“On the brink of a boom,” was the banner on PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s review of Africa’s oil industry 16 months ago. Now, oil below $50 has made more than two out of three investment projects on the continent non-viable.
“Capital markets are effectively closed to the oil and gas industry” in Africa, Tony Hayward, former head of BP Plc and now chairman of Genel Energy Plc, said at a conference in Cape Town last month. “A decade of exploration, with billions of dollars invested and only limited commercial success.”
Swedish refiner Preem has bought its first cargo of Saudi Arabian crude oil in around two decades.
The purchase from another traditional buyer of Russia’s Urals crude is expected to heat up the contest for the market share which Saudi Arabia has effectively brought to Russia’s backyard in
the Baltic region.
Even with oil prices possibly past the low point, and production falling from outside of OPEC, there aren’t enough signs to say a full recovery is in the works, Kuwait’s oil minister said.
Oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries need until next month to decide if the rebound is for real, and if it’s not, any production cuts shouldn’t fall only on OPEC’s shoulders, Ali Al-Omair said in an interview in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Brent crude rose 2.5 percent in October, after falling 11 percent the month before, amid signs production is falling in the U.S. As the U.S. wilts, demand for OPEC’s crude will grow in 2015, ending two years of retreat, the International Energy Agency estimates. OPEC meets Dec. 4 in Vienna.
Oil traded near $48 a barrel before US government data forecast to show crude stockpiles increased for a sixth week in the world’s biggest consumer.
Futures gained as much as 0.7 percent in New York after advancing 3.8 percent Tuesday. Inventories probably expanded by 2.5 million barrels in the US, keeping supplies more than 100 million barrels higher than the five-year seasonal average, a Bloomberg survey shows before an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday.
Crude may never rise to $100 a barrel again, according to Vitol Group, the world’s largest oil independent trader.
A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit over a disputed cargo of Iraqi Kurdish crude oil which showed up last year off the shore of Texas.
The incident prompted months of legal wrangling as Iraq sought to block the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) from directly exporting oil.
The case has now been dismissed by US District Court Judge Gray Miller because the vessel which carried the crude had sailed away after the US buyer had balked at taking delivery because of the legal fight.
Crude dropped from a two-week high as Russian production climbed and new data on Chinese manufacturing signaled a slowdown in demand.
Futures fell as much as 2.2 percent in New York. Russian oil output broke a post-Soviet record in October for the fourth time this year, while Iran said it will tell OPEC next month of its plans to raise production by 500,000 barrels a day. China’s purchasing managers index remained at 49.8 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday, compared with an estimate of 50, the line between expansion and contraction.
Crude was poised to end the month below $50 a barrel for the fourth time amid a global glut that’s showing no signs of relief for oil and gas companies that posted more than $19 billion in writedowns in a single week.
Futures slid as much as 1.3 percent in New York. Output from Iraq, the second-biggest OPEC producer, exceeds 4 million barrels a day, Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said, according to the Almada news website.
Oil extended losses from the lowest close in two months before U.S. government data forecast to show crude stockpiles expanded in the world’s biggest consumer.
Futures slid as much as 1.5 percent in New York, falling for a third day. Inventories probably rose by 3.1 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday. Algeria supports Venezuela’s call for a summit of heads of state from OPEC and other oil-exporting nations to lift prices, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said in Paris.
Oil’s rally above $50 a barrel earlier this month failed as surging U.S. inventories bolstered speculation that a global glut will be prolonged. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries continues to pump above its quota and the International Energy Agency sees world crude supplies remaining ample until at least the middle of 2016.
Oil swung between gains and losses near the lowest closing price in almost four weeks as investors weighed a slowing pace of U.S. drilling-rig reductions against an interest rate cut in China.
Futures in New York rose as much as 0.5 percent and fell as much as 0.4 percent. The number of active machines targeting oil dropped by 1 through Oct. 23 after declining by 45 over the prior three weeks, according to Baker Hughes Inc. China, the world’s second-biggest crude consumer, stepped up monetary easing with its sixth interest-rate cut in a year on Friday to combat deflationary pressures and a slowing economy.
Oil is failing to sustain a rally earlier this month above $50 a barrel as surging U.S. inventories bolstered speculation that a global glut will be prolonged. World crude supplies will remain ample until at least the middle of 2016 while investments in the industry is set to shrink further, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said in Singapore on Monday.
Platts, the commodities price-reporting agency, may decide soon after Oct. 30 to make changes to the formula of the benchmark for much of the Middle Eastern crude sold to Asia as it seeks to stay competitive with China planning to introduce its own contract.
The agency is considering adding two crudes to the three grades it uses in calculating the Dubai oil benchmark, which determines prices for almost 30 million barrels a day in exports to Asia, said Dave Ernsberger, its global editorial director for oil.
Platts seeks to ensure liquidity amid rising demand from Asia, especially China, which plans to introduce a futures contract this year.
OPEC member states should cut crude output to boost prices to a range of $70 to $80 a barrel, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said.
“No one is happy” with prices at current levels, Zanganeh told reporters in Tehran.
“OPEC should decide to manage the market by reducing the level of production.” Even so, Zanganeh said he doesn’t expect the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to decide to reduce output when its ministers meet next in December.
Oil held near $47 a barrel after Chinese government data showed the economy expanded quicker than forecast in the world’s second-biggest crude user.
Futures were little changed in New York after advancing 1.9 percent Friday. Gross domestic product rose 6.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Supertankers hauling crude to China are contending with increased waiting times to unload as some on-land storage depots reach capacity amid an oil-buying binge by the world’s most populous nation.
Oil headed for the biggest weekly gain since August amid speculation an increase in demand will ease a global glut.
Futures climbed as much as 1 percent in New York and are up 9.4 percent this week. A “new capital discipline” in the industry will allow consumption to catch up with supply, boosting prices, Gary Ross, the founder and chairman of PIRA Energy Group, said Thursday.
World oil use will expand more than forecast this year, according to Abdalla Salem El-Badri, the secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
A veto threat has been issued by the White House over a US House of Representatives bill that would lift a ban on crude oil exports.
It said the legislation was "not needed at this time."
Oil climbed to the highest level in a month amid speculation that falling crude production will ease the global supply glut.
Futures rose as much as 5.6 percent in London and 5.1 percent in New York. The first signs of recovery in the oil market are beginning to appear, Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden said at an industry conference in London Tuesday, though the company still plans for a long period of low prices. U.S. crude output fell 120,000 barrels a day in September, the Energy Information Administration said.
Oil has held near $45 a barrel for more than four weeks after plunging to a six-year low in August amid speculation a global glut will be prolonged. U.S. crude stockpiles remain about 100 million barrels above the five-year average, while OPEC continues to pump above its collective quota.
Oil’s holding near $45 while the bad news keeps coming. For investor Jim Rogers, that’s usually a sign a rebound’s round the corner.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is still pumping near record amounts of oil, China’s imports have slowed and US crude stockpiles remain about 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average.
Yet, US benchmark prices have held steady for more than four weeks since plunging to a six- year low at the end of August.
ExxonMobil has been fined $2.63million for spilling crude oil in an Arkansas residential area two years ago.
The company was hit with the cash penalty by the US pipeline safety office, the regulator said yesterday.
They long stood in the shadows of state- owned Chinese energy giants, small in size and clustered in an eastern province along the coast. Now, independent refiners are wielding growing clout in the global oil market.
Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group, the biggest of dozens of privately owned refiners known as “teapots,” illustrates how such processors may be coming into their own after for years depending on state-owned companies for oil. It began importing supply on its own this year after hiring two crude traders in Singapore, according to Shen Fan, a deputy general manager at Pacific Commerce Holdings Pte, its trading unit.
China is widening access for teapots as part of its drive to encourage private investment in its energy industry. That may boost imports into the world’s second-biggest oil user, helping counter a glut that’s cut benchmark prices by half in the past year. The small plants account for almost a third of the nation’s processing capacity, and if Shandong Dongming is a guide, may attract cargoes from Latin America to West Africa and Australia.
OPEC predicted higher demand for its crude oil next year, sticking to its view that a strategy of letting prices fall will tame the US shale boom and cut a global surplus.
With WTI on the precipice of breaking below $40/bbl, chatter abounds on just how low oil prices can go from here, with some discussing prices in the low $30s, or potentially lower.
While this type of price action is not without possibility, Bentek does not believe this is rooted in fundamentals, but rather, would be a short term phenomenon spurred by speculative trade capitulation and/or a brief storage shock.
In terms of the former, should the paper losses from traders holding long positions in oil become too difficult to bear, the market has the potential for a short term rout if/when there is a liquidation of positioning.
Indian explorer Oil and Natural Gas corp (ONGC) has reported a 14% increase in quarterly net profit.
The rise was seen as the company significantly cut its discounts on crude oil to refiners after global oil prices fell.
The company's net income for the first fiscal quarter rose to 54.59billion rupees from 47.82billion rupees a year earlier.
China’s crude oil imports rose to record on a monthly basis driven by imports by small, private refineries amid low oil prices.
Overseas purchases by China increased to 30.71 million metric tons in July, equivalent to about 7.3 million barrels a day, according to preliminary data released by the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs on Saturday. It was higher than December’s level at 30.4 million tons, a previous monthly record. The world’s second-largest oil consumer imported a record 7.4 million barrels a day in April and 7.2 million in June.
Oil fell amid a broader commodity decline as China’s central bank devalued its currency, making imports of raw materials more expensive in the world’s biggest consumer of metals and energy.
Futures slid as much as 1.1 percent in New York. China, the world’s second-biggest oil user, cut the yuan’s reference rate by a record 1.9 percent, allowing depreciation to combat a slump in exports. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials, which includes crude, metals and grains, retreated after advancing Monday by the most since February.
Oil has slumped more than 25 percent since this year’s peak closing price in June amid signs the global oversupply that drove crude into a bear market will persist. The Commodity Index in July capped the biggest monthly drop since 2011 on signs of faltering demand in China and expanding gluts. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.5 percent.
