Oil rises 1% on settlement amid fears of supply shortages

[yota691]

 

OPEC asking for help 33 minutes ago Last updated 03:47 PM 141 Watch     Follow - up / Tomorrow 's Press  confirmed the Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mohammad Barkindo, on Tuesday, told reporters, that all oil producers to provide assistance in the global balance in the market.  This came in response to a question about what OPEC should do to ease the supply glut of crude in world markets.   He Barkindo told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Istanbul, "it is far from receding in a range of stakeholders. Must have a collective responsibility for all producers."

[bkeiller]

OPEC is withering on the vine. And to think it was the Saudis who started the price war. I am sure they are loved ... Bueller ... .

[MyLadiesDaddy]

5 hours ago, yota691 said:

Little math @ 12 mbpd every year = 8 (100) 73 (billion) 6 (100 million) usd, take it little further every 5 years = 4 (trillion) 368 (billion) usd just in oil and GM DV...

And that's allot of gogo juice

[ChuckFinley]

Thanks Yota, keep'em coming.  

[yota691]

Oil prices stable with continued oversupply and increased demand

18-07-2017 12:20 PM

Hits: 713

 

Baghdad News -

Singapore - Reuters 

characterized trading in oil markets on Tuesday, cautiously, to receive price support enhances demand but with exposure to pressure from the continuing rise in supplies from the Organization of «OPEC» and the United States.

The total crude futures for global measurement «Brent» to $ 48.39 a barrel, to go down three cents from the previous close to it. The futures fell for crude «West Texas» US mediator four cents to $ 45.98 a barrel.

In a sign of strong demand, data yesterday showed that refiners in China increased crude consumption in June to the second highest level ever.

But oil markets suffer from excess supply since 2014, resulting in lower prices by 50 percent since then.

Did not produce an agreement, it concluded «Petroleum Exporting Countries Organization» (OPEC) with Russia and other producers are not members of the cartel to cut supplies about 1.8 million barrels per day in the period between January (January) this year March 2018, so far, the scarcity the market and high prices that producers are looking forward to.

This is due to the continued rise in supplies of «OPEC», due to increased production from Nigeria and Libya (the states of OPEC Almafeetin of the agreement), and increased US production.

Ecuador (said a small OPEC producer), today it does not meet its pledge to cut its production of 26 thousand barrels per day, because of the budget suffered by the country's deficit, and is expected to reach 7.5 percent of GDP this year.

[yota691]

Brent crude rises above $ 50 for the first time since June

 

 

 27 minutes ago

 

 

Twilight News / Brent crude rose above $ 50 a barrel for the first time since early June on Thursday reinforced gains made in the previous session when pushing stocks lower crude and petroleum products in the US market for the rise.

Increased crude futures for global measurement Brent 40 cents from the previous close to $ 50.10 a barrel at 1257 GMT.

It stepped up futures contracts for WTI US median 30 cents to $ 47.42 a barrel.

And at Van highs since the seventh of June, after it went up by more than 1.5 percent in the previous session on a report showed a drop in crude stocks and fuel in the United States last week.

According to data from the US Energy Information Administration crude inventories in the United States fell 4.7 million barrels for the week ending July 14, while analysts expected to fall 3.2 million barrels.

[yota691]

Oil stability before OPEC meeting

Brent is settling at $ 49.29 per barrel

 

 21 July 2017 09:32 p

Mubasher: Oil prices stabilized during Friday's trading, awaiting the meeting of members and non-members of OPEC next week.

By 7:20 am (GMT), the price of Brent crude for the US dollar settled at $ 49.29 a barrel.

The price of NYMEX crude futures settled at $ 46.91 a barrel.

The members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are meeting with non-members in St. Petersburg in Russia next Monday to discuss market conditions and discuss whether price support is needed.

Crude prices rose to a six-week high in yesterday's trading, and Brent crude surpassed $ 50 a barrel after positive data on US inventories.

Later in the day, the release of crude oil drilling platforms is scheduled for release.

[yota691]

OPEC: Oil market balance will accelerate in the second half of the year

- 7/23/2017 2:49:00 AM 28 Number of readings

 

 

 

 

Khandan -

OPEC Secretary-General Mohamed Barkindo said on Sunday that the oil market is progressing slower than expected but will accelerate in the second half of the year. 

"We are sure that the process of restoring balance may go at a slower pace than expected, but it is moving forward," Barkindo told reporters in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. 

 "OPEC is expected to accelerate in the second half," he said. 

Barkindo pointed to strong growth in demand for oil and commitment to the global agreement between OPEC and outside countries to reduce production, in addition to the decline in stocks in the United States as reasons for the expected acceleration in restoring the balance of the market.

[SocalDinar]

Iraq daily oil production likely to hit 5 million barrels by 2017’s end

http://www.iraqinews.com/business-iraqi-dinar/iraq-daily-oil-production-likely-hit-5-million-barrels-end-2017/

 

Jul 23, 2017, 2:01 pm

 

Iraq’s oil output is expected to reach five million barrels per day by end-2017 (Reuters)

 

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi expected the country’s oil output to reach five million barrels per day, and associated gas production to hit 1.3 billion standard

cubic feet by the end of 2017.

Al-Luaibi told semi-official Alsabaah newspaper that the Oil Ministry will be able to achieve its goal of producing five million barrels of crude oil per day by the end of this year, stressing that the ministry’s plans “will not be affected by any fluctuations”.

“South Gas Company will be able to invest the associated gas as production is likely to reach 1.3 billion standard cubic feet by the end of 2017,” al-Luaibi added, noting that the ministry is currently exporting 1,000 tons of liquid gas and 16,000 barrels of gas condensates to global market.

Last week, al-Luaibi signed a contract with Baker Hughes, a General Electric company, for a fast track flare gas solution for the al-Nassiriya and al-Gharraf Oilfields, south of Baghdad.

Under the contract, Baker Hughes will develop advanced solutions for flare gas at the al-Nassiriya and al-Gharraf oilfields, using modular gas processing technology developed in United States. The project is expected to be executed in two phases.

 

Edited July 23, 2017 by SocalDinar

[Texstorm]

16 minutes ago, SocalDinar said:

Iraq daily oil production likely to hit 5 million barrels by 2017’s end

http://www.iraqinews.com/business-iraqi-dinar/iraq-daily-oil-production-likely-hit-5-million-barrels-end-2017/

 

Jul 23, 2017, 2:01 pm

 

Iraq’s oil output is expected to reach five million barrels per day by end-2017 (Reuters)

 

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi expected the country’s oil output to reach five million barrels per day, and associated gas production to hit 1.3 billion standard

cubic feet by the end of 2017.

Al-Luaibi told semi-official Alsabaah newspaper that the Oil Ministry will be able to achieve its goal of producing five million barrels of crude oil per day by the end of this year, stressing that the ministry’s plans “will not be affected by any fluctuations”.

“South Gas Company will be able to invest the associated gas as production is likely to reach 1.3 billion standard cubic feet by the end of 2017,” al-Luaibi added, noting that the ministry is currently exporting 1,000 tons of liquid gas and 16,000 barrels of gas condensates to global market.

Last week, al-Luaibi signed a contract with Baker Hughes, a General Electric company, for a fast track flare gas solution for the al-Nassiriya and al-Gharraf Oilfields, south of Baghdad.

Under the contract, Baker Hughes will develop advanced solutions for flare gas at the al-Nassiriya and al-Gharraf oilfields, using modular gas processing technology developed in United States. The project is expected to be executed in two phases.

 

Good Morning SocalDinar ! I tried the math on my phone calculator, it went to error.....That's a whole lot of Mulla !

[yota691]

eGMT 5:42 2017 Monday , July 24 : Last Updated

International Monetary Fund: Slow economic growth in the Middle East

a. F. B.

 

DUBAI: Economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa is slowing sharply this year, while growth in Saudi Arabia is expected to fall to near zero, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday.

After a better-than-expected performance in 2016 with a growth rate of 5 percent, this rate will not exceed 2.6 percent this year in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Last year's good performance was mainly due to strong growth of more than 6.5 percent in Iran thanks to the high level of oil production, according to the fund.

However, in its review of the outlook for the global economy, the IMF lowered its forecast for growth in Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude oil exporter, to just 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent in April.

It would be the lowest growth in Saudi Arabia since 2009, when the economy contracted by 2 percent on the back of declining oil revenues after the global economic crisis.

"If the current decline in oil prices continues, it could have a greater impact on the prospects of oil exporters in the region," the IMF warned.

After an improvement to more than $ 55 a barrel, thanks to a deal to reduce supply between the oil-producing countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and outside, especially between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the price of the barrel returned below the threshold of $ 50.

At the same time, however, the IMF expects an improvement in regional economic growth rate of 3.3 percent in 2018.

The figure is expected to rise by 1.1 percent in Saudi Arabia next year, down 0.2 percent from April's forecasts, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The Saudi economy recorded growth rates of 4.1 percent and 1.7 percent respectively in 2015 and 2016.

Middle East oil exporters have lost hundreds of billions of dollars since the collapse of oil prices in mid-2014 and the huge surplus in their budgets has turned into a deficit.

To counter this situation, these countries have been forced to adopt austerity measures and reform their monetary and economic policies, especially through increased prices of fuel and electricity.

[yota691]

Oil boosts gains as OPEC calls for output cuts

Release date: 2017/7/25 14:00 • 14 times scheduled

[Where-up] 
Oil prices continued their gains on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia pledged to restrict exports from OPEC next month and called for a number of its members to increase the level of their commitment to production cuts to help reduce oversupply and address declining prices.

The gains were supported by Halliburton's chief executive warning that the growth in the number of North American oil rigs showed signs of stability that could threaten oil production in the United States. 
By 0705 GMT, London's benchmark Brent crude for September delivery rose 22 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $ 48.82 a barrel, after rising 1.1 percent in the previous settlement. 
US crude futures rose 23 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $ 46.57 a barrel. 
OPEC and independent producers discussed at a meeting in St. Petersburg on Monday the extension of the 1.8 million bpd cut after March as necessary. 
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Faleh said his country would limit crude exports by 6 percent. 6 million barrels per day in August, less than one million barrels per day from the levels recorded a year ago. 
Nigeria has voluntarily agreed to join the agreement by setting a ceiling for production at 1.8 million bpd or reducing it when supplies stabilize at that level. Nigeria, which produces 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) recently, is exempt from production cuts.

[yota691]

Financial crises in Iraq are worsening with commitment to the agreement to reduce oil production

Economy News Baghdad:  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's federal government's commitment to an OPEC deal to cut oil production has exacerbated financial crises in the country it has sought to compensate through loans from abroad, Iraqi officials said. Iraq faces a severe financial crisis, which has forced it to borrow billions of dollars to compensate for its financial expenses as oil revenues fall amid warnings of dire consequences for the country's economy. Iraq has suffered several political, economic and security difficulties as a result of its war against terrorism, as well as a drop in oil prices, which has led to imbalances and a record deficit in the public budget, officials said. Iraq is the second-largest oil exporter in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which agreed in November to reduce its total production by 1.2 million barrels per day, starting in January to restore balance in the markets. The organization returned weeks ago, extending the agreement for nine months ending in March 2018. Iraq relies mainly on its financial revenues on the export of crude oil by 97 percent, while currently working to activate the industrial, agricultural and commercial to provide additional revenue. Iraq ranks ninth in the world's richest natural gas countries after Russia, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, America, Nigeria and Venezuela, with proven reserves of 143 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with total gas reserves of 98.3 trillion cubic feet. Zahir al-Abadi, a member of the Energy Committee in parliament, said that determining the oil production of Iraq in the current stage has greatly affected the volume of financial revenues, pointing out that his country has the ability to increase its oil exports after the introduction of many oil wells for service. Iraq has agreed to cut production by 210,000 barrels per day to 4.35 million barrels per day, Iraqi oil ministry officials say, Baghdad has fully complied with the agreement. Iraq relies on revenues from the sale of oil to finance up to about 95 percent of state expenditure and the decline in crude prices since 2014 has had a great impact on the Iraqi economy. Low revenues "There is a severe financial crisis in the country that has been accumulating for years, as a result of the decline in annual financial revenues and the crisis is worsening daily with increased expenditures," said Sarhan Ahmad, a member of the Iraqi parliament's finance committee. "Iraq's commitments in international finance for several multi-billion dollar loans, such as the Japanese, French, English, Qatari and other loans, will be a source of concern for the government in the absence of a long-term vision of the country's economy," Sarhan said. "Facing the financial crisis needs a series of practical measures taken by a strong government, most notably controlling domestic spending and ending corruption," Sarhan said. According to economist Majid al-Suri, a member of the administrative board of the Central Bank of Iraq, the financial revenues of the Iraqi government, has achieved a slight increase over the past months, but still below the level of ambition because of not taking internal measures that will revive the economy and raise the value of revenue. "The financial revenues have increased over the past months, reflected in the Iraqi parliament's approval of a supplementary budget for this year's budget, but of course it would have been possible to achieve greater financial revenues if it took a series of internal measures to reduce dependence on oil." He explained that "control of the border ports and the activation of the industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors, has had a significant impact in increasing the volume of financial revenues of the state and reduce the dependence on oil under the near stability of prices in world markets." Two simultaneous crises According to a research note issued late last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Iraq has faced two simultaneous crises since the second half of 2014, the insurgency led by the Islamic state organization and the shock of oil prices. "These two crises have had severe effects on the economy, structural weaknesses and imbalances have been exacerbated and political instability in 2014 has led to a slowdown in consumption and investment in the private sector, and constrained government spending, particularly on investment projects," the IMF said.     Views 104   Date Added 27/07/2017

[yota691]

OPEC 's economy and independent producers meet to discuss cut-off deal

59 minutes ago

 

 

OPEC officials said on Saturday that officials from a technical committee comprising OPEC producers and independents would hold a meeting in Abu Dhabi on August 7 and 8 to discuss compliance with the supply reduction agreement.

The JCOMM meeting will be chaired by Kuwait and Russia and will be attended by representatives of Saudi Arabia, which will head the organization in 2017.

OPEC said the aim of the meeting was to "better understand the difficulties and obstacles faced by some OPEC producers and participating independents (at the meeting) and assess how to improve compliance levels in order to achieve a more balanced global oil market."

Sources said the meeting was likely to be attended by representatives from the UAE hosting the meeting and from Iraq and non-OPEC Kazakhstan.

[yota691]

Oil markets after the meeting of St. Petersburg

Walid Khadouri

The price of Brent crude oil has stabilized at a range of between $ 45 and $ 50 a barrel since the beginning of June and until the end of July. But the price began to increase gradually after the end of the oil ministerial meeting in St. Petersburg, which brought together 24 exporters (OPEC and its allies, specifically Russia), from about 48.50 dollars a barrel to more than 50 dollars. However, current prices remain around $ 8.50 lower than at this time last year. The main reason for this move was the data and statements made after the St. Petersburg Conference. The primary markets reacted in the first place because the official ministerial statement confirmed the increased demand and continued reduction rates pledged earlier this year, Barrels per day from January this year until the end of March 2018. But the tone of the markets changed in the light of the statement of Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Faleh on the sidelines of the meeting, saying that his country «will reduce its exports to about 6.6 million barrels per day in August (August) or about 600 thousand barrels less than Stewaha almost a year ago. » It is known that Saudi Arabia usually increases its exports by the end of the summer, with the start of lower electricity consumption, and then the surprise of reducing additional exports to Saudi Arabia than it is committed to in its agreement with the rest of the exporters. The question is, why this additional cut? The views expressed are numerous. Others, including the International Energy Agency, noted that global demand in the second half of the year is higher than the expected increase in supplies, which will increase and accelerate the drag and volume of global stocks. But does not rule out a change in the picture in the first quarter of 2018, which will boost the level of the global oil reserves. Observers also spoke of the caution that overshadowed the meeting in St. Petersburg, from the lack of commitment by some countries to their commitments, which raises supplies quickly and reduces the pace of decline in the level of world stocks. This may undermine the attempt to reduce the stock to its normal levels, so that pressure on prices will stop and raise it from its current low level. If the stock continues to be above its level for the past five years, despite the agreement to reduce the first and second production, and as long as the stock is above the desired levels, it will overshadow prices and keep them at low levels. And caution that the number of non-committed countries increases their commitments to reduce production, and thus the inability to reduce the size of stocks to the desired level. According to recent information from OPEC, the oil reserves of industrialized countries fell about 90 million barrels during the first half of the year. However, the level of inventories is still about 250 million barrels higher than its average in the last five years, which is the index adopted by the Organization to stabilize the level of stocks, so as to allow the possibility of restoring stability to markets. In addition to these developments, an important factor is ambiguous. Nigeria and Libya, both members of OPEC, have been excluded from production cuts because of their turbulent domestic conditions. The Nigerian oil minister said that his country will maintain the rate of production of 1.8 million barrels per day, if achieved. There was also optimism that the French mediation led by French President Emmanuel Makron could succeed in stabilizing the two countries and thus increase Libyan exports. However, based on past experiences, optimism about the two countries has been released in the past, and then quickly reversed. So doubts remain about whether the exports of the two countries could be raised to normal levels. The experience of trying to stabilize prices has shown two important indicators over the long term. The first is the difficulty of the future OPEC Organization in dealing with price stability after its deterioration, without consultation and cooperation with other producing countries, specifically Russia. The second is the extent to which the Saudi-Russian cooperation in the oil sector is beginning to take place not only in the area of cooperation between the two producers of price stability, as this is important for their economies, but also in the leading role they have played together in asserting their commitment to implementing their commitments to reduce production , After previous experiences have not been successful. The meetings and meetings between Saudi Aramco and the Russian oil companies are also in the process of strengthening the economic and industrial relations between them. Iraqi writer specializing in energy Quoting the newspaper "life" of London   Views 19   Date Added 30/07/2017

[yota691]

Specialists: Slowdown in Iraq's performance by implementing the OPEC agreement

Economy News Follow-up: Oil analysts and oil experts expected crude prices to continue their gains this week, after concluding last week on a more confident atmosphere in a market that led to the highest price levels in two months and prices recorded the highest weekly gain over the year exceeded 8 per cent. The experts considered that the decline of oil stocks in a significant tangible gave the largest support for prices and boost confidence in the plan, "OPEC" to restore balance in the market, especially after Saudi Arabia to reduce its oil exports by about one million barrels per day and increase the compliance rate of producers to the agreement to cut production applied since the beginning of this year, which extends To March next year with the possibility of extending it for a new period. The influential producers' meetings follow the success of the St. Petersburg meeting last week, where a technical committee from OPEC countries and outside is scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi on August 7 and 8 to give fresh impetus to the commitment to cut output. A new meeting of ministers of the member states of the committee to monitor the production cut-off agreement is scheduled for next September. In a related context, the State of Equatorial Guinea, the newest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, praised the efforts of the international organization to help restore stability to the world oil market despite the current challenges facing the oil industry in different countries of the world. Equatorial Guinea said OPEC's successful policies had made many countries seek membership, citing its full support for OPEC's mission to lead the market towards overcoming difficulties and pushing the market towards stability and sustainable growth. This came in an OPEC report on the results of Secretary General Mohamed Barkindo's visit to Equatorial Guinea and successful and successful talks with President Teodoro Mbasogo, Prime Minister Francisco Pascual, and Minister of Energy, Industry and Mines Gabriel Lima. He stressed that OPEC will continue its mission in the service of Member States and the interests of the industry and the international economy, urging all Member States to remain united and continue to meet to defend common interests. Barkindo, who visited Guinea for the first time, said he briefed the leaders on developments in the agreement that brought together OPEC countries and a number of independent producers, as well as the latest results of joint cooperation announced after the meeting of the committee to monitor the cut-off agreement in St. Petersburg last week. "OPEC has moved immediately to contain some of the slackness observed in the performance of some producers towards the reduction of production so the meeting of St. Petersburg came to raise pressure on producers to maintain a high level of compliance," said Steven Schimmel, director of German company VG Industri. So that the agreement remains effective and strong. The compliance rate for production cuts reached more than 100 per cent a few months after the agreement, but eventually fell to 78 per cent due to a slowdown in the performance of Iraq and Ecuador, as well as the large increase in the production of Libya and Nigeria. He pointed out that prices are poised for further gains in the coming weeks due to significant progress in the process of withdrawing from stocks and treatment of surplus accumulated above the average in five years and the reduction of Saudi exports and the slowdown of the growth of the US drilling will combine these factors in favor of recovery of prices. Rene Tsvenpol, director of energy in the Netherlands, said the future of crude oil is promising as it will continue to play a key role in the global energy mix despite efforts to shift to renewable energy and gas. According to Goldman Sachs' forecasts, demand for crude oil will grow by 1.2 percent annually, and this is a good rate that will complement the efforts to reduce production and push the market towards recovery and balance. Are still stronger than those betting on lower prices below $ 40 a barrel. The broad economic growth in India's emerging economies will lead to a peak in demand for crude oil by 2030 and will be the main driver of demand for crude oil after the expansion of reliance on it and increase investments in this vital sector of the world's energy system . Luis Del Barrio, an analyst at Boston Financial Group in Spain, said the important step Saudi Arabia had taken to limit its oil exports by 6.6 million barrels per day by a massive cut of about 1 million barrels per day would accelerate market recovery and prompt other producers to take other strong measures to make it a success. Agreement to reduce production and increase confidence in co-producers. He added that the recent decline of oil reserves by about 90 million barrels is the result of the vision adopted by OPEC to deal with the challenges and difficulties that have overcome the market in the past period, stressing that the need to continue with efforts to take additional measures to accelerate the return of stocks to normal levels At the mid-level in five years. He said that OPEC has a good vision of market developments as it seeks to make productivity cuts that exceed the increases coming from US production so that US producers can not dispel the impact of OPEC cuts, noting that the restriction of production in Nigeria is an effective step and will help to increase the effectiveness of reducing Production. In terms of prices at the end of last week, oil prices rose to a two-month high and the two benchmark crude oil futures recorded their biggest weekly gains this year as investors continued to absorb signs of oversupply. The US government said crude and gasoline inventories in the United States fell sharply above expectations last week. The average crude refining in the US refineries was about 17.3 million barrels per day last week, an increase of 620 thousand barrels per day for the same week in 2016. Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, said it would cut further output in August. Brent crude futures closed the session's highest close to $ 1.03 or 2.00 percent at $ 52.52 a barrel, Earlier in the session, the highest level in two months at $ 52.68. US benchmark WTI futures rose 67 cents, or 1.37 percent, to settle at $ 49.71 a barrel, after hitting a two-month high of $ 49.78. Crude oil futures rose more than 1 percent during the US session as the US dollar index fell and stabilized near its lowest level since June 23, ) From the previous year 2016 according to the inverse relationship between them following the developments and economic data that followed last Friday about the US economy.   Views 15   Date Added 31/07/2017

[yota691]

Oil rises to a two-month high

Date of release: 2017/7/31 14:18 • 51 times read

{International: Al Furat News} Oil rose to its highest level in two months on Monday, supported by a decline in US stockpiles and the threat of sanctions against OPEC member Venezuela.

WTI crude futures jumped briefly above $ 50 a barrel on Monday and by 0654 GMT was $ 49.97 a barrel, up 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, from the last closing price. 
Brent crude futures were $ 52.85 a barrel, up 33 cents, or 0.6 percent. Prices hit $ 52.90 a barrel earlier in the session, their highest level since May 25. 
With the price increase, the two contracts are on the rise for a sixth straight session. 
Prices have risen about 10 percent since the last meeting of prominent members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers, including Russia, and discussed possible measures to reduce supply in the oil markets. 
The United States is considering imposing sanctions on Venezuela's vital oil sector in response to Sunday's vote for a constituent assembly that Washington has criticized. 
But traders say the biggest price support is coming from a drop in US stocks. 
US oil inventories fell 10 percent from their peak in March to 483.4 million barrels. 
In terms of production, US production fell 0.2 percent to 9.41 million bpd in the week ending July 21 after rising more than 10 percent since mid-2016.

[yota691]

Say goodbye to $2.30 gas if Trump goes hard after Venezuela

 

 

By Heather Long July 31 at 1:25 PM 

 

 

When you're president, cheap gas is good politics.

President Trump understands this. It’s why he promised to make gas prices even lower during the campaign and why he celebrated when gas prices were the lowest in more than a decade for the July 4 holiday weekend. Now Trump faces a dilemma: He wants to get tough on foes like Venezuela, but that could cause gas prices to jump in the United States.

Trump is no fan of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He's called Maduro a “bad leader” and a “dictator.” Trump is one of many world leaders who vowed “strong and swift economic actions” if Maduro went ahead with a “sham” election over the weekend to grab more power by replacing the Venezuelan legislature with a body more loyal to him. Maduro held the vote anyway, calling Trump a “bandit.”

 

 

The most obvious way to hurt Maduro is to hit the heart of Venezuela's economy: Oil.

The White House debated stopping all sales of Venezuelan oil to the U.S., but it didn't go that far. On Monday, the Trump Administration put sanctions on Maduro, forbidding him from doing any business with Americans or anywhere in the U.S.

The president understands that it's bad politics at home to rise gas prices. Venezuela supplies 10 percent of America's oil imports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, making it the third largest supplier behind Canada and Saudi Arabia. Philip Verleger, an energy economist who runs consulting firm PKVerleger LLC, predicts oil prices could spike $10 if Trump does a full ban on Venezuelan oil.

"Prices would go up like a rocket," says Verleger. "Gas prices in the U.S. would go up 25 or 30 cents a gallon within a couple of weeks."

The average price of regular gas in the United States is now $2.31 a gallon, according to the EIA. That's about the same as when Trump took office. Any action now could send oil prices higher during the popular holiday travel month of August.

“Somebody in White House probably recognizes the last thing this president needs right now is to anger people who live paycheck to paycheck and voted him in,” says Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service.

Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida were urging Trump to hit Venezuela hard after Sunday's vote. They want Trump to do a lot more than the sanctions the United States imposed last week on 13 prominent Venezuelans with ties to Maduro's government. McCain tweeted Sunday, “We stand with the people of Venezuela today, who deserve democracy — not sham elections and Maduro's repression.”

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin kept open the possibility of harsher actions. He said the White House will "consider additional sanctions."

There's a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. People are literally starving. The country has one of the world's worst economies, and there’s hardly any food in supermarkets. Things are so bad people are rationing toothpaste and toilet paper. More and more Venezuelans are protesting against Maduro, even though he has threatened them with a decade in jail, if not more. Over 120 protesters have died in the past four months. Another 10 were reported dead as clashes erupted Sunday during the vote.

Francisco Monaldi, a Latin American energy expert at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, wasn't surprised that Trump didn't impose restrictions on Venezuelan oil on Monday.

“Oil refiners have lobbied heavily in Washington not to get the full ban on Venezuelan oil imports,” Monaldi said.

Option B is to restrict the flow of light crude oil from the United States to Venezuela.

Venezuela's oil companies mix U.S. light with Venezuela’s heavy crude and then export it globally. The United States sends about 100,000 barrels a day to Venezuela, according to the EIA. Trump could disrupt Venezuela's state-run oil company by cutting off some of its light crude supply. Oil experts predict that U.S. companies could adopt quickly and send their light crude elsewhere instead of Venezuela. This move is unlikely to have much, if any, impact on gas prices in America. It's a lot less severe than cutting off the 750,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil coming to the United States daily.

For all his bluster, Maduro has much to lose if the United States strikes back with more sanctions. The country is heavily in debt and is struggling to pay back what it already owes. It is supposed to pay about $3.5 billion back to creditors later this year. Any U.S. sanctions on oil would be a “significant blow” that could lead to default, Monaldi predicts.

For Trump, Venezuela is a test of how tough he wants to get on the world stage against anti-American dictators — and how much he is willing to let U.S. companies — and consumers — take a hit to send a message.

[bkeiller]

Great to see oil prices rising. Being on DV has helped me make some great energy and related plays. Last year, I was up 48% and, now, 20% this year, already. My Fidelity advisor is well impressed. Ain't rich, cant retire, but it all adds up. There is probably still time to make some $$$ on slow moving mutual funds (oil plays). Good luck!

[yota691]

Masoum receives invitation to attend OPEC summit in Bolivia

07/8/2017 12:00 am     BAGHDAD / Al-Sabah -  President Fuad Masum received an official invitation to attend a summit of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) scheduled to be held in Bolivia. In a presidential statement received by al-Sabah, Masoum said that when he met with the Minister of Justice and the former Bolivian Foreign Minister Hector Akra Zakunit, he stressed the importance of developing relations between Iraq and Bolivia in all fields, especially the oil sector. Joint work to develop the work of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ».  The statement said that «infallible received an invitation from Bolivian President Evo Morales to attend the summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) scheduled to be held in  Bolivia».

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A technical committee from OPEC to assess the producers' commitment to the reduction decision

08/8/2017 12:00 am    BAGHDAD / Mustafa al-Hashemi,  while oil prices have stabilized near their highest level in nine weeks and despite the rise in production of OPEC, limited the gains, met on Monday in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, a technical committee comprising producers from OPEC and independent Chaired by Russia and Kuwait; to discuss compliance with the agreement to reduce oil production. According to an OPEC statement, the meeting, which lasted for two days and ends on Tuesday, came to discuss the difficulties and obstacles faced by producers from within and outside OPEC to assess the improvement of levels of commitment to the agreement to reduce production to rebalance the market, which will benefit producers and consumers . The fourth ministerial meeting of the Committee to monitor the implementation of the agreement to reduce production was held last June in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, from 23 to 25 last month, and reviewed the production data last June and the commitment of the 24 countries participating in the agreement. The meeting was attended by representatives from the State of Russia, Venezuela, Algeria and Oman, as well as Saudi Arabia as the current president of the OPEC Conference. The Committee stressed countries that had low commitment to take urgent action to increase commitment and contribute more effectively with other countries participating in the agreement. Oil Minister and Minister of Electricity and Water Issam al-Marzouq said after the previous meeting that the total commitment of the participating countries to the agreement to reduce production between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and outside countries reached about 98 percent last June. The organization " OPEC "and 11 other countries, including Russia, seeking to commit to reduce production by 1.8 million barrels per day, since the beginning of this year until 2018, according to the agreement of those countries in Algeria and Vena previous meetings The prices of oil near the highest level in nine weeks on Monday after boosted by strong hiring in the United States and a slight decline in the number of US rigs data Although the rise "OPEC" production limit gains and increased futures contract crude price measurement Brent eight cents , or 0.15 percent , to $ 52.50 a barrel at 0059 GMT , . and prices rose Futures for crude US crude rose 7 cents or 0.14 percent to $ 49.65 a barrel, and international benchmark prices rose to near their highest level since late May when OPEC oil producers extended a deal to cut output. 8 million barrels per day until the end of next March. Baker Hughes Energy Services said companies had cut the number of oil drilling platforms by one platform in the week ending Aug. 4, bringing the total to 765. Despite the decline in the number of drilling platforms last week, oil production in the United States to 9.43 million barrels per day, the highest level since August 2015. At the same time a report by Thomson Reuters Oil Research last week: OPEC exports of Crude oil in July rose to a record 26.11 million bpd, mostly from Nigeria.

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OPEC: UAE, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Malaysia have shown their full support for the oil deal

economy

 Since 2017-08-08 at 19:45 (Baghdad time)

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A statement by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that Abu Dhabi talks on commitment to the agreement to reduce production, will contribute to facilitate full compliance, according to Reuters.

OPEC, in its statement, said the UAE, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Malaysia had expressed their full support for the current monitoring mechanism, adding that the talks were constructive and fruitful and aimed at achieving full compliance with the agreement in the coming months.

Informed sources have said that officials from OPEC and outside are holding meetings for the second day in Abu Dhabi, to discuss ways to enhance compliance with the agreement to reduce oil production.

OPEC, Russia and other producers cut production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until March 2018, to get rid of supplies and price subsidies.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, driven by increased exports of OPEC producers, despite reports of a drop in Saudi crude shipments. Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said production at the Sharara field, which produces 270,000 bpd, has returned to normal after being disrupted by protesters storming a control room. Libya is exempt from cutting production agreed by most Opec members to support oil prices, which have been falling for more than three years due to oversupply. By 1330 GMT, global benchmark crude <LCOc1> fell 40 cents to $ 51.97 a barrel. US light crude was down 40 cents at $ 48.99 a barrel.

Saudi oil company Aramco will cut its allocations to its customers around the world in September by at least 520,000 barrels per day (bpd), informed sources told Reuters today.

The recovery of Libyan oil production and the recent increase in Nigeria's production have hampered OPEC's efforts to cut oil supplies, fueling doubts about the effectiveness of agreed production cuts. Ending 29 / Mn

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OPEC production of oil jumps to highest level in 2017

OPEC output rose 172.6 thousand bpd in July

 

 10 August 2017 02:08 PM

Mubasher: OPEC's production of oil jumped last month to its highest level in 2017, due to a significant increase from Libya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

The monthly report of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC, on Thursday, that the production of Member States reached 32.86 million barrels per day in July, an increase of 172.6 thousand barrels from the previous month.

The Opec report highlighted that 8 member countries raised their crude output during July, according to data from secondary sources.

Libya topped the list of countries with an increase in production by 154.3 thousand barrels per day to exceed the supply of one million barrels per day.

Nigeria also raised its oil production by 34.3 thousand barrels to 1.74 million barrels, and Saudi Arabia increased its supply by 31.8 thousand barrels per day to 10.06 million barrels.

Ecuador, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Iran and Qatar raised their oil production last July, the report showed.

OPEC and some producers from outside have agreed to extend the cut production agreement by 1.8 million barrels until March 2018.

On the other hand, the countries of Angola, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE and Venezuela reduced their oil production last July.

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OPEC raises expectations of global demand for oil

OPEC expects global crude demand to rise to 96.49 million bpd in 2017

 

 10 August 2017 02:15 PM

Mubasher: OPEC raised its forecast on global demand for crude in the current and next year, while reducing speculation about the supply.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a monthly report on Thursday that it raised its estimate of global demand growth of crude by 1.37 million barrels per day to 96.49 million barrels in 2017.

OPEC also raised estimates of growth in demand for crude for next year by 1.28 million barrels per day at 97.77 million barrels per day.

As for the supply of non-OPEC oil, it lowered expectations by 780 thousand barrels per day, at 57.77 million barrels per day.

For supply in 2018, the agency cut its forecast by 1.1 million barrels per day at 58.87 million bpd.

OPEC data showed OPEC member countries' output rose to the highest level in 2017 as supply from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Libya increased.

By 1210 GMT, the price of Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to $ 53.18 a barrel.

The price of NYMEX crude futures was up $ 0.3 / bbl at $ 49.87 a barrel.

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