Saudi Attacks, High Demand Leaves U.S. Short on Oil Tankers
A disruption in global oil flows following attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities has left U.S. crude exporters without enough tankers to cover rising demand for cargoes, traders and shipping sources said.Missile attacks last Saturday temporarily cut Saudi oil production by more than 5 million barrels per day, or about half the country's output.That set off a scramble for alternative cargoes of crude, particularly in the United States, which lined up available tankers sailing from the Mediterranean, West Africa and continental Europe to pick up cargoes.
Oil Prices Jump 2% After Tanker Attacks
Oil prices settled 2.2% higher on Thursday after attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman stoked concerns of reduced crude trade flows through one of the world's key shipping routes.The attacks near Iran and the Strait of Hormuz reignited worries about an impact to flows from the Middle East if insurance companies begin to reduce coverage for voyages through the region and additional shipping companies suspend new bookings, analysts said.Such a disruption "could further exacerbate the supply problem…
Versalis, Petrochem JV for O&G Industry in Middle East
Versalis, the Eni chemical company, Petrochem and Mazrui Energy Services have signed an agreement to establish Versalis Petrochem Mazrui (VPM), a joint venture for the commercialization of innovative chemicals for the Oil & Gas industry in the Middle East.Petrochem, a manufacturer of drilling fluids, is a Mazrui Energy Services Company. Mazrui Energy Services, a service company in the Oil & Gas industry in the Middle East, is a Mazrui International Company.The new company…
Oil Prices Retreat from 3-1/2 Year High
Crude prices fell on Tuesday in volatile trading after early gains lifted the U.S. benchmark past $75 a barrel for the first time in more than three years, which prompted traders to book some profits ahead of the U.S. July Fourth holiday. Crude rallied early on supply concerns, then slid as traders booked profits. U.S. light crude was down 25 cents to $73.69 a barrel by 12:43 p.m. EDT, rebounding from a session low of $72.73 a barrel. In early trade, the contract rose as high as $75.27, a 3-1/2 year high.
U.S. Crude Hits $75 as Oil Supply Risks Mount
U.S. crude oil prices rose above $75 a barrel for the first time since 2014 on Tuesday after Iran appeared to threaten to disrupt oil shipments from the Middle East Gulf if Washington pressed ahead with sanctions."The Americans have claimed they want to completely stop Iran's oil exports," the website, president.ir, quoted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as saying. "They don't understand the meaning of this statement, because it has no meaning for Iranian oil not to be exported…
Physical Oil Market Tightens as Refiners Scramble for Crude: Kemp
Physical crude markets are at last showing signs of tightening as record refinery consumption in the United States coincides with a slowdown in oil exports from the Middle East Gulf. U.S. refineries processed an average of almost 17.3 million barrels of crude per day last week, an increase of 620,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared with the same week in 2016. Fuel consumption by U.S. motorists remains largely flat but U.S. refineries are seeing higher…
GustoMSC Debuts Self-propelled Cantilever Jack-up
The NG-5500X-LD is the latest design in GustoMSC’s series of self-propelled jack-up designs, the NG series. Based on the NG-2500X and NG-1800X designs, the NG-5500X-LD is a solution for light drilling and well intervention in a large number of mature fields in the Southern North Sea, Middle East and South East Asia. The conditions of these fields are characterized by water depths of up to 50 to 80 meters pending the region, traditionally the domain of classic drilling jack-ups and tender barges.
Traders Lose Millions as LPG Glut Routs Market
U.S. propane buyers cancel cargoes as prices sink. Chinese end-users seek to wriggle out of expensive contracts. Traders in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market face a "career-ruining" glut that has led to millions of dollars in losses as Chinese buyers, far from coming to the rescue, are in a stand-off with oil companies to cancel deals. LPG, a historically niche and dislocated market, has ballooned with the advent of U.S. exports due to the shale boom.
Survival of Fittest for 2016 Commodity Shippers
Downturn in dry freight market started in 2008; more ships expected to hit the water next year. Shipping companies that transport commodities such as coal, iron ore and grain face a painful year ahead, with only the strongest expected to weather a deepening crisis caused by tepid demand and a surplus of vessels for hire. The predicament facing firms that ship commodities in large unpackaged amounts - known as dry bulk - is partly the result of slower coal and iron ore demand from leading global importer China in the second half of 2015.
Kemp: Caught in the Cross-Fire Non-OPEC, Non-Shale Producers
The biggest losers from the current price war between OPEC and the shale producers seem set to be producers outside the Middle East and North America caught in the cross-fire. Expensive production from the North Sea, Canada's oil sands, offshore megaprojects, weaker African and Latin American members of OPEC, and frontier exploration areas around the world are all being squeezed hard by the price slump. According to oilfield services company Baker Hughes…
Glut Drags Oil to 4-Month Low
Chinese stocks fall 8 pct on Monday on growth worries; Brent falls to four-month low of $53.63 a barrel. Oil hit four-month lows on Monday after a steep drop in Chinese stock markets and on more evidence of a global supply glut that has halved prices over the past year. Chinese stocks tumbled more than 8 percent on Monday, the biggest one-day drop in eight years, showing an unprecedented government rescue effort to prop up valuations has run out of steam.
First Iranian Ship Storing Oil Sails for Asia After Nuclear Deal
An Iranian supertanker with two million barrels of oil is heading to Asia after sitting in Iranian waters for months, the first vessel storing crude offshore to sail after a nuclear deal this week, data showed on Thursday. Iran and six major world powers reached a landmark nuclear deal on Tuesday, clearing the way for an easing of international sanctions on Tehran and higher oil exports. While oil analysts do not expect Iran to make a major return to the market until next year, it has been parking millions of barrels of oil on tankers for months.
OPEC Sees More Balanced 2016 Oil Market
OPEC sees world oil demand growth to increase in 2016; U.S. oil output growth to fall sharply next year. The global oil market should be more balanced next year as China and the developing world increase oil consumption while supply of shale oil from North America and other regions grows more slowly, OPEC said on Monday. In its monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said it expected world oil demand to increase by 1.34 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2016, up from growth of 1.28 million bpd this year.
Oil at 2015 High as Libya Output Slows
North Sea Brent crude reaches new 2015 high; Libyan oil port of Zueitina closed by protesters. Brent crude oil hit a high for the year above $67 a barrel on Tuesday after protests stopped crude flows to the eastern Libyan oil port of Zueitina, hampering exports. Zueitina was one of the few Libyan ports still exporting oil as many others have closed due to fighting or disruptions at oilfields since the ousting of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Oil Prices Severely Impact Latin America
Latin America's oil producers have become caught in the crossfire between OPEC and the North American shale drillers. The number of onshore rigs drilling for oil and gas in the region fell to just 272 in January, from 339 in July 2014, according to data published on Friday by oilfield services company Baker Hughes. In both absolute and percentage terms the slowdown in onshore drilling is worse than in any other area outside the United States (http://link.reuters.com/pyp93w).
Floating Storage at Sea Stalls Despite Falling Oil Prices
Despite falling oil prices, traders in recent weeks have booked just a few tankers to store cargoes at sea as higher freight costs outweigh any profit play for now. This is partly due to expectation among tanker owners for higher rates in the final quarter of the year. That means oil traders will have to pay a premium to lease vessels for longer periods as shipping firms remain reluctant to tie up vessels given the potential for quicker earnings. "Owners will not do storage and miss out on the spot rallies to come," a tanker market source said.
Mideast Crude Tanker Rates Near 3-month Low
Crude oil tanker earnings on the major Middle East route fell to their lowest in nearly three months as a slowdown in business in recent days battered rate sentiment. The world's benchmark VLCC export route from the Middle East Gulf (MEG) to Japan <DFRT-ME-JAP> on Monday reached W37.93 in the worldscale measure of freight rates, or $8,142 a day when translated into average earnings - its lowest since June 23. That compared with W38.25 or $8,827 a day on Friday and W42.68 or $15,142 a day last Monday.
Russia's Energy Minister to Meet OPEC as Oil Price Falls More
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak will meet OPEC officials on Tuesday in Vienna, his spokeswoman said, as oil's price fall piled pressure on Moscow's budget. The annual meeting had been planned long before oil fell below the $100 per barrel level critical for Russia's oil sales which account for 40 percent of state budget revenues. Russia suffered from a decline of oil production and prices this year and has cut its outlook for oil output as core Western Siberian fields become more depleted.
Brent Oil Hits 26-month Low Under US$97
Brent crude oil on Monday slumped to its lowest in over two years, below $97 per barrel as lacklustre economic data from China, the world's top energy consumer, cast a shadow over the outlook for oil demand at a time of abundant supply. * U.S. China's factory output grew at the weakest pace in nearly six years in August, while growth in other key sectors also cooled, raising fears the world's second-largest economy may be at risk of a sharp slowdown.
Slow Bookings Pressure Long-range Tanker Rates
Long-range clean tanker rates were softer on Wednesday as business was slow, with weaker sentiment keeping rates under pressure. Larger Long-Range 2 or LR2, 75,000 tonne shipments on the Middle East Gulf to Japan (MEG-JPN) route were at W115.50 or $21,207 a day on Wednesday. That compared with W116.00 or $21,380 a day on Tuesday and W118.83 or $22,618 a day last Wednesday. "The LR2 market in the East has come down another 2.5 points this week as we are now looking at W115 for MEG-JPN," broker Fearnleys said on Wednesday.
