Oil Traders Bet on Economic Upswing in 2020
Crude oil traders are betting the market will tighten significantly next year, even as the major statistical agencies predict production will outstrip consumption and oil inventories will rise.Most of the divergence can be explained by differing assumptions about global growth in 2020.The International Energy Agency (IEA), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries…
Murky Inventory Estimates Leaves Oil Markets Guessing
Oil supplies remain plentiful despite OPEC-led cut; measuring stored oil globally is notoriously difficult. The jury is still out over whether an OPEC-led production cut aimed at tightening oil markets is working, or if the producer club has simply enabled higher prices without making much of a dent in the global fuel supply overhang. Analysts say there are early indications that at least some inventories, key in gauging the health of the market, are starting to draw down.
IEA: Global Oil Markets Nearly 'Balanced'
The global oil market is close to balance after nearly three years of excess supply, as production cuts by the world's largest exporters offset a longer-term decline in demand in the richest nations, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday. The Paris-based agency said preliminary data showed oil stocks across industrialised nations fell by 17.2 million barrels in March, resulting in an increase of 38.5 million barrels, or 425,000 barrels per day (bpd), in the first three months of the year.
Climate Policies Won't Strand Oil & Gas: Kemp
Fossil fuel-producing companies have been thrown onto the defensive over the last two years by the argument that many of their reserves will be "stranded" as the world transitions to cleaner forms of energy. Climate campaigners claim a large percentage of already known oil, gas and coal reserves must remain unburned if the rise in global temperatures is to remain below two degrees Celsius. The two-degree target has been endorsed…
Climate Policies Will Not Strand Oil and Gas Reserves
Fossil fuel-producing companies have been thrown onto the defensive over the last two years by the argument that many of their reserves will be "stranded" as the world transitions to cleaner forms of energy. Climate campaigners claim a large percentage of already known oil, gas and coal reserves must remain unburned if the rise in global temperatures is to remain below two degrees Celsius. The two-degree target has been endorsed…
IEA: 2016 Oil Market Balance, Followed by 2017 Surplus
Oil demand growth to reach 1.3 mln bpd in 2017, same as 2016. The oil market is now in balance thanks to unplanned outages and robust demand, particularly from emerging economies, but this equilibrium will tilt into surplus again early next year, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. The agency said in its monthly report that demand growth in 2017 is likely to reach 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), the same level at which it estimates growth for this year…
Greens Urge Halt to G7 Nations' Funding for Overseas Coal
Environmental groups urged Group of Seven (G7) nations led by Japan and Germany to stop financing coal projects abroad, which they said amounted to $42 billion since 2007. Japan provided more than half of the total, with $22 billion between 2007 and 2015, a study released on Tuesday by groups including the U.S. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), WWF and Oil Change International said. Many rich nations have sharply…
IEA: Oil May Have Bottomed
IEA says Iranian supply increase less than dramatic; sees non-OPEC, U.S. output decline accelerating. Oil prices might have bottomed as production declines in the United States and other non-OPEC producers accelerate and an increase in Iranian supply has been less than dramatic, the International Energy Agency said on Friday. After a spectacular 2015, growth in global demand was slowing - with India and the Middle East being rare pockets of improvement, the IEA said in a monthly report.
Fuelling Growth With Coal, India Champions Poor in Paris
India's hardline position in global climate talks has made it a potential villain for Western nations as it warns that its greenhouse emissions, mostly from burning dirty coal, may keep rising past the middle of the century. Its little-known team came to Paris with a mission to force rich nations to lead the way in curbing emissions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the summit that "climate justice" meant poor nations needed "room to grow". Such positions may have prompted U.S.
Brent Eases on Glut Concerns
Bets rise on drop to $40 a barrel. Oil prices eased on Tuesday, reversing the previous day's gains, as the risk premium stemming from the Paris attacks faded, and the focus returned to the global oversupply in crude and petroleum products. Analysts said that despite the Paris attacks and French retaliation against Islamic State (IS) in Syria, prices would remain low for the rest of the year and into 2016 as oil markets stay oversupplied.
EU to Seek Coal Funding Phase-out at OECD
European Union negotiators will push hard at OECD-sponsored talks next week for a robust deal to phase out subsidies that allow rich nations to export coal plant technology, EU sources said. The talks may be a final chance to end OECD export credits for coal, the most polluting of fossil fuels, before United Nations climate talks on a global deal to curb climate change, which begin on Nov. 30 in Paris. The difficulty of agreeing…
European Oil Refiners Set to Slow Down as Profits Fall
European refiners will likely cut their operating rates in the coming weeks in the face of falling margins, ending a rarely seen strong run of profits, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Wednesday. Benchmark northwest European refining margins <BRT-ROT-REF> dropped this week to their lowest level since July 2014 after diesel prices slumped due to a growing glut in the region as a result of a wave of imports. Weaker refining margins and operating rates bode badly for Europe's top oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell…
EU Coal Subsidies Row Drags On
Issue 'an embarrassment' ahead of U.N. climate summit. Rich nations are stubbornly divided ahead of talks in Paris on Thursday to seek a deal to phase out coal subsidies in a foretaste of the difficulty of agreeing on action to curb global warming at a U.N. summit later this year. France, host of the U.N. climate summit, has piled on the political pressure to restrict a type of subsidy that helps nations export technology for power generation from coal, the most polluting of the fossil fuels.
Efficiency Mandates to Cap Recovery in Oil Demand
Lower prices should help stimulate oil consumption in advanced economies, restoring some of the demand lost over the last decade, as the cost of crude soared from less than $50 to more than $100 per barrel. In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, strong growth in demand played a crucial role in rebalancing the market after the slump caused by the two oil shocks in the 1970s. Investments in energy efficiency and policies…
EU Eyes Compromise on Coal Debate
Further OECD talks in September, EU talks Wednesday; stronger EU position could have big role in advancing debate. EU bosses are pushing to resolve a clash between industry and environmental policy with a new strategy to phase out funding to export coal technology to developing nations, ahead of a meeting of leading economic powers on the issue. The European Commission, the EU executive, urges tougher rules on when subsidies…
Rich Nations in Stalemate over Coal Subsidy Phase-out
Further talks planned for September; no deal would be an embarrassment ahead of U.N. climate talks. Talks on phasing out a form of coal subsidies ended in stalemate as Japan, the biggest user of the aid, led calls for more time in defiance of this week's G7 pledge on fossil fuel subsidies, sources said. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has been trying for a year to get an agreement from its 34 member nations on phasing out export credits for coal, the most polluting of the fossil fuels.
OECD: Coal Export Subsidy Deal Elusive
OECD has sought deal to phase out subsidies for a year. Germany, Japan at forefront of opposition. The world's richest nations are unlikely to reach a deal to phase out subsidies for coal exports at talks in June, reducing the chances of a new global climate change agreement at a U.N. conference in Paris, officials and campaigners say. The export credits help developed nations supply coal-fired generation and mining technology to poor nations, a practice critics say harms attempts to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Oil Dips, IEA Warns Stocks Near All-time High
IEA says downward market pressures may not have run their course. Brent crude fell below $58 a barrel on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that oil prices may decline as stocks continue to increase this year. Oil stocks held by countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development may come close to the all-time high of 2.83 billion barrels in the middle of 2015, said the IEA, which advises the West on energy policy.
Global Biofuel Expansion to Slow by 2023
Global biofuel output should expand in the period to 2023, mostly boosted by increasing demand, higher crude oil prices and government policies, but the rise should be lower than in the past decade, the FAO and OECD said on Friday. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in a joint report said they expected ethanol and biodiesel output to reach 158 billion litres and 40 billion litres respectively by 2023.
EU Policy Paper Backs Help to Export Coal-Fired Power Plants
European makers of coal-fired power plants should get financial help to export the equipment, an EU policy paper seen by Reuters says, flying in the face of environmental opposition to any form of subsidy for coal. Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, emitting around twice as much carbon dioxide as gas when used to generate power. As a result, the European Union is phasing out subsidies for domestic coal plants by 2018 in line with its efforts to take a global lead in the fight against climate change.
