TSX Futures Rise as Oil Supports; US Election in Focus
Crude prices lifted futures linked to Canada's major stock index on Monday as investors prepared for the highly anticipated U.S. Presidential election this week and Federal Reserve policy decision. At 6:00 a.m., December futures for the S&P/TSX Index were up 0.4%. ET (11:00 GMT). As polls show, Donald Trump and Kamalah Harris are in a close race for the U.S. elections on Tuesday. The United States is Canada's largest trading partner. This means that the result of the election will have a significant impact on Canada's markets and economy.
Colombia and Ecuador battle to protect vital wetlands during drought
As water and energy restrictions hit both countries, rural communities in Colombia and Ecuador fight to protect fragile high altitude wetlands which regulate the area's waters cycles. Scientists say that climate change and human activity have exacerbated the effects of El Nino, which has led to drought in Colombia and Ecuador. The grassroots activists of the two countries have worked with international advocacy groups such as Conservation International to save water and protect the high altitude wetlands called paramos.
Ecuador orders a series of power outages due to drought
The government of Ecuador announced late Monday that it would implement eight-hour power cuts every night across the Andean nation next week. It cited a severe dry spell which had caused water levels in hydroelectric plants to plummet. The government of Ecuador has declared a power shortage, which it attributes to the lack of maintenance on existing dams, the failure to sign contracts for new power generation and the worst drought the country has experienced in 61 years. The government announced in a blog post on X that power cuts would begin on September 23 at 10:00 p.m.
US CFTC fines energy traders
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading SA on August 27 to pay a fine of $48 million for alleged gasoline price manipulation. Ian McGinley, CFTC Director of Enforcement, said that the CFTC had "guarded the integrity of the market in numerous cases during the past 20 years" by detecting these benchmark-related scheme and prosecuting them. The U.S. regulator has fined several companies for what they call oil and gas market malpractice. Here are some examples. The CFTC fined TOTSA $48 million in March 2018 for attempted market manipulation.
After historic oil vote, little progress in Ecuador's Amazon
In the Amazon, on August 20, 2023, almost 60% of the population voted to keep crude oil in the ground. Environmentalists and Indigenous Communities hailed the referendum as a historic victory for protecting one of the most biodiverse areas of the planet and a rare instance of the shift away from fossil fuel based economies. The Amazon rainforest is vital in slowing climate change because it absorbs huge amounts of carbon dioxide. The state oil company, Petroecuador was asked to shut down operations and dismantle the Yasuni "43-ITT" oil block…
Gran Tierra Energy, a Canadian company, offers $226 million to buy UK-based i3 Energy.
The shares of i3 Energy jumped up to 33.7% in the morning on Tuesday after Canada's Gran Tierra Energy made an offer to purchase the British oil producer for 174.1 million pounds (226.23 millions). The implied value of the deal is 13.92 pences per i3 Energy's share. This represents a 49% premium to its closing price on August 16, which was listed in London. At 0804 GMT, i3 shares rose 26.27% to 12.16p. Gran Tierra Energy hopes to build an independent energy company with scale in the Americas.
US Steps Up Heavy Crude Imports
U.S. refiners last month imported the most heavy crude in nearly two years, customs data showed, as they cranked up motor fuel production and sought to replace sanctioned Russian oil.Higher heavy-crude imports are common in summer-driving months, but this year's increase comes as the Biden administration is calling on for refiners to ramp up output and shave profit margins to ease soaring prices. The administration has asked for a parley to explore further efforts.Heavy crudes are cheaper than lighter shale oils produced in the United States and typically make more diesel and less gasoline.
New Offshore Acreage Licensing to Drop 60% in 2020, Rystad says
Newly licensed offshore oil and gas exploration acreage is likely to fall by about 60% and onshore acreage by 30% compared with 2019 levels, Rystad Energy has said, as the Norwegian energy market analytics company expects more than half of the world’s planned licensing rounds to be canceled this year due to the combined effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the low oil prices."This year was slated to be another remarkable year for exploration with about 45 countries launching at least 52 lease rounds, about 60% of them in offshore areas.
Ecuador Scrambles to Contain Oil Spill in Amazon Region
Ecuadorean authorities on Thursday were scrambling to limit the environmental impact of a crude oil spill in the country's Amazon region, where pipeline bursts prompted by a landslide this week caused crude to enter the Coca river.The Energy Ministry said in a Wednesday evening statement that it had placed barriers around the spill in an area home to several indigenous communities and near the source of drinking water for the city of El Coca, with some 45,000 residents.State-run Petroecuador…
Oil Prices Creep Higher on U.S.-China Hopes and OPEC Talks
Oil prices crept upwards on Monday, with Brent reaching its highest in more than a month after the previous day's boost from growing expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal and Iran flagging OPEC discussions over a deeper output cut next month.Brent crude futures for January rose 91 cents to $62.60 a barrel by 1429 GMT, erasing earlier losses. December U.S. crude futures also swung back into positive territory, up 94 cents at $57,14 a barrel. Both reached peaks last seen in late September.Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S.
Russian Oil Output Down in October
Russia lowered its oil output to 11.23 million barrels per day (bpd) last month from 11.25 million bpd in September, missing again its obligations under a global pact to curb production, energy ministry data showed on Saturday.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers - a group known as OPEC+ - have since January implemented a deal to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day to support the market.According to Reuters calculations, which use a tonnes/barrel ratio of 7.33…
Operations Suspended at Ecuador Oilfields Amid Protests
Ecuadoran state-run oil company Petroamazonas EP suspended operations at three oil fields in the Amazon region on Monday, the country's energy ministry said, as protests against austerity measures convulse the country.Taken together, the suspensions could reduce crude output by 59,450 barrels per day (bpd) if not lifted, the ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter. It added that the suspension took place after the fields were "taken" by "individuals not affiliated with the operation…
Ecuador to Quit OPEC in 2020
Ecuador, one of the smallest members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said on Tuesday it will leave the 14-nation bloc from Jan. 1 due to fiscal problems.The Andean nation is attempting to increase crude production to raise more income and has on multiple occasions broken its output quota fixed by OPEC."The decision is based on the issues and internal challenges that the country must take on related to fiscal sustainability," the energy ministry said in a statement…
Oxy Enters Four Blocks in Southern Colombia
U.S.-based oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp has partnered with Amerisur Resources Plc on four exploration and production blocks in southern Colombia, near the border with Ecuador, the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) said on Tuesday.The Tacacho, Terecay, PUT-9 and Mecaya blocks are in the jungle region of Putumayo, one of the provinces with the greatest potential for oil discovery.Amerisur, which will continue as operator of the blocks, ceded 50% of its participation in the blocks to Occidental, the ANH said."These are four very important blocks in Putumayo, a very prospective area of the c
Guyana Puts Oil Auctions on Hold
Guyana has put planned oil auctions on hold as the impoverished South American country works to establish a Department of Energy to oversee the energy boom, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said on Monday.Since 1999, Guyana has awarded a group led by Exxon Mobil Corp hundreds of oil blocks along Guyana's maritime borders with Venezuela and Suriname. Their finds are turning Guyana, a country with no history of oil production and relaxed energy regulation, into one of Latin America's hottest prospects for oil investments.Exxon…
Bomin Exits Bunker Markets in Singapore, Antwerp
The Bomin Group, a supplier of marine fuels, has announced that it will exit the bunker markets in Singapore and Antwerp.Going forward Bomin will operate from only two offices: Houston and Hamburg. The two offices will serve all Bomin customers in all German ports, the US Gulf Coast, Panama, Norfolk, and Ecuador.“The Bomin group is in a transformation and restructuring process and intense competition and low margins characterize the situation in all major ports,” says Jan Christensen, Managing Director of Bomin Group.
International Tribunal Rules in Favor of Chevron in Ecuador Case
Chevron Corp said on Friday an international tribunal ruled in its favor and that Ecuador had violated its obligations under international treaties.The tribunal unanimously held that a $9.5 billion pollution judgment by Ecuador's Supreme Court against Chevron "was procured through fraud, bribery and corruption and was based on claims that had been already settled and released by the Republic of Ecuador years earlier."The tribunal was administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.Reporting by Karan Nagarkatti in Bengaluru
Schlumberger Introduces MEMS Gyro Surveying Service
Schlumberger has introduced the GyroSphere MEMS gyro-while-drilling service at Offshore Northern Seas (ONS). The GyroSphere service responds to the needs of E&P companies for a faster and more rugged, gyro-surveying while-drilling tool that increases drilling efficiency and reliability while reducing drilling risks.As the first application of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology for gyro surveying while drilling in the oilfield, the GyroSphere sensor performs gyro surveys faster than conventional systems and avoids the need for recalibration between runs.
Exxon Expects More Oil from Guyana's Offshore Block
Exxon Mobil Corp and its partners now expect the large Stabroek oil block offshore Guyana to contain about 25 percent more recoverable resources than estimated, they said on Monday.Exxon and U.S.-based partner Hess Corp said more than 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent could be recovered from the Stabroek block, which is part of one of the biggest oil discoveries in the world in the last decade.The previous estimate was 3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil producer…
Canada Dreams of Oil Exports to Asia, but California Beckons
The nationalization of a crude oil export pipeline in western Canada has buoyed long-standing hopes for crude exports to markets beyond the United States - but the most likely destination for much of that oil is California. Faced with declining production from Latin America and rising prices for higher-grade crudes from the Middle East, the Golden State is importing more oil from Canada - much of it via the Trans Mountain pipeline, which Kinder Morgan Canada last month sold to Ottawa for C$4.5 billion ($3.5 billion).
