and expected the oil market to balance and prices, which hit a nearly six-year low around $45 in January, to stabilise, adding to signs OPEC's largest exporter is confident that demand is growing. "I hope and expect supply and demand to balance and for prices to stabilise," Naimi said in a speech in Berlin.
Oil Storage at Sea Stalls as Profit Play Fades
Traders are cutting plans to use tankers to store oil at sea as the price incentive recedes, the global head of oil at mining and commodities group Glencore's said on Tuesday. In January, the price of spot oil was around 50 percent lower than a peak hit in June, enabling traders to potentially make money by storing crude for delivery months down the line, when prices were expected to recover. Tanker industry sources estimated in late January that the volume of oil booked for floating storage had reached up to 50 million barrels.
Cold Snap has European Traders Eyeing Diesel Exports to US
Diesel and heating oil exports will increase to the United States from Europe, traders said, reversing the usual flow, as refineries on the U.S. East Coast struggle against extreme cold that has partly frozen the Delaware River. On Friday New York heating oil's premium to European gasoil spiked to its highest level since the January 2014 'polar vortex', as temperatures dropped as low as -18 degrees centigrade (-0.4 Fahrenheit), knocking a number of key refineries offline. Traditionally the United States has sent diesel to Europe…
Libyan Oil Exports All but Shut Off as Violence Spreads
Libya's oil exports have collapsed to just a trickle from two small offshore platforms, officials and industry sources said on Tuesday, as violence in the country has shut all major ports. Not a single crude oil tanker has departed Libya in the past week, industry sources say and ship tracking shows, with supplies to the last operating port of Hariga disrupted over the weekend by a pipeline fire. While the sabotaged line to Hariga may be repaired in the coming days, the collapse in oil exports to the lowest level since the 2011 civil war is another illustration of how the country is on the brink.
Genel's Hayward: Iraq Oil Growth Overstated
The head of Iraqi Kurdistan-focused oil producer Genel said Tuesday that Iraq's crude output would grow far slower than many expect, as the drop in oil prices reduces investments and stokes instability in the country. Genel's chief executive, Tony Hayward, the former CEO of oil major BP, said the world has entered a new era of lower oil prices, predicting that they would not recover to the $110 a barrel level they averaged between 2011 and 2013 in the next few years. "It is very clear Iraq will not be able to deliver the quantum of production growth that is baked into people's supply assumptions…
Vitol: Oil Market Balance in Second Half
Vitol Chief Executive Ian Taylor said on Tuesday he expected a "dramatic" build in oil stocks over the next few months but that supply and demand in the oil market would move into balance in the second half of this year. Taylor, speaking at the International Petroleum Week industry conference, said he expected U.S. crude oil supplies to grow over the next few years but at slower levels. Reporting by David Sheppard and Ron Bousso
Rosneft Slams OPEC, Warns on Possible Oil Shortage
The head of top Russian oil producer Rosneft criticised OPEC policy on Tuesday and warned lower oil output as a result of falls in crude prices may lead to a supply shortage as early as the fourth quarter. Oil prices collapsed in 2014 in a decline that deepened after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a producer group of which Russia is not a member, in November chose not to cut its own output. "OPEC has lost its teeth," Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin said through an official translator at London's IP Week, an annual industry event.
Brent slips to $49 on U.S. Crude Stocks
U.S. crude stocks up 12.7 mln barrels last week (API). Oil slipped to $49 a barrel on Wednesday after an industry report said U.S. crude stocks rose by the most in two decades last week, and as a firmer dollar added to pressure on prices. The American Petroleum Institute said late on Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks jumped by a massive 12.7 million barrels last week, triple the volume expected, and including a 2 million barrel increase at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point of the U.S. oil contract. If confirmed by official data from the U.S.
OPEC: Oil Price Drop Impact Others Quickly
OPEC sharply raised its forecast of demand for its own oil in 2015, saying the halving in prices since June would slow production in the United States and other countries much faster than previously thought. In a monthly report issued on Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast demand for the group's oil will average 29.21 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2015, up 430,000 bpd from its previous figure. OPEC slashed its forecast for the rate of growth in non-OPEC supply by 420,000 bpd from last month's report to 850,000 bpd, partly due to a slowdown in the U.S.
