Petrobras Divestment Plan Pushing Ahead
Petroleo Brasileiro SA is expanding its ambitious divestment program and has "bold" plans for future sales, the Brazilian state-run oil company's chief executive said after the firm reported its first annual profit in five years.On a post-results conference call with analysts on Thursday, CEO Roberto Castello Branco said selling non-core assets will be the key to reducing debt.Shallow-water and onshore fields are among the first on the block, while the company hopes to complete the…
US Offers Oil from Emergency Reserve
The U.S. Energy Department said on Thursday it is offering up to five million barrels of sweet crude oil from the national emergency reserve in a sale mandated by previous laws to raise funds to modernize the facility.Laws passed by Congress in previous years require the department to hold sales to pay for improvements to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve which is held in caverns on the coast of Texas and Louisiana.The delivery period for the oil will be from May 1 to May 14 for oil from the reserve's West Hackberry and Big Hill site, and from May 1 to may 31 from the Bryan Mound site.
US Rig Count Climbs
U.S. energy firms added oil rigs for a second week in a row even as oil prices fell to 1-1/2-year lows and headed for losses of more than 20 percent this year.Drillers added 2 oil rigs in the week to Dec. 28, bringing the total count to 885, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.For the month the rig count fell by 2, its first decline in six months. But for the quarter, the count was up 22, the fourth increase in a row.For the year the count was up 138.
US Oil Drillers Cut Rigs
U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for a second week in a row this week, prolonging a move by drillers over the past month to reduce the number of active rigs after crude prices collapsed in October and November.Drillers cut four oil rigs in the week to Dec. 14, bringing the total count down to 873, the lowest since mid October, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.More than half the total U.S. oil rigs are in the Permian Basin, the country's biggest shale oil formation.
Harvey's Rains Shut in More Refineries, Sending Fuel Prices Higher
U.S. fuel prices surged on Monday as two more Gulf Coast refiners cut output and a third considered reductions, leaving more than 13 percent of the country's refining capacity offline after Tropical Storm Harvey flooded plants and shut seaports. The storm swung back over the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and was expected to bring another 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 cm) of rain to the Houston area and up to 8 inches as far east as New Orleans, the National Weather Service said. Marathon Petroleum Corp's Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City…
US Drillers Add Oil Rigs for Second Week in Three
U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a second time in the last three weeks, extending a 15-month drilling recovery, but the pace of additions has slowed in recent months as firms cut spending plans in reaction to declining crude prices. Drillers added 3 oil rigs in the week to Aug. 11 bringing the total count up to 768, the most since April 2015. General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. That compares with 396 active oil rigs during the same week a year ago.
US Oil Stocks Drop, Gasoline Inventories Increase
U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week as refineries boosted output to the highest percentage of capacity in 12 years, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, but a surprise increase in gasoline stocks capped gains in oil prices. Crude inventories fell by 6.5 million barrels in the week to Aug. 4, compared with expectations for a decrease of 2.7 million barrels. The decline came as refiners boosted overall utilization rates to 96.3 percent of total capacity, the highest since August 2005, according to EIA data.
US Drillers Continue to Add Oil Rigs
U.S. energy firms added oil rigs for a record 21st week in a row, extending a year-long drilling recovery as producers boost spending on expectations crude prices will rise in future months. Drillers added 8 oil rigs in the week to June 9, bringing the total count up to 741, the most since April 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. That is more than double the same week a year ago when there were only 328 active oil rigs. The pace of those additions has slowed with a decline in crude prices over the past two months…
US Drillers Add Oil Rigs for 18th Week in a Row
U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for an 18th week in a row, the second-longest such streak on record, as expectations of higher crude prices have motivated drillers to boost monthly shale production to its highest level since mid-2015. Drillers added eight oil rigs in the week to May 19, bringing the total count to 720, the most since April 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. That is more than double the same week a year ago when there were only 318 active oil rigs. It was the second-longest run of weekly additions, according to Baker Hughes data going back to 1987.
US Drillers Add Oil Rigs for 13th Week in a Row
U.S. drillers added oil rigs for a 13th week in a row, with the number of active rigs rising to near a two-year high, as energy companies boost spending on new production to take advantage of a recovery in crude prices. Drillers added 11 oil rigs in the week to April 13, bringing the total count to 683, the highest since April 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Thursday. At this time a year ago, there were 351 active oil rigs. Much of the weekly gain can be attributed to Texas's Permian basin, which added eight rigs on the week.
Fire hits California refinery
An explosion and fire at an oil refinery in Torrance, California, on Saturday forced the partial shutdown of the plant, leading oil traders to expect a spike this week in West Coast gasoline prices. Police and the plant owner said no one was hurt in the fire, which was extinguished by local firefighters. Two years ago, a fire at the same plant led to its closure for several months and a sustained increase in West Coast gasoline prices for more than a year. After the fire on Saturday, a group of local residents worried about pollution and accidents protested at the refinery.
Trump Signs Orders Advancing Keystone, Dakota Pipelines
U.S. President Donald Trump signed orders on Tuesday smoothing the path for the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, rolling back key Obama administration environmental actions in favor of expanding energy infrastructure. While oil producers in Canada and North Dakota are expected to benefit from a quicker route for crude oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, going ahead with the projects would mark a bitter defeat for Native American tribes and climate activists, who vowed to fight the decisions through legal action.
Brazil Court Allows Petrobras to Sell Sergipe, Ceará Offshore Fields
A Brazilian court has ruled that state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA can continue a process to sell several offshore oil fields in the country's northeastern region. In securities filing on Monday, Petrobras said the Federal Regional Tribunal of the Fifth Region's decision allows the company to proceed with the sale of fields in the states of Ceará and Sergipe, although a final decision lies on a federal auditing court. The auditing court known as TCU suspended on Dec. 7 part of Petrobras' asset sale program to improve transparency in the process.
Peabody Extends Financing Deadlines after Creditor Lawsuit
Peabody Energy Corp said on Thursday the deadline for creditors to join financing deals aimed at bringing the largest U.S. coal miner out of bankruptcy had been extended after large investors sued to slow the process. Last week, Peabody unveiled its plan to eliminate more than $5 billion of debt and raise capital from creditors with a $750 million private placement and a $750 million rights offering. The financing agreements were funded by key creditors that signed on to a plan support agreement with Peabody…
Venezuela to Cut 95,000 bpd Crude Output in OPEC Deal
Venezuela said on Tuesday it will cut 95,000 barrels per day of oil production in the New Year in fulfillment of a producers' deal to reduce global output and strengthen prices. Jan. 1 marks the start of the pact by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and several non-OPEC producers to lower production by almost 1.8 million bpd. "Without prejudicing its international contractual obligations, from Jan. 1 2017, (state oil company) PDVSA and/or its subsidiaries will implement a reduction in the volumes of its main crude sale contracts…
US Drillers Add Oil Rigs for 8th Week in a Row -Baker Hughes
U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for an eighth week in a row, extending a seven-month drilling recovery as crude prices remained near a 17-month high. Drillers added 13 oil rigs in the week to Dec. 23, bringing the total count up to 523, the most since December 2015, but still below the 538 rigs seen a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. Since crude prices recovered from 13-year lows in February to around $50 a barrel in May, drillers have added a total of 207 oil rigs in 27 of the past 30 weeks…
US Drillers Add Oil Rigs for 7th Week in a Row
U.S. energy companies this week added oil rigs for a seventh week in a row, extending a seven-month drilling recovery as crude prices held near a 17-month high. Drillers added 12 oil rigs in the week to Dec. 16, bringing the total count to 510, the highest since January, but still below 541 rigs a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. Since crude prices briefly recovered from 13-year lows to around $50 a barrel in May, drillers have added oil rigs in 26 of the past 29 weeks for a total of 194…
Houston Refinery Worker's Death Due to Natural Causes
A worker found unconscious at Lyondell Basell Industries Houston refinery on Thursday died from natural causes, the Harris County medical examiner's office said on Friday. An autopsy found hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease to be the cause of death of the 56-year-old man, said Tricia Bentley, spokeswoman for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The worker was unresponsive when found at the refinery on Thursday morning. He was taken to a Houston-area hospital where he was declared dead. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
Oil at $55 to $65 a barrel would boost U.S. Rig Count - Kaplan
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan on Friday said that he would expect U.S. oil producers to ramp up their rig count once the price of crude rises to $55 to $65 a barrel. But, in comments to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on oil at his bank's Houston branch, he said it would be "challenging" to get to an OPEC freeze or cut in production, and said he is taking a wait-and-see approach. U.S. drillers added 19 rigs last week, the largest weekly gain in 16 months, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes. Although U.S.
Petrobras May Revise Prices Again within a Month, Director Says
Brazil's Petrobras refining and natural gas director, Jorge Celestino, said in a conference call with analysts on Friday that the state-controlled oil company may decide to make a new fuel price adjustment within a month. Petrobras' new pricing policy takes into consideration the exchange rate and the company's market share, among other factors, to set wholesale fuel prices at its refineries, Celestino said. Answering a question about the steep devaluation of the real against the dollar this week, the executive added that the company is allowed to do more than one pricing change a month.
