IEA reduces its 2025 oil consumption forecast as China offsets gains globally
The International Energy Agency (IEA), citing the impact of a weaker Chinese economy on consumption, kept its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 unchanged but lowered its estimate for 2025. This is the second report this week from the IEA (which advises industrialised nations) to warn that a slowing economy will likely curb the demand for oil in China, which is the world's largest oil importer and the second largest oil consumer. The IEA predicts that the West…
Saudi, Russia Closing in on Record Oil Cut Deal
OPEC and it allies held talks on Thursday on record oil output curbs of about 15 million barrels per day (bpd) or more, roughly 15% of global supplies, to support prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis, sources involved in the discussions said.They said the plan included cuts of about 5 million bpd from producers outside the group known as OPEC+ and could be made gradually, as the group seeks to overcome resistance from the United States whose involvement…
OPEC+ Debates Biggest Ever Oil Output Cut as Virus Destroys Demand
OPEC and allies are working on a deal for an unprecedented production cut equivalent to around 10% of global supply, an OPEC source said after U.S. President Donald Trump called on oil nations to stop the oil rout caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting of OPEC and allies such as Russia has been scheduled for Monday, April 6, Azeri's energy ministry said, but details were still thin on the exact distribution of production cuts. Oil prices have…
Eni Continues High-speed Gulf Drive
In less than 12 months Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi has turned the Middle East from a sideshow to a strategic hub for the Italian energy major. And the shift is not over.Since last March the 63-year-old has clinched nine deals in the United Arab Emirates, gained a toehold in Bahrain and expanded in Oman to reshape the group's future.In the latest deal on Sunday, Eni pledged $3.3 billion to buy part of the world's fourth-biggest refinery in the UAE, increasing…
Lukoil: No Need to Cut Output in 2019
Russia's Lukoil sees no need to cut crude output in 2019, CEO Vagit Alekperov said on Monday, as global producers discuss the situation in oil markets.Russia is part of a group of OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing nations that teamed up two years ago in an effort to rebalance the market. The group first decided to cut output but changed course in June as prices spiked on fears of a shortage.On Monday, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC and…
US Oil Industry Set to Break Record, Upend Global Trade
Surging shale production is poised to push U.S. oil output to more than 10 million barrels per day - toppling a record set in 1970 and crossing a threshold few could have imagined even a decade ago. And this new record, expected within days, likely won't last long. The U.S. government forecasts that the nation's production will climb to 11 million barrels a day by late 2019, a level that would rival Russia, the world's top producer. The economic and political impacts of soaring U.S.
Force Majeure Declared on Some North Sea Liftings
Pipeline shut on Dec. 11; repair work could last several weeks. Deliveries of crude oil through the Forties pipeline in the North Sea are under force majeure for the first time in decades and operator INEOS said on Thursday there was no timeline yet for repair work that could last several weeks. The 169-km pipeline, which carries around a quarter of all North Sea crude output and around a third of Britain's total offshore gas production, has been closed since Monday, following the discovery of a small crack in part of the system onshore in Scotland.
Euronav Reports Lowest Freight Rates since 2013
Belgian tanker operator Euronav reported a sharp drop in core profit for the first nine months of the year as freight rates in the oil tanker sector continued to fall. Excess tonnage in the global tanker market has put pressure on freight rates, as a large wave of new deliveries this year has offset scrapping. "Freight rates remained under sustained pressure ... particularly in August as seasonally low levels of cargo and new tonnage entering the market combined to drive rates to lowest levels since 2013," Chief Executive Paddy Rodgers said in a statement.
Oil Stabilizes After OPEC Comments
U.S. oil production, refineries reopen after storm Nate as investors raise bullish bets on WTI - CFTC. Oil prices stabilised on Monday after one of the most bearish weeks in months, propped up by OPEC comments signalling the group and other producers may take further action to restore market balance in the long term. Oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico started returning to service after Hurricane Nate had forced the shutdown of more than 90 percent of crude output in the area. The prospective restarts kept price gains in check.
Nigeria Oil Exports Continue to Climb
Nigeria issued its first Forcados oil loading plan since 2016, putting the nation's June oil exports on track to hit thier highest level in at least 15 months. The plan, if realised, would return loadings by Nigeria, normally West Africa's biggest oil exporter, to levels not seen since militant attacks in the oil-rich Niger Delta first shut down Forcados exports in early 2016. It is also likely to put more downward pressure on oil prices, which are…
Cuban Refined Oil Product Exports Drop Sharply
Cuban exports of refined oil products fell about 97 percent between 2013 and 2016, according to a United Nations trade report released this week, reflecting falling supplies from its political ally Venezuela. The UN Comtrade annual report put the value of Cuban fuel exports last year at $15.4 million, compared to more than $500 million in 2013. The amounts for 2015 and 2014, when oil prices collapses, were $163.5 million and $336.8, respectively. The figures were based on import data from reporting countries, which may make them incomplete.
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.
Oil Surplus or Scarcity? Shale Makes it Hard to Predict
Goldman Sachs sees large oil surplus in two years, but the forecast is at odds with most predictions of looming shortage. The shale oil boom has transformed the U.S. and global energy sector to such an extent that it has upended traditional supply dynamics and made forecasts far more polarised. Investment banks, many of which finance new projects, along with oil majors such as Total and Eni, have warned that huge spending cuts caused by a plunge in oil prices since 2014 would lead to a supply crunch in the next two years.
Oil Edges off Three-Month Lows
API data on U.S. oil stockpiles in focus; oil prices have reversed most gains since Dec. Oil prices recovered modestly from three-month lows on Tuesday, with concerns persisting about rising U.S. inventories and few clear signs that OPEC will extend supply curbs beyond June. The immediate focus for investors is Tuesday's data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) about U.S. crude and product stockpiles after a bigger-than-expected climb in last week's report. Analysts see a further, albeit smaller, rise this time.
BP Lifts Break-Even Oil Price
Lowest annual profit in at least a decade; raises breakeven oil price to around $60 per barrel. BP raised the oil price at which it can balance its books this year to $60 a barrel on Tuesday due to higher spending following a string of investments as annual earnings fell for a second consecutive year. After the average oil price fell to its lowest in 12 years at $44 a barrel last year, BP said it expected prices to have found a floor for this year at $50 a barrel following a decision by major OPEC and non-OPEC producers to limit output.
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…
Oil Dips on Production Deal Doubts
OPEC, non-OPEC experts start production-cap discussions; Brent, WTI on track for 3 pct weekly loss. Oil prices edged lower on Friday and were set for the biggest weekly losses in six weeks over doubts about whether oil producers will be able to agree on an output cut big enough to curb a global glut that has weighed on markets for two years. Experts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and counterparts from other oil-producing…
As Iran Oil Tenders Near, Investors Still in the Dark on Terms
Two years after Iran pledged to open up its oil industry in anticipation of the lifting of sanctions, foreign companies say they still have little information about Iranian oil fields and contract terms, hindering investment decisions. Bosses from oil majors including BP, Total, Eni, Royal Dutch Shell and LUKOIL have all travelled to Tehran this year, since the EU sanctions ended in January. Their teams spent weeks meeting local officials ahead of investment tenders due to start next month.
Oil Extends Rally to 5-week Highs
Oil prices hit five-week highs on Monday, gaining about 10 percent in a three-day rally as speculation intensified over potential producer action to support prices amid a crude glut. Data from market intelligence firm Genscape estimating a draw of more than 350,000 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for U.S. crude futures last week added to the bullish sentiment, said traders who saw the data. Brent crude rose $1.08, or 2.3 percent, to $48.05 a barrel by 11:07 a.m. EDT (1507 GMT), after rising to $48.10 earlier, its highest since July 7.
Venezuela Minister to Visit Oil-producing Nations in Effort on Oil Prices
Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino on Saturday will begin a tour of OPEC and non-OPEC countries as part of an effort to reach consensus among oil-producing countries on a strategy for boosting crude prices, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday. Cash-strapped Venezuela has for months sought to rally producers toward an agreement to limit production as a way of controlling a global supply glut, but major oil exporters appear more focused on preserving market share than raising prices.
