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.
Sandia’s Combustion Research Facility Celebrates 40th
The weather on March 6, 1981, was nothing too remarkable for the San Francisco Bay Area — a little drizzle with temperatures in the 50s and fairly calm wind. The remarkable event that day was taking place on Sandia National Laboratories’ California campus, but even those who participated in the opening of the newly built Combustion Research Facility had no idea how much that institution would change the world.
Oil Slips Below $80 After Saudi Pledges Rapid Output Rise
Oil slipped below $80 a barrel on Monday as Saudi Arabia pledged to raise its crude production to a record, two weeks before U.S. sanctions potentially choke off Iranian crude supplies.Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told Russia's TASS news agency that his country had no intention of unleashing a 1973-style oil embargo on Western consumers, but rather was focused on raising output to compensate for supply losses elsewhere…
Oil Prices Rise as Iranian Crude Exports Fall
Oil prices rose on Tuesday on growing evidence of falling crude exports from Iran, OPEC's third-largest producer, before the imposition of new U.S. sanctions and a partial shutdown in the Gulf of Mexico because of Hurricane Michael.Benchmark Brent crude jumped by $1.13 a barrel to a high of $85.04 before easing back to $84.56, up 65 cents, by 1330 GMT. Brent hit a four-year high of $86.74 last week but slipped as low as $82.66 on Monday.U.S.
Oil Slips as Trade War Worries Outweigh Iran Sanctions
Oil prices slipped on Friday as concerns over the impact of a global trade war depressed sentiment, although impending U.S. sanctions on Iran and falling Venezuelan output limited losses.Benchmark Brent crude oil was down 40 cents at $77.37 a barrel by 1310 GMT. U.S. light crude was 30 cents lower at $69.95.U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to withdraw from the World Trade Organization, his…
Firms Complain of Contaminated Crude Lifted From U.S. SPR
Three firms that bought crude oil last year from U.S. emergency stockpiles raised concerns about dangerous levels of a poisonous chemical in the cargoes, according to internal Energy Department emails and shipping documents reviewed by Reuters. Problems with crude quality would make the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) less useful in an emergency because refiners would need to spend time and money removing contamination before producing fuel.
No US Plan to Call for Oil Embargo on North Korea
A U.S. official said Washington had no plans on Tuesday to call for the U.N. Security Council to impose an oil embargo on North Korea. The U.N. Security Council planned to meet shortly on Tuesday to discuss North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch. The United States has proposed the 15-member council agree a statement condemning the launch. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
For North Korea, Cutting Off Oil Supplies Would Be Devastating
Isolated North Korea doesn't consume much oil, but curbing or cutting off its supplies in retaliation for further nuclear or long-range missile tests would be painful and potentially destabilising to the regime of Kim Jong Un. U.S. Separately, the Global Times, an influential Chinese tabloid whose stance does not necessarily reflect official policy, said in an editorial on Wednesday that "Chinese society" would approve of "severe restrictive measures that have never been seen before…
Trump Signs Order Sweeping away Obama-era Climate Policies
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to undo a slew of Obama-era climate change regulations that his administration says is hobbling oil drillers and coal miners, a move environmental groups have vowed to take to court. The decree's main target is former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan that required states to slash carbon emissions from power plants - a critical element…
As Trump Targets Energy Rules, Oil Companies Downplay their Impact
President Donald Trump’s White House has said his plans to slash environmental regulations will trigger a new energy boom and help the United States drill its way to independence from foreign oil. But the top U.S. oil and gas companies have been telling their shareholders that regulations have little impact on their business, according to a Reuters review of U.S. securities filings from the top producers. In annual reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 13 of the 15 biggest U.S.
U.S. to Sell Sweet Oil from Reserve
The U.S. Department of Energy expects to begin sales of roughly 8 million barrels of sweet crude from the country's emergency oil reserve in early to mid-January, according to a notice sent to potential bidders and seen by Reuters on Friday. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil will come from the Big Hill and Big Mound, Texas storage sites, and West Hackberry, Louisiana facility, the notice said. Delivery of the oil will begin on March 1 but buyers can take the oil as early as February, the notice said.
Trump's Empty Threat to Stop Buying Saudi Oil: Kemp
President-elect Donald Trump is very unlikely to restrict imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia despite threats to do so issued during the election campaign. Trump is first and foremost a showman and impresario rather than a policy wonk. Much of what he said on the campaign trail was intended to mobilise support rather than provide a detailed programme for government. The media "never takes (Trump) seriously but it always takes him literally.
U.S. Advances Oil Reserve Revamp Plan, Potential Crude Sale
The Obama administration has sent Congress a plan to modernize the country's emergency oil reserve, a step that could set in motion a sale of about 8 million barrels from the stash later this year to help pay for the revamp, the Energy Department said on Wednesday. Under the $1.5-$2 billion revamp plan, three dedicated marine terminals would be added to the Strategic Petroleum (SPR), a string of 60 heavily-guarded underground caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts.
U.S. Hopes to Flex Energy Muscle with Oil Reserve Makeover
The United States boasts the world's largest stash of emergency oil supplies, yet the country's ability to influence global crude markets with releases from that reserve has waned. The Obama administration hopes to fix that problem with an overhaul of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, and details about its plans should be revealed in coming weeks. The Energy Department is expected to send Congress a report detailing a proposal to modernize the SPR…
Is U.S. Gasoline Consumption Overstated?
Strong growth in U.S. gasoline consumption has been one of the most important factors supporting oil prices in 2016, but some analysts question whether the official data is overstating the strength of gasoline demand. U.S. gasoline consumption has been running at a record seasonal rate since February, according to weekly data published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its "Weekly Petroleum Status Report" (WPSR).
House Expected to Pass Bill Axing US Oil Export Ban
A bill to repeal the U.S. oil export ban was expected to pass the House of Representatives on Friday, but faces an uncertain future after a veto threat by President Barack Obama. U.S. representatives on Friday morning debated the bill, sponsored by Joe Barton a Republican of Texas, and were slated to vote on it later in the day. Oil policy analyst Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners expected the bill to pass the Republican-led House…
Conoco CEO: Lifting U.S. Oil Export Ban on Wish List
The head of U.S. The comments come amid intensifying debate in Washington on whether to reverse the 40-year-old ban, imposed after the Arab oil embargo. A Republican-sponsored bill to repeal it passed the House of Representatives last week, but faces an uncertain future after a veto threat by President Barack Obama. "Allowing exports would ... help save existing jobs and create new jobs," Conoco's CEO, Ryan Lance…
Senator Urges Obama Admin to Detail Oil Swaps with Mexico
One of the U.S. Senate's top advocates for lifting the ban on domestic crude exports urged the Commerce Department on Thursday to disclose whether any oil swaps with Mexico have actually been finalized after the agency approved the transactions in August. Administration officials told Reuters in August that the Commerce Department was "acting favorably on a number of applications" to export U.S. crude in exchange for imported oil from Mexico, in a step seen as loosening the ban on most crude oil exports.
IEA Chief Trusts Saudi to Act Responsibly
The head of the oil consumers' watchdog group said on Thursday that he believed top exporter Saudi Arabia would "act responsibly" in the market, citing its reputation in helping balance global supplies. The comments by Fatih Birol, who took over the top role at the International Energy Agency in September, came in response to a report that the kingdom would make a surprise proposal to other OPEC members meeting in Vienna to cut output next year, provided certain stringent conditions were met.
U.S. Poised to Lift 40-yr Oil Export Ban
The United States appears on the brink of ending a four-decade-old ban on most exports of crude oil, an abrupt end to a years-long fight triggered by the domestic shale boom. Late on Tuesday evening congressional negotiators wrapped up a sprawling deal to keep the U.S. government operating through next September that included repealing the ban and granting temporary tax breaks to boost wind and solar development, according to lawmakers involved in the talks.
