Oil rises 1% on settlement amid fears of supply shortages

[yota691]

US Congress turns to plan against OPEC

 

 

 Twilight News    
 17 minutes ago

With US oil prices soaring, the US Congress plans to revive a bill that would allow Washington to sue Opec, Saudi Arabia's biggest producer, threatening its investment in the United States.

A Senate subcommittee is due to hear a testimony on the so-called "Nopec" monopoly oil production and export law, which would eliminate sovereign immunity, which has long protected OPEC members from taking legal action against them.

The bill is aimed at changing the US antitrust law to allow OPEC producers to be sued for collusion, restricting oil or gas production or setting prices, and removing sovereign immunity that US courts require under the current law.

Former US presidents have opposed the "NOpec" bill, but the likelihood of its success may increase in light of US President Donald Trump's repeated criticism of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), while some expect Brent crude to reach $ 100 a barrel soon.

"OPEC is a nuisance for him," said Joe McMonnigel, chief energy policy analyst at Hedgeai Potomac. "Everyone thinks he could simply support NOPC."

Informed sources said Saudi Arabia was exerting pressure on the US government to prevent the adoption of the law, but US business groups and oil companies opposed the law because other countries might take countermeasures.

OPEC controls production of member states by setting production targets. Prices rose 82 percent after the group's decision to cut output by the end of 2016 to $ 84 a barrel on Monday, and legislators in the United States are angrily angered towards the organization, saying they are hurting consumers again and interfering in free markets.

The two chambers approved a copy of the NOpec Act in 2007 but was frozen after former US President George W. Bush said he would veto the legislation.

The sources said Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, was concerned that "NOpec" might mimic the Justice Act against the sponsors of terrorism (Jasta), which allows the victims of the September 11 attacks in the United States to sue Riyadh.

With investments of about $ 1 trillion in the United States, Riyadh has a lot to lose if NOpec becomes law.

Keywords: 
 

[yota691]

OPEC oil prices rise and record above $ 83

 

Wednesday, October 3,

 

 

Alsumaria News / Baghdad announced that OPEC, on Wednesday, the OPEC basket price recorded daily above $ 83 per barrel.  "The price of OPEC's basket of 14 barrels of crude was 83.28 dollars per barrel," the group said in a statement.  "The price rose from the previous day of $ 81.58, according to the calculations of the OPEC secretariat."  Composed Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries basket (OPEC) reference of the following: desert mixture ( Algeria ), and Girassol (Angola), and Oriente (Ecuador), and Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), and Raby Lite (Gabon), Iran Iran), Basra Lite ( Iraq ), Kuwait Express (Kuwait), S Sider ( Libya)), Bonnie Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Morgan (United Arab Emirates) and Miri (Venezuela).

[yota691]

Report: Saudi Arabia and Russia intervene to increase oil production and calm prices

 

 03 October 2018 01:36 PM

Direct : a press report that both Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed last month to increase oil production to cope with high prices, noting that they are the United States and other they were told producers in agreement.

Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Faleh and his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak have agreed through a series of meetings to increase production from September to December as crude prices rise, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

This week, the price of Brent crude futures rose to a four-year high of $ 85.

Production in September increased at a record high of 150,000 bpd to 11.356 million bpd in September, official data showed on Friday .

Thus, Russian production of crude removed all the cuts agreed with the OPEC in 2016 and estimated at 300 thousand barrels per day, and added 100 thousand barrels per day increase in production.

One source confirmed that the Russian and Saudi sides agreed to add other barrels to the market quietly so that it does not appear to be a commitment to the demands of US President Donald Trump to reduce prices.

Last month, US President Donald Trump renewed his demand for OPEC members to increase production to lower high prices, especially as supply is expected to fall as US sanctions against Iran begin.

Starting Nov. 4, the United States will begin punishing companies that import crude oil from Tehran.

The US Congress is also considering a law allowing the United States to sue OPEC oil producers.

One source said that al-Faleh told his US counterpart that Saudi Arabia would raise crude production if its customers demand more oil.

[Pitcher]

Trade War ‘Totally Stopped’ U.S. Crude Oil Shipments To China

The U.S.-China trade war is battering what was a fast-growing business for U.S. oil producers until a few months ago—U.S. crude oil shipments to China have “totally stopped” in recent weeks, the president of China Merchants Energy Shipping Co (CMES) told Reuters on Wednesday.

Since the middle of this year, the U.S. and China have been imposing tariffs on each other’s goods, escalating the row with ***-for-tat tariffs on billions of U.S. dollars worth of goods.

The latest escalation included China slapping a 10-percent tariff on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) last month.

 

China has so far spared crude oil from tariffs. Chinese refiners may have been relieved by Beijing’s decision to remove U.S. crude oilfrom the list of goods in the tariff ***-for-tat, but they are staying away from purchases of U.S. crude as refiners and traders fear that the removal is only temporary, and China may slap tariffs on U.S. crude if the trade war further escalates.

“We are one of the major carriers for crude oil from the U.S. to China. Before (the trade war) we had a nice business, but now it’s totally stopped,” CMES president Xie Chunlin told Reuters on the sidelines of a global maritime forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil exports to China, which only started in 2016 after the U.S. removed restrictions on crude exports, have been rising over the past year to hit a record 510,000 bpd in June 2018, before easing to 384,000 bpd in July, according to the latest available EIA data.

According to Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking data, U.S. crude oil shipments to China plunged in September to just 600,000 barrels in the month, compared to 9.7 million barrels for the month of August.

Meanwhile, China is looking to replace U.S. crude oil because of the trade war, and is buying crude from West Africa at the highest level in seven years, according to Bloomberg data. Chinese refiners have purchased 1.71 million bpd of crude oil from West Africa for October loadings, the highest since at least August 2011 when Bloomberg started to compile the data.Ui

 

 

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Trade-War-Totally-Stopped-US-Crude-Oil-Shipments-To-China.html

[Pitcher]

US Power Grid To Get An Upgrade To Thwart Potential Cyber Attacks

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Oct 03, 2018, 9:00 AM CDT

The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding up to US$28 million in research and development of next-generation tools and technologies aimed at improving the cybersecurity of the critical American energy infrastructure, including the electric grid and oil and natural gas infrastructure.

“Protecting the Nation’s energy delivery systems from cyber-threats is a top national priority,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said in a DOE statement. “These awards will spur the next level of innovation needed to advance cyber resilience, ensuring that the Nation’s critical energy infrastructure can withstand potential cyber attacks while also still keeping the lights on,” Secretary Perry noted.

The funding for the US$28-million awards to R&D projects will be provided by the Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems (CEDS) Division of the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER).

 

The projects that will get funding are expected to create and make innovative technologies that help prevent, detect, and mitigate cyber attacks.

“The teams will pursue innovative approaches such as redesigning the current architecture that exposes the energy grid to cyber threats so that existing and future energy delivery systems can detect adversarial actions and adapt to survive while continuing to support critical functions,” the DOE said.

The DOE Multiyear Plan for Energy Sector Cybersecurity aims tostrengthen the current energy delivery systems and at the same time to develop ‘game-changing solutions’ that will create inherently secure, resilient, and self-defending energy systems of the future.

During the worst of the oil price plunge in 2015 and 2016, oil companies put investments in cybersecurity on the back burner, striving to adapt to the lower-for-longer oil prices with cost cuts, while hackers grew increasingly inventive and bolder, according to security experts.

The projects to strengthen the networks and systems against cyber attacks did not receive the necessary attention and funding during the lean years, and as a result, most security teams today are too short staffed and technology deficient to effectively monitor and prevent cyber attacks, the experts told the Houston Chronicle in April this year.

 

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Power-Grid-To-Get-An-Upgrade-To-Thwart-Potential-Cyber-Attacks.html

[Pitcher]

Saudi Arabia And Russia Make Secret Oil Deal

 Oct 03, 2018, 5:00 PM CDT

Are Saudi Arabia and Russia helping Trump out by agreeing to increase oil production?

A new report from Reuters says that Russia and Saudi Arabia “struck a private deal” in September to increase production in order to suppress oil prices. Intriguingly, the pair apparently phoned the U.S. before the Algiers meeting in late September to relay the details of their plan.

The report is an indication that Saudi Arabia was trying to respond to pressure from President Trump to lower oil prices. If the White House was informed about the secret private deal, it didn’t seem to resolve Trump’s concerns.

Just a few days after the Algiers meeting, Trump blamed OPEC for high oil prices at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Also, the secrecy behind the private deal is interesting. It demonstrates that the Saudis do not want to be perceived as doing Trump’s bidding. “The Russians and the Saudis agreed to add barrels to the market quietly with a view not to look like they are acting on Trump’s order to pump more,” one source told Reuters.

However, the downside of keeping the strategy secret is that if the oil market doesn’t know about it, or the fact that Saudi Arabia and Russia decided to ramp up production, then the effect on prices is muted. After all, Brent surged to $85 per barrel in recent days, evidence that oil traders are not convinced about OPEC’s strategy.

It may not be surprising then that the Reuters report came out when it did. Was that a deliberate strategy by the Saudis to leak the details to the press in order to inform the market? Who knows, but it came shortly after Brent rose its highest level in four years, which seems unlikely to be a coincidence. 

 

On Wednesday, Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih confirmed the increase in supply, telling reporters that Saudi output currently stands at 10.7 million barrels per day (mb/d), right around the country’s all-time record high. That is up sharply from the 10.4 mb/d it produced in August, and the increase offers some evidence to back up the story that Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to boost output weeks ago, and may have told American officials about it. Al-Falih also said that production would be “slightly higher” in November compared to October levels.

Russia added 150,000 bpd in September, pushing output up to a new post-Soviet record high at about 11.35 mb/d. “I would expect Russia’s oil production will hover at around 11.4 to 11.6 million bpd until the end of 2018 and may increase further to 11.8 million bpd later on in 2019,” a source at a major Russian oil company told Reuters. Those are serious numbers, and should be taken with a grain of salt, but they offer a window into the thinking in Moscow.

Nevertheless, the White House still does not appear to be completely mollified. At the end of September, Trump reportedly called the Saudi King, and although the nature of that conversation was not disclosed, most oil watchers believed that the call was an attempt to pressure the Saudis into increasing oil supply. Related: Kuwait Stops Exporting Crude To U.S.

Trump continued the pressure campaign at a campaign rally in Mississippi on Tuesday, where he offered some details about the conversation. “How about our military deals where we protect rich nations that we don’t get reimbursed?” Trump said. “I love the king, King Salman, but I said, ‘King, we’re protecting you. You might not be there for two weeks without us. You have to pay for your military, you have to pay.’” Whether or not he actually said this to the King is questionable, but the fact that he appears to be insulting the Saudi monarchy in public offers more evidence that he wants them to lower oil prices from today’s highs.

It remains to be seen if Trump can convince the Saudis to take a more aggressive line, although it should be noted that Saudi Arabia’s decision to increase production by 300,000 bpd from August levels is not trivial. Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada defended the current OPEC strategy on Wednesday. “OPEC is not trying to manipulate the price, it's trying to bring the market to balance,” he told CNBC.

 

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Saudi-Arabia-And-Russia-Make-Secret-Oil-Deal.html

[Pitcher]

OPEC Accused Of Hiding Spare Capacity

By Irina Slav - Oct 04, 2018, 9:30 AM CDT

The U.S. State Department has lashed out against OPEC, accusing the cartel of hiding 1.42 million bpd in spare oil production capacity, S&P Global Platts reports, citing a statement sent to it by the State Department.

The State Department said figures from the Energy Information Administration suggested that OPEC was withholding 1.42 million bpd of spare capacity and the department was working with the cartel to “produce the spare capacity,” as S&P Global Platts put it.

The way this “hidden” number of barrels was calculated was not revealed. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA estimated OPEC’s spare production capacity at 1.66 million bpd. Most of this must be Saudi Arabia’s spare capacity, and one cannot forget that the spare capacity of Venezuela is questionable, as is the spare capacity of other troubled oil producers such as Libya and Iran.

To make matters more confusing still, the International Energy Agency last month estimated OPEC’s spare capacity at 2.7 million bpd and is fast declining. Bloomberg quoted a warning from the international agency that the producers who had promised to offset any loss of supply from Iran would not be able to deliver on this promise.

 

The State Department spokesperson also told S&P Global Platts that Russia and Saudi Arabia were withholding production while the United States was ramping up, with the national total seen to rise by 1 million bpd within 12 months.

Interestingly, the accusations against OPEC come on the heels of a revelation that Russia and Saudi Arabia had agreed privately to increase production to offset any supply declines pushing prices higher. Reuters reported yesterday, citing an unnamed source, that “The Russians and the Saudis agreed to add barrels to the market quietly with a view not to look like they are acting on Trump’s order to pump more.”

 

 

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/OPEC-Accused-Of-Hiding-Spare-Capacity.html

 

[Pitcher]

Traders bet on oil at $100 as Iran sanctions loom

October 04, 201805:00

• Return of sanctions on Nov.4 fuels rise of oil price
• $100 call options surge by 30 percent

NEW YORK: Oil traders have piled into wagers that US crude oil could surge to $100 a barrel by next year, a milestone that until recently many considered unthinkable due to record US production growth and relatively flat global demand.
But the imminent return of US sanctions on Iran and bottlenecks keeping US oil from getting to market have fueled a rally that has taken benchmark oil prices to four-year highs.
While big producing nations say supply is ample, hedge funds and speculators are increasingly skeptical of that argument, betting the market could rally further as sanctions on Iran’s crude exports return on Nov. 4.
The bullishness is visible in the US options market. The number of open positions on $100 December 2019 WTI call options — bets on futures hitting that price by the end of 2019 — has risen by 30 percent in the last week to a record 31,000 lots, according to CME data.
“Over the last two weeks, there’s been a lot more evidence that even some of the larger customers — India and China — are not going to be buying Iranian crude from November,” said John Saucer, vice president of research and analysis at Mobius Risk Group.
As a result, he said, “these sanctions are likely to be a lot more effective than people even thought.”
Overall exports from Iran have dropped to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in September from 2.8 million bpd in April, the Institute of International Finance said.
Estimates for how much of Iran’s exports could be affected range from 500,000 bpd to 2 million bpd, and uncertainty over the impact could ultimately foster price swings in either direction.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose above $86 a barrel on Wednesday, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US crude hit $76 a barrel, both four-year highs.
The Trump administration’s decision to renew sanctions on Iran prompted a sharp shift from the OPEC countries. After about 18 months of restraining supply, OPEC agreed to increase output.
Oil markets are looking to OPEC and Russia to make up shortfalls in supply. US production, which sits at a record 11.1 million bpd, cannot replace Middle East crudes, such as Iranian grades, in Asian refineries. In addition, transportation bottlenecks are constraining US output.
“We continue to see price risks tilted to the upside and do not rule out a spike in oil prices to $100/barrel,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
Open interest in $100 December 2018 Brent call options , which expire in late October, is currently more than 50,000 lots, more than any other strike price for that month, according to InterContinental Exchange data.
Implied volatility for very bullish Brent options that expire after the Nov. 4 resumption of sanctions has overtaken that for very bearish options, suggesting increased demand for such bullish bets.
This spread, or skew, is at its most bullish since mid July.
Open interest in $100 December 2018 WTI calls, which expire in mid-November, has risen to the highest in over four months at about 15,000 lots.
Many traders said these $100 bets face long odds. Option contracts used to speculate on far-fetched outcomes tend to be cheap, and if crude’s rally stalls, those positions will expire worthless. But even a short-term jump could make those options more expensive, and holders could sell them for a profit.

 

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1382561/business-economy

 

 

[Pitcher]

I’m a trader and I have my bet on oil stocks, even though we got beat up a little today. 

[DinarThug]

LINK

Oil prices rise to four-year highs

 

6th October, 2018
Oil prices stabilized this week after jumping earlier to the highest level in four years, and ended Brent and US crude gains on the week of the month of entry into force of US sanctions on Iran 's oil exports before. 

US benchmark WTI ended the trading session up one cent to settle at $ 74.34 a barrel.  Brent crude for December delivery fell 42 cents to settle at $ 84.16 a barrel. Brent hit the highest level since late 2014 at $ 86.74.  US crude ended the week up 1.3 percent, while Brent climbed 1.4 percent. Saudi Arabia and Russia have been constrained by price gains this week by increasing production to compensate for at least part of the supply shortfall from Iran, OPEC's third largest producer, due to sanctions that will come into force on November 4. 

Washington wants governments and companies around the world to stop buying Iranian oil to pressure Tehran to renegotiate a nuclear deal.  Bloomberg said Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman insisted the kingdom kept its promise to compensate for the loss of Iranian crude supplies. He said Saudi Arabia was now pumping about 10.7 million barrels per day and could pump an additional 1.3 million bpd "if the market needs it."

[yota691]

Russia: Trump Triggers Trick the Oil Market

02:33 - 09/10/2018

 

 

 

Follow - up - balances News 
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak believes that the blog published by the US leadership spoke confusion in the oil markets, noting that prices are high because of concern to market participants. 
Novak said in an interview with the channel "Russia 24": "The statements and slogans issued by the US leadership are confusing the market .. The market does not know how to behave, and what to expect in the future, and the price today in the market, according to my vision, a bit higher compared to What it might have been for these tweets. " 
"All the participants in the discussions held on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week, including the Saudi Energy Minister and the OPEC Secretary General, spoke of the fact that today the price depends more on the feelings of the market participants than on the balance of supply and demand."
US President Donald Trump attacked his Twitter page twice for OPEC, saying it was the cause of high oil prices in the markets and demanded that it work to reduce crude prices. He also accused the Organization of manipulating oil prices in the markets.

[yota691]

OPEC Secretary General: We are very concerned about surplus oil

Release date: 2018/10/11 13:07 • 69 times read

(Reuters) - Oil producers are extremely concerned about excess production capacity as investment in the energy sector is low, OPEC Secretary General Mohamed Barkindo said on Thursday.

"We are very concerned," said Barkindo, in response to a question on excess capacity in the light of continued decline in investment in the oil sector caused by the market's decline. 
Barkindo was speaking at the Oil and Money Conference in London and said earlier he wanted to ensure there was no shortage of crude in the market

[yota691]

OPEC Increases Oil Production to Compensate Iranian Oil Decline on Sanctions

 

Arab and international Economy News _ Baghdad The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) resumed its oil production last month with a push from Saudi Arabia and other countries to compensate for further decline in Iran's output. OPEC's total output rose by 132,000 bpd in September from Saudi Arabia, Libya and Angola, according to indirect sources quoted by OPEC in its annual oil report. Production reached 32 million and 761,000 bpd, according to Western media. Riyadh contributed a larger increase by 168,000 bpd compared to August 2018. OPEC's output has increased by 132,000 bpd despite a new drop in Iran's production of 150,000 bpd under pressure from US sanctions. Iran, OPEC's third largest producer, produced only 3,447 million bpd last month after it produced 3,697 million bpd in July. After withdrawing in May from the nuclear deal in 2015, Washington is set to return in early November a second series of sanctions against Iran, which targets the energy sector. With Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman saying recently that Riyadh could compensate for Iran's lack of exports, OPEC has slightly revised its estimate of high demand for crude and for 2019. It expects an increase of 1.54 million bpd this year for a total demand of 98.79 million bpd. OPEC is explaining the change by slowing down in Latin America and the Middle East but also in Western Europe. It also pointed to a weaker-than-expected demand for diesel in Germany and France. Views 460   Date Added 12/10/2018

[yota691]

Oil jumps more than 1% after falling for two days and is still heading towards a weekly drop

 

Arab and international Economy News _ Baghdad Oil prices jumped 1 percent on Friday recovering from a two-day slump supported by China's crude imports, but prices are still heading for the first weekly drop in five weeks. Brent crude futures rose 1.02 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $ 81.28 a barrel by 0637 GMT. The contract fell 3.4 percent on Thursday after a sharp drop in equity markets and signs that supply concerns were overstated. Brent is still down 3.4 percent this week, the biggest drop in nearly four months. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 80 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $ 71.77 a barrel after falling 3 percent in the previous session. Crude on the course of decline 3.5 percent this week. China's daily crude oil imports in September reached its highest level since May, customs data showed on Friday. Views 6   Date Added 12/10/2018

[yota691]

Oil prices fall 3% due to deteriorating stock markets and rising US stocks

 

Arab and international Economy News _ Baghdad Oil prices fell to their lowest level in more than two weeks as global stock markets plummeted as investor sentiment was hurt by a larger-than-expected increase in US crude inventories. Brent crude ended $ 2.83, or 3.41 percent, at $ 80.26 per barrel, after recording $ 79.80, the lowest level since Sept. 24, the Reuters news agency reported. Global benchmarking has taken a downward path since hitting a four-year high of $ 86.74 on October 3. US WTI crude fell $ 2.2, or 3.01%, to settle at $ 70.97 a barrel after recording at $ 70.51, the lowest since September 21. US crude oil inventories jumped six million barrels last week, more than double the analysts' forecast of 2.6 million barrels, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed on Thursday. The data also indicated that the consumption of crude refineries fell by 352 thousand barrels per day with operating rates fell 1.6 percentage points. Oil contracts have also been hit by falling US equity markets and investors around the world are avoiding risk. Views 280   Date Added 12/10/2018

[yota691]

International Energy sees the world oil market with sufficient supplies

01:48 - 12/10/2018

 

 

 

Follow - up - the balance of News 
said the International Energy Agency on Friday, said that the oil markets appear to "the supply is sufficient now" after a significant increase in production over the past six months, but noted that the oil sector is under pressure as he tries to adapt to increasing global demand. 
In its monthly report, the IAEA said reserve capacity in the global oil sector had already fallen to just 2 percent of global demand and was likely to fall further. 
"This pressure on the oil sector may continue with us for some time and will probably be accompanied by a rise in prices, which we regret most because of its potential negative impact on the global economy," the Paris-based agency said.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other exporters such as Russia and oil producers in the United States have increased their production of crude heavily since May, which led to production to rise 1.4 million barrels per day. 
In general, OPEC has increased production by 735,000 bpd since May, with producers from the Gulf region, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, compensating for a fall in output from Venezuela and Iran, which faces US sanctions next month. 
This comes as expectations for global consumption of oil fell. 
The agency cut its forecast for global oil demand growth to 0.11 million bpd for the current and next year to 1.28 million bpd in 2018 and 1.36 million bpd in 2019.
"This is because of weak global economic prospects, trade concerns, rising oil prices and an adjustment in Chinese data," said the agency, which advises crude consumers on energy policies. 
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stockpiles rose 15.7 million barrels in August to 2.854 billion barrels, the highest level since February. 
It also noted that OECD stockpiles are likely to have risen by 43 million barrels in the third quarter, the biggest quarterly increase in inventories since the first quarter of 2016.
"The increase in net supplies from two major producers since May at about 1.4 million bpd led by Saudi Arabia, the fact that oil stocks increased 0.5 million barrels in the second quarter of 2018 and seems to have done the same in the third quarter, The oil has sufficient supplies so far. "

[Officiallytook]

It just dawned on me how important sanctions against Iran are for Us and Iraq...

 

Showed progress for Iraq... and while all eyes on Iran, Iraq ups Oil production and ReValues their currency...

 

(Boom)mind

 

 

[jcfrag]

Somebody has to make up the difference if Iran is in time out! 

[Butifldrm]

Economy

Monday 15 October 2018 01:28 PM

| Number of readings:

 

 

Saudi political tensions raise oil prices

 

 

Oil prices rose during Monday's trading to $ 80 per barrel, in line with geopolitical tensions in Saudi Arabia.

By 8:00 am GMT, the price of Brent crude for December delivery rose 0.5% to $ 80.84 a barrel.

US crude futures for November delivery rose $ 71.55 a barrel, up 0.3%.

Fears of a deepening crisis in Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of a Saudi national, Jamal Khashoggi, and allegations that he is being held inside the kingdom's embassy in Turkey have raised fears that this could affect the oil situation in the Arab state and supply.

US crude had a weekly loss of about 4% last week, with OPEC production increasing monthly in September and rising US inventories during the week ending October 5th. Finished

http://aynaliraqnews.com/index.php?aa=news&id22=106719

[Pitcher]

Saudi Arabia is world’s energy ‘shock absorber’, says minister Al-Falih

• Al-Falih told an energy event in India that it was time this balancing role was respected and acknowledged by the international community.
• He added that the Kingdom wanted to continue playing the global balancing role that it currently plays. 

RIYADH: Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih on Monday said that the Kingdom was the world’s energy “shock absorber” and pledged to continue to offer a cushion to global supply interruptions.
But he also warned that it was time that this balancing role was respected and acknowledged by the international community.
His remarks come amid concerns among energy-importing nations about the recent rise in the oil price and increased pressure from the US for the Kingdom to boost production.
“We could have another unanticipated, unplanned disruption. We’ve seen Libya, we’ve seen Nigeria, we’ve seen Venezuela and we have sanctions on Iran. These supply disruptions need a shock absorber,” Al-Falih told the CERAWeek event by IHS Markit.
“The shock absorber has been, to a large part, Saudi Arabia. We have invested tens of billions of dollars to build the spare capacity which has been two to three million barrels over the years.
“It has been like a spinning reserve in an electricity system waiting to step in if there is a disruption. We’ve done it out of a sense of responsibility.”
He added that the Kingdom wanted to continue playing that role but also hoped that “the global community of nations will respect and acknowledge what Saudi Arabia has done.
“Once again, we in Saudi Arabia in particular delivered on our role as the world’s cushion against market shocks and today I want to assure our Indian partners and petroleum consumers around the world that we want to continue to support the growth of the global economy,” he said.
In a wide-ranging address, Al-Falih also acknowledged India’s increasingly important status as an energy-consuming nation.With a population that is increasing by some 15 million people per year, India has become a key market for Saudi Arabia and other regional oil exporters.
“India is the world’s fastest- growing energy and oil consuming nation. This trend is playing an important role for driving future demand for oil and gas for decades to come,” he said.
“There can be little doubt that India’s rise as an economic superpower will be accompanied by massive energy demand growth.”

 

 

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1387976/business-economy

 

[yota691]

Opec Secretary General: The capacity of surplus world oil production is shrinking

 

 

 Arab and international

Economynews - Baghdad

OPEC's secretary-general Mohamed Barkindo said the capacity of surplus world oil production was shrinking, adding that producers and companies should increase their productive capacity and invest more to meet current demand.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members participating in the supply reduction deal are meeting the level of commitment to production cuts to 100 percent, Barkindo said at the ICS Sera conference on Tuesday.

Views 266   Date Added 16/10/2018

[yota691]

OPEC Secretary General calls on oil producing countries to increase production

 

Tuesday, October 16,

 

 

 

 

Al-Sumerian News / Baghdad OPEC's Secretary-General Mohamed Barkindo revealed Tuesday that the world's surplus oil production capacity is shrinking, adding that producers and companies must increase their productive capacity and invest more to meet current demand. "Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members participating in the supply reduction agreement are in the process of meeting the level of commitment to production cuts to 100 percent,"  Barkindo said at the ICS Sera conference, according to Reuters .   "Consumers, including India , are concerned about supply prospects and India's demand for oil is expected to rise by 5.8 million bpd by 2040, accounting for about 40 percent of the total increase in global demand during this period," Barkindo said.  "The world oil sector needs $ 11 trillion in investment to meet future demand by 2040," Barkindo said, predicting a "default in 2019" due to greater supply growth. "  US sanctions on Iran's oil exports November 4, and the United States is pressing its allies to stop Iranian oil imports and encouraging Saudi Arabia and the rest of OPEC members and Russia to pump more oil to fill any shortage.

[Pitcher]

Saudi Arabia Calls The End Of Russia’s Oil Prowess

By Julianne Geiger - Oct 16, 2018, 5:00 PM CDT

Saudi Arabia has not only called the end of Russia’s prominence as a global oil behemoth, but anticipates that Russia’s oil exports “will have declined heavily if not disappeared” within the next 19 years, Mohammed bin Salman said in a recent interview with Bloomberg.

When asked whether Russia and Saudi Arabia had made a backroom deal to increase oil production, MbS was more tight-lipped, saying only that Saudi Arabia was “ready to supply any demand and any disappearing from Iran.” With Russia out of the game, Saudi Arabia would have plenty of oil demand to service, according to MbS.

MbS did not comment on his rationale for Russia’s exit as a major oil producer.

Russia’s oil production in August of 11.21 million barrels per day, near the post-Soviet era high reached the month prior to signing the OPEC+ deal that curbed its production. The 11.21 million barrels places the country in second place of the most prolific oil producers in the world, behind the United States, who overtookboth Saudi Arabia and Russia earlier this year, according to EIA data as cited by CNN.9

 

While America managed to rise from its third place seating in 2018, it did so unencumbered by the production-curbing agreement that both Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to. Gazpromneft earlier today said it was no longer restricting its oil output, although it doubtful that either Russia or Saudi Arabia can reclaim their top spots.

Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of oil news in recent weeks—almost neck and neck with Iran—as traders try to anticipate just how much spare oil production capacity Saudi Arabia has—if any—and if that spare capacity, whether it’s zero or a million barrels per day, will be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from Iran and Venezuela.

[Pitcher]

Oil Prices Rise After API Reports Surprise Crude Oil Draw

By Julianne Geiger - Oct 16, 2018, 3:55 PM CDT

The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise draw of 2.13 million barrels of United States crude oil inventories for the week ending October 12, compared to analyst expectations that this week would see a build in crude oil inventories of 2.167 million barrels.

Last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported the biggest build in more than a year, with crude oil inventories swelling by almost 10 million barrels for the week. One day later, the Energy Information Administration proffered a more modest—but still large—estimate of the build at 5.987 million barrels.

The API reported a draw in gasoline inventories as well for week ending October 12 in the amount of 3.4 million barrels. Analysts had predicted a draw of 1.074 million barrels for the week.

 

Oil prices were up in afternoon trading prior to the release of the API data on inventories. At 3:10pm EDT, WTI was trading up 0.07% (+$0.05.) at $71.83. While up on the day, WTI is trading more than $1 below the price it was trading at this time last week as an emotional market closely scrutinizes industry news regarding Iran’s faltering oil exports and increases in production from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.

The Brent crude benchmark was trading up 0.64% (+$0.52.) at $81.30—more than $1 below last week’s Tuesday prices.

Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, site increased this week by 1.5 million barrels.

US crude oil production as estimated by the Energy Information Administration kept prices in check, hitting a new record of 11.2 million bpd for the week ending October 05.

Distillate inventories were down this week by 246,000 barrels, compared to a larger expected draw of 1.280 million barrels.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration report on crude oil inventories is due to be released on Thursday at 11:00a.m. EDT.

By 4:48pm EDT, WTI was trading up at $72.21 and Brent was trading up at $81.66.

 

 

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Oil-Prices-Rise-After-API-Reports-Surprise-Crude-Oil-Draw.html

 

[yota691]

OPEC: Saudi Arabia confirmed that there will be no shortage in the oil market

03:16 - 17/10/2018

 

 

 

 

Follow-up of Mawazine News

OPEC Secretary-General Mohamed Barkindo said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had assured the Organization that it was "committed, capable and ready" to ensure that there was no shortage of oil. 
In response to a question on whether the organization's relationship with Saudi Arabia and the production of world oil will be affected by the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 
Barkindo cited Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih at a conference in New Delhi on Monday and said Saudi Arabia was ready to ensure there was no shortage of oil. 
"We are in OPEC, our focus remains on our common goals," Bakindo said, adding that Saudi Arabia had "good surplus production capacity sufficient as a reserve against any emergency."
Khashoggi's disappearance has put global pressure on Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter. US lawmakers blamed the Saudi leadership and many prominent participants withdrew at a major Saudi investment conference planned for next week to protest Khashoggi's disappearance at the consulate in Istanbul.