Russia invites Saudi Crown Prince to October BRICS Summit
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, announced on Monday that Russia had invited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from October 22-24 to attend a BRICS Summit in Kazan. Last year, the bloc of developing countries invited Saudi Arabia and Iran to join, as well as Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates. The move was intended to accelerate its efforts to reshuffle an outdated world order. Lavrov is in Saudi Arabia on an official trip.
Oil Edges Lower on U.S. Crude, Gasoline Build
Oil eased on Wednesday after a report showing U.S. crude inventories grew unexpectedly last week and gasoline stocks surged, but losses were limited by optimism that a U.S.-China trade deal would be reached soon.Brent crude futures fell 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $63.93 a barrel by 1:14 p.m. EST (1814 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 34 cents, or 0.8%, to $57.93 a barrel.WTI trade volumes were also on track to be lower for the week ahead of the U.S. U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.U.S.
Oil Slips Below $60
Oil slipped to below $60 a barrel on Wednesday, pressured by rising U.S. inventories and doubts over whether an OPEC-led output cut will be agreed next week.U.S. crude stockpiles rose last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) industry group said on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia on Wednesday dampened hopes of production cuts by OPEC and its allies by saying it would not act alone and Nigeria stopped short of committing to a new push to curb supplies.The outcome of next week's OPEC meeting "remains clouded by uncertainty"…
Oil Prices Steady Near Year Lows Ahead of G20 and OPEC
Oil prices steadied on Tuesday, depressed by record Saudi production but supported by expectations that oil exporters would agree to cut output at an OPEC meeting next week.Brent crude oil was up 10 cents a barrel at $60.58 by 1445 GMT, not far above a 13-month low of $58.41 reached on Friday. U.S. light crude was up 10 cents at $51.73.Oil prices are down by almost a third since early October, weighed down by an emerging supply overhang and widespread financial market weakness.Prices rallied sharply on Monday…
Big Oil Readies Brazil Offshore Bets
Exxon Mobil Corp , Royal Dutch Shell Plc and other companies will gather on Friday in possibly their last crack at Brazil's coveted offshore oil for another four years, as a wide-open election spurs fears about barriers to foreign investment.The auction in Rio de Janeiro for four blocks in the Santos and Campos basins comes just a week before the most unpredictable presidential election in a generation, which features candidates that may seek to slow the pace of oil auctions…
Oil Market Enters Post-OPEC Era: Kemp
Saudi Arabia and Russia started to raise their oil production several weeks before the formal decision to increase output was taken by OPEC and its allies towards the end of June.Saudi Arabia increased its production to 10.49 million barrels per day (bpd) in June from 10.03 million in May and 9.87 million bpd in April, according to government data submitted to OPEC.Russia’s Rosneft also started to raise output from late May, anticipating a relaxation of the supply curbs…
OPEC, Non-OPEC Sticking to Oil Pact but May Raise Output if Needed
Saudi Arabia, other OPEC states and non-OPEC allies aim to stick to a global pact on cutting oil supplies until the end of 2018 but are ready to make gradual adjustments to offset any supply shortage, a Gulf source familiar with Saudi thinking said.The oil producers participating in the output reduction deal are satisfied with the result of their agreement, which was due to end at the end of 2018, the Gulf source told Reuters.The deal could be extended to achieve its objectives of keeping a balanced oil market…
Saudis Curb U.S. Oil Shipments
Saudi Arabia is trying to support oil prices by reducing its crude shipments to the United States in a bid to cut the amount of oil in commercial storage. U.S. crude imports from Saudi Arabia averaged less than 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the four weeks ending on July 7, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia are running at the slowest rate since 2015, and the slowest for the time of year for over five years (http://tmsnrt.rs/2tM4mAO and http://tmsnrt.rs/2thOpza).
Kuwait Cuts January Output to Agreed OPEC Target
Saudi Arabia cuts output in Jan to around 10.058 mln bpd. Gulf OPEC member Kuwait has reduced oil production in January to around 2.707 million barrels per day, meeting its output target under an OPEC supply cut agreement, a Kuwaiti oil official said on Friday. It joins Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter and biggest OPEC producer, which also cut production this month by at least 486,000 bpd to its 10.058 million bpd target, according to a Gulf source familiar with Saudi oil policy…
Saudis, Russia Diverge on speed of Output Cuts
OPEC and non-OPEC members have pledged to cut their combined oil production by an average of just over 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first six months of 2017. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are expected to implement most of their cuts immediately, but other producers both within and outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are likely to phase in the reductions gradually. The collective cut should increase progressively…
Saudis Order Oil cuts to U.S., EU, Ahead of non-OPEC talks
OPEC to meet non-OPEC countries in Vienna in Saturday; Russia signals deal still faces challenges. Saudi Arabia has told its U.S. and European customers it will reduce oil deliveries from January as Russia signalled that a commitment from non-OPEC producers to join OPEC's output limits still faced challenges. Saudi Arabia told the customers about lower supplies in line with the output reduction agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last week, according to a Gulf oil industry source familiar with Saudi oil policy.
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.
Saudis Gamble with Price, Hope to Keep Market Share
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries surprised oil traders and analysts by announcing a production deal following a hastily convened extraordinary meeting in Algiers on Wednesday. The Algiers agreement seems to have been designed to engineer an increase in prices by changing market sentiment rather than reducing the physical supply of crude. OPEC issued a statement of just under 700 words following the meeting. (1) OPEC's 14…
Iran-Saudi Row Threatens OPEC Output Deal
No decision on output ceiling expected at June 2 meeting. OPEC's thorniest dilemma of the past year - at least from a purely oil standpoint - is about to disappear. Less than six months after the lifting of Western sanctions, Iran is close to regaining normal oil export volumes, adding extra barrels to the market in an unexpectedly smooth way and helped by supply disruptions from Canada to Nigeria. But the development will do little to repair dialogue…
Saudi Oil Policy Could Become More Transparent
The appointment of Khalid al-Falih as Saudi Arabia's new energy minister to replace veteran oil minister Ali al-Naimi is likely to bring a big shift in style even if the substance of policy remains largely unchanged. Naimi has served as the minister of petroleum and natural resources since 1995 and has long indicated a wish to retire ("Saudi considers Naimi's successor as oilmin", Reuters, 2010). Plans to name a successor as part of a cabinet reshuffle in 2011 were postponed when unrest spread across the Arab world, including neighbouring Bahrain.
Khalid al-Falih New Energy Minister of S. Arabia
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, on Saturday appointed Khalid al-Falih, chairman of the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, as its new energy minister, replacing Ali al-Naimi, who had held the post since 1995. The change is unlikely to mean a shift in Saudi oil policy, which is being crafted to a large degree by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees the kingdom's energy and economic policies, and involves building consensus among top royals based on the advice of senior technocrats.
Iran Determined to Regain Oil Market Share, Can Handle Low Price
Iran is determined to recover its share of the world oil market following the lifting of sanctions, and can withstand low prices since it has sold oil for as little as $6 a barrel in the past, a source close to Iranian oil policy said. The source was speaking after Russia, one of the participants at last weekend's meeting of oil producing nations which failed to deliver an agreement to freeze output, indicated it could raise supply. "We paid for our barrels with our centrifuges…
Iran Sees Oil Output Rising to Pre-sanctions Level by June
Iran's oil production will reach pre-sanctions levels within two months, a deputy oil minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday in what could be read as a signal that it might be willing to join efforts to support prices by the time OPEC meets next. Talks between OPEC and non-OPEC producers to freeze production broke down on Sunday when Saudi Arabia insisted that all members of the exporter group, including Iran, and non-OPEC producers should join in the deal.
Aramco Chairman: No Concrete Listing Plan
Saudi Arabia's giant national oil company is weighing various ideas regarding the possible listing of the world's largest oil company or its subsidiaries, Saudi Aramco Chairman Khalid al-Falih told the Wall Street Journal on Monday. Falih told the WSJ that there was no specific timeline yet for the listing, saying it "cannot be done overnight". "There is no plan that is concrete at this stage to do the listing. There are studies ongoing. Serious consideration," Falih said. "We are considering a listing at the top.
Kemp: Saudi Arabia Turns Oil Weapon on Iran
Saudi Arabia's decision to scupper negotiations on a coordinated oil output freeze in Doha on Sunday seems to confirm a significant shift in the kingdom's oil policy. For decades, the kingdom has insisted it does not wield oil as a diplomatic weapon, but at the weekend it did just that as part of an intensifying conflict with Iran. The kingdom's position on Iranian oil production has steadily hardened over the course of the last year and at the weekend it reached its logical conclusion.
