Angola Battles to Revive Oil Exploration
On Saturday, nearly two decades after securing the initial rights, Total's CEO Patrick Pouyanné was in Luanda to snip the ribbon on a $16 billion oil project. It's not clear when he, or his peers, will be cracking open the bubbly in Angola again.Without another mega-project like Total's Kaombo on the horizon and fields getting old…
Will OPEC Freeze Output in Sept? Kemp
OPEC and non-OPEC countries are again flirting with the idea of a production freeze to accelerate oil-market rebalancing, according to recent statements by several oil ministers. "Rebalancing is already taking place," Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih observed in comments published on Saturday, which had already leaked on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia's Oil Reserves: How Big Are They Really? Kemp
"How much oil lies beneath the desert sands of Saudi Arabia and how long will it last before running out?" is a question that has intrigued and confounded oil experts for five decades. The kingdom has proven reserves of 266 billion barrels according to government estimates submitted to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ("Annual Statistical Bulletin", OPEC, 2015).
Oil Rises Back Over $48
Oil prices rose above $48 a barrel on Thursday, propelled by technical buying and as investors re-evaluated U.S. data that showed falling stockpiles of fuel as well as higher crude inventories. Brent for December delivery rose 51 cents to $48.36 a barrel by 1056 GMT. The global crude benchmark finished down 86 cents, or 1.8 percent, on Wednesday, after hitting $47.50, its lowest since early October. U.S.
No Talk of OPEC, Non-OPEC Oil Output Cuts
A meeting on Wednesday of oil experts from OPEC and non-member countries aimed at tackling the market's decline yielded no discussion of possible production cuts by nations inside or outside the exporter group, delegates from OPEC and Russia said. (Reporting by Alex Lawler and Vladimir Soldatkin)
Non-OPEC Countries Largely Shun Latest Meeting
Only five non-OPEC countries have sent representatives to a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil market experts that began on Wednesday at the petroleum exporter group's Vienna headquarters. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had invited eight non-member nations including Russia for talks on the market, ahead of OPEC's policy-setting meeting on Dec.
OPEC, non-OPEC Meeting Unlikely to Produce Cuts
Oil experts, not ministers, to meet Oct.21; OPEC delegates downplay Venezuela's ideas. A meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil market experts this week is unlikely to increase the prospect of joint co-operation on supply curbs or show much support for Venezuela's proposed price band, OPEC delegates and analysts said. The Organization…
OPEC, Non-OPEC Experts to Talk
A meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil market experts this week is unlikely to increase the prospect of joint co-operation on supply curbs or show much support for Venezuela's proposed price band, OPEC delegates and analysts said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has invited eight non-member countries including Russia for talks on the market at its Vienna headquarters on Wednesday.
Oil Eases Below $50 on Supply, China Concerns
IEA sees global oil supply glut through 2016. Oil eased further below $50 a barrel on Wednesday, falling for a third day, on concern a supply glut will persist and demand slow down as economic growth moderates in No. 2 consumer China. Chinese growth for the third quarter is expected to fall below 7 percent for the first time since the global financial crisis.
Libya's Official Government Bids for Oil Cash
Libya's Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni has said his government would run its own oil sales and deposit revenues abroad in a bid to divert proceeds away from a rival self-declared administration in Tripoli. Crude revenues are at the heart of a battle for control of the North African OPEC producer that has pitted the two rival governments against each other in a growing conflict…
Bakken Oil Wells and the Red Queen's Revenge
More than 22,000 wells have been drilled in North Dakota since oil was discovered in 1951, but over half of state production comes from around 4,000 wells drilled since the start of 2013. By the end of Oct 2014, there were nearly 11,900 wells producing oil and gas in the state. The rest proved dry, or had been shut in or plugged and abandoned as output has dwindled.
Behavioral Explanations Make Sense of Oil's Plunge
"The market is not a weighing machine, on which the value of each issue is recorded by an exact and impersonal mechanism," Benjamin Graham and David Dodd wrote in their landmark work on "Security Analysis" in 1934. Graham and Dodd became the founding fathers of fundamental analysis and had a huge influence on generations of fundamentally…
Islamic State Keeps Up Syrian Oil Flow Despite U.S-led Strikes
Islamic State is still extracting and selling oil in Syria and has adapted its trading techniques despite a month of strikes by U.S.-led forces aimed at cutting off this major source of income for the group, residents, oil executives and traders say. While the raids by U.S. and Arab forces have targeted some small makeshift oil refineries run by locals in eastern areas controlled by Islamic State…
PDVSA Confirms Crude Imports
Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA confirmed late on Sunday reports that it is importing light crude to blend with extra-heavy oil from the Orinoco belt. PDVSA said the "occasional acquisition" of such crudes would be less expensive that continuing to purchase naphtha, which it has been using as a diluent. The company said the upcoming maintenance at heavy crude upgrader Petrocedeno…
Iraq Stay Ahead of Iran for OPEC No.2 Spot
Iraq starts 2014 with record-high exports, then slowdown; Iran readying improved terms for investors post-sanctions. Rising Iranian, Iraqi output pose challenge for OPEC. A full lifting of sanctions on Iran could spark new rivalries within OPEC as Tehran seeks to reclaim its rank as No. 2 producer from former foe Iraq. The two neighbors both aim to expand supplies in the next few years…
Iraq Returns as World's Fastest-Growing Oil Exporter
Iraq is reclaiming its rank as the world's fastest-growing oil exporter, cushioning consumers from Libyan supply outages for now and, perhaps, reviving OPEC market share rivalries down the road. Despite worsening violence due to spillover from the war in Syria, Iraq - already OPEC's second-largest producer - is likely to post one of the biggest annual output jumps in its history as BP…
