The robber baron who botched the world’s first oil storage trade
A century and a half before the current supply glut sent oil prices into contango, one of America’s greatest industrialists tried to make money by storing crude. He failed.
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Good Energy to reduce its gas prices by 7.2%
Good Energy said it will reduce gas prices for its customers by 7.2% from April this year.
FTSE 100 index rallies thanks to rising oil price
London’s top flight index rallied, as the rising oil price helped the market bounce back from Thursday’s three-and-a-half year low. The FTSE 100 Index rose 1.7% or 97 points to 5634.6, as oil stocks rose sharply on the back of a near 5% growth in the price of Brent crude.
Oil rebounds from lowest close in 12 years as volatility surges
Oil rebounded from the lowest level in more than 12 years amid the highest price volatility since 2009 as speculation swirls over whether producers will act to bolster the market.
Oil rally falters on signs of slowing China as OPEC output rises
Oil’s longest rally this year faltered on signs industrial activity in the world’s biggest energy consumer is deteriorating and as OPEC pumps a record amount of crude. Futures lost as much as 2.5 percent in New York to snap a four-day advance. China’s purchasing managers index dropped in January to a three-year low, with the official factory gauge signaling contraction for a record sixth month.
Iran says low oil prices will not last long
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that oil prices would not stay low for long as producers restore market balance. "The price of oil is at a low level ... I don't think it will last in the long term ... The pressure on oil-producing nations means balance will be restored in the short term," Rouhani, whose country is the third-largest producer in OPEC, said at the French Institute of International Relations.
Markets continue revival as oil prices rise
Markets were up strongly for the second day in a row, as oil prices rose at the end of a turbulent week. The FTSE 100 Index was up 140.5 points to 5914.5, following positive overnight trading in Asian markets.
Schlumberger says it will focus on ‘adapting’ to UK market
Oilfield services company Schlumberger said it will continue to 'adapt' to the North Sea oil and gas industry as the oil price continues to stay lower for longer. The company described the situation in the UK as "challenging" after revealing it had cut 10,000 jobs while also reporting a loss of $1billion during the final quarter of last year.
Aberdeen car dealerships hit by oil price drop
Businesses across Europe’s oil capital have been feeling the pinch since the global decline in oil price.
Report says wider Scottish economy affected by low oil price
A report has claimed the downturn in the oil and gas industry could be having a wider impact on the Scottish economy. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce said the effect of lower oil prices could be extending beyond businesses operating directly in the sector. The latest quarterly report received responses from 477 firms in Scotland.
Opinion: The disappearing oil price formula
In the first 7 days of 2016, the S&P GSCI Crude Oil Excess Return lost 17.8%, making it the worst start for oil in history. Now the index has recorded a new maximum drawdown of 92.8% since its peak on July 3, 2008.
Oil price turbulence behind another dip in trading
The troubled start to the new year continued as global markets tumbled amid oil prices slumping to new 11-year lows. London’s FTSE 100 Index fell 63.9, points to 6073.4, with indices across Europe also sharply lower as Brent crude dropped below 35 US dollars a barrel.
Russian Energy Minister says $50 oil price would be “fair” in 2016
Russia’s Energy Minister has said an oil price of $50 next year would be “fair”.
Russia sees oil price around $40-60 for next seven years
Russia's Deputy Finance Minister Maxim Oreshkin said on Friday that the ministry saw the oil price trading around $40 to $60 a barrel for the next seven years. International prices for oil, Russia's chief export, have plunged over the year and a half, adding to the pressure on its finances from international sanctions over its part in the crisis in Ukraine.
Oil trades near six-year low as OPEC strategy weighs on market
Oil traded near the lowest close in more than six years as speculation OPEC will keep markets oversupplied countered a drop in US crude stockpiles. Futures slipped 0.5 percent in New York after closing 9.5 percent lower in the four days since OPEC’s Dec. 4 decision to effectively abandon its output target. The exporters’ group raised production in November to a three-year high, according to its monthly report. US stockpiles along the Gulf Coast fell the most since December 2012, according to government data Wednesday. Refiners typically drain tanks to reduce their tax burden, which is determined by year-end levels.
Petrol expected to drop to £1 a litre for Christmas, RAC believes
Many fuel retailers are expected to cut the price of petrol to £1 a litre in time for the Christmas getaway. The RAC believes the tumbling oil price will lead to a 3p drop for petrol and 5p for diesel. This would take average prices to around 103p for petrol and 104p for diesel, but experts predict prices will be even lower at many forecourts.
FTSE 100 closes up despite Paris attacks
The London market has closed higher despite seeing travel firms slump as a result of the Paris terror attacks. The FTSE 100 Index was up 28.1 points to 6146.4, led by housebuilder Taylor Wimpey as it reported a record order book. UK and European markets had been knocked by around 1% in the first hour of trading, but later recovered with Germany’s DAX flat and France’s Cac 40 down slightly.
Caspian Energy resumes production from Kazakhstan field
Caspian Energy said it had produced positive results on two of its existing wells in Kazakhstan. The company’s subsidiary, Aral Petroleum, has just completed a period of test production at the East Zhagabulak field in Aktobe Oblast. After 10 months of inactivity, operating staff performed basic geological and mechanical tests which involved re-opening the wells and testing oil pressure.
Oil market needs another month to see if rebound is for real
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.
Kuwait’s oil minister believes oil prices have bottomed out
Kuwait’s oil minister said he believes oil prices have bottomed out, according to reports. Ali al-Omair was asked if he agreed with recent remarks made by Qatar’s energy minister. He said for between two and three months prices hadn’t gone done so potentially be “at the bottom”.
Oil falls from two-week high as Russia pumps at post-Soviet peak
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.
Oil speculators boosting bearish bets miss best rally in 8 weeks
Hedge funds betting oil would sink toward $40 a barrel missed the biggest rally in eight weeks. Money managers’ short positions in West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 24 percent in the week ended Oct. 27, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Net-long positions declined 15 percent, the most since July. Oil surged after a government report on Oct. 28 showed that US refiners came back from seasonal maintenance faster than expected, boosting crude demand. Prices slipped to a the lowest level since August before the data’s release on concern that oil companies aren’t cutting production fast enough to stem a global oversupply.
Oil falls third day near two-month low as supplies seen expanding
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 swings near 4-week low as rig data balances China rate cut
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.
Gazprom planning for the lowest fuel price in EU market for a decade
Gazprom PJSC, the world’s biggest natural gas exporter, is planning for the lowest price for its fuel in its main European market for more than a decade. The state-run exporter is drafting its budget for 2016 with preliminary estimates for gas prices outside the former Soviet Union of about $200 per 1,000 cubic meters ($5.45 a million British thermal units), said two people with direct knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private.