Oil Prices ///
The National Oil Corp. is ending force majeure -- a legal status protecting a party that can’t fulfill a contract for reasons beyond its control -- at Zueitina in eastern Libya after a “significant improvement” in security there, it said Tuesday. The NOC allowed exports to resume days earlier from the Hariga and Brega terminals.
Straight-run kerosene, usually processed into jet fuel, is now being used to make very low-sulfur fuel oil for the maritime industry amid a plunge in consumption by airlines. Higher than normal amounts of diesel and vacuum gasoil are also finding their way into shipping fuel.
Oil declined as Libya signaled the resumption of some crude exports, while surging coronavirus cases clouded the outlook for demand and weighed on risky assets.
BP has boldly claimed that global oil demand will peak in the next ten years in its 2020 Energy Outlook. Some emerging trends in the upcoming World Oil 2020 Drilling Forecast reveal how future production capacity may make that possible.
General Khalifa Haftar said on television that he has decided to allow the reopening of Libya’s oil ports “as per conditions and guarantees that ensure a fair distribution of wealth and spare it being plundered or used in terrorism financing.”
In recent months, the UAE has become one of the worst quota-breakers among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. The UAE made just 10% of its pledged cuts in August, according to the International Energy Agency.
Oil steadied after its biggest surge since June as the OPEC cartel and its partners prepared to assess a downbeat outlook for the crude market.
BP's 2020 Energy Outlook sees oil consumption topping out not much higher than it is now: around 100 million barrels of oil per day, the same level as last year. In scenarios involving dramatic action by governments to limit climate change, BP determines that demand has already peaked.
BP offered a glimpse of the profitability of its huge and secretive trading arm, suggesting it makes annual returns of as much as $2.5 billion.
The American Petroleum Institute reported crude stockpiles declined by 9.52 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the numbers. While the global economy is still expected to shrink this year, the slump won’t be as sharp as previously feared, according to the OECD.
Vitol Group said inventories have been falling sharply and will continue to decline this year. Trafigura Group, the second-biggest trader, says the market will go back into a surplus. Both companies forecast demand to stagnate and foresee a volatile few months before a gradual recovery next year.
Chinese retail sales rose for the first time this year in August, while industrial production expanded more than expected. In the U.S., manufacturing in New York state expanded in September at the second-fastest pace since 2018.
It will take until late 2021 for global oil consumption to return to the 2019 level of 101 million barrels a day due to growth in economy, ,” Ed Morse, global head of commodities research at Citi, said in an interview during the S&P Global Platts Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference.
On September 17th, Saudi Arabia and Russia will chair a monitoring meeting to assess whether the vast production cuts, which they started easing in August, are still staving off an oil glut. New signs of exporters reneging on the deal aren’t helping.
In this week's podcast, World Oil editors discuss how legislative activities, a smaller labor pool, and harsh economic realities are impacting options for oil and gas sector growth in North America's post-coronavirus economy.
Oil headed for its first back-to-back weekly losses since April’s price rout, driven by a sharp slump in risk sentiment earlier in the week and a patchy demand recovery.
While nobody is predicting a return to the dark days of April, when U.S. crude briefly traded in negative territory, the tone of the market has nonetheless turned more bearish.
While crude rallied along with other risk assets, it also found technical support, rising sharply above the 100-day moving average after falling a few cents under earlier Wednesday.
Saudi Aramco is trying to pay a $75 billion dividend this year, almost all of it to the state. Concerns are mounting, including among global fund managers who bought into the company during a record initial public offering last December, that Aramco is putting strategic projects on ice and racking up debt too quickly.
A stalling Asian demand recovery, the end of the U.S. summer driving season and more supply from the OPEC+ alliance are adding up to a bleak short-term outlook for oil prices. Brent crude’s three-month timespread is nearing the widest contango -- where prompt prices are cheaper than later-dated ones -- since late May, an indication that concerns about oversupply are returning.