Oil Falls as OPEC Output Rises
Brent crude fell Monday as supplies from Saudi Arabia and Russia rose while economic growth stumbled in Asia amid escalating trade disputes with the United States. At the same time, U.S. crude strengthened mid-session, buoyed by concerns about supply levels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub. Brent crude fell $1.42 to $77.81 a barrel by 12:37 p.m. EDT after touching a session low of $77.59. U.S. light crude rose from 7 cents to $74.23 a barrel. The premium for U.S. crude for the front month compared with the second month widened to as much as $2.21 a barrel, the most since August 20, 2014.
Swiss Utility in Talks to Buy LNG from Canada's Goldboro Project
Axpo, a Swiss utility and energy trader, said on Thursday it was in talks for a 10-year supply deal with a Canadian company planning to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.A sales and purchase agreement would boost the chances that Pieridae Energy would decide to build the C$10 billion ($7.6 billion) Goldboro project, which would be the first LNG export terminal on Canada's East Coast.Canada is rich in oil and gas but has yet to export major shipments of LNG to Asia from its West Coast or across the Atlantic from its East Coast."Under the term sheet with Pieridae Energy…
Canada Environment Minister: 'No Apologies' for Oil Sector Support
Canada's top climate change official on Thursday said she would make no apologies for the nation's support for its oil producers, saying environmental and economic policies must consider the needs of all Canadians.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has sought to cast Canada as a global leader in combating climate change, particularly since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington's support for an international deal to curb global warming.But Trudeau's government is also seeking to expand the country's oil industry. Canada agreed in May to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline for $3.46 billion (C$4.5 billion) to save a controversial expansion of the line…
As Oil Prices Surge, US Eyes Growing Labor Shortage
Finding roughnecks remains a challenge for oil drillers as rising crude prices increase demand for their services, oilfield executives said on Thursday at a conference in Houston.Oilfield service suppliers cut tens of thousands of workers following the 2014 oil-price collapse, and skilled employees have moved to other industries or are no longer interested. A worker shortage is helping drive up service costs for oil producers, especially in the hottest shale fields."Recruitment and staffing is a big challenge. We're aggressively focused on recruiting people," said Kevin Neveu, chief executive at Precision Drilling Corp.
Minnesota Regulators Question Enbridge Pipeline Expansion
Commissioners on a Minnesota regulatory board questioned crude oil demand for Enbridge Inc's Line 3 pipeline on whether work can proceed on a proposed expansion of the line. Enbridge wants to replace the aging 1,031 mile pipeline that runs from Alberta to Wisconsin, but approval is needed from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Bottlenecks in Alberta have steepened a price discount for its heavy crude this year. Line 3, placed into service in 1968, operates at half its capacity due to integrity concerns. Its replacement would allow it to return to approved capacity of 760,000 barrels per day.
Canada Govt Ready to Indemnify Kinder Morgan Pipeline Project
The Canadian government is prepared to financially shield Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd's proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion against unnecessary delays that are politically motivated, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Wednesday.Morneau also told a news conference that if Kinder Morgan decided to walk away from the project, which the provincial government of British Columbia opposes, the indemnification would stay in place in case another company took over."We are willing to indemnify the Trans Mountain expansion against unnecessary delays that are politically motivated…
Canada Ready to Cover Kinder Morgan Loss
Canada is prepared to cover some losses Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd might suffer if a proposed oil pipeline expansion is delayed and thinks other investors are ready to step in if need be, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Wednesday. The company has given Ottawa a deadline of May 31 to provide assurances it can proceed with a plan to more than double the capacity of its Trans Mountain line from Alberta to British Columbia. The government of the Pacific coast province opposes the project on environmental grounds. "We are willing to indemnify the Trans Mountain expansion against unnecessary delays that are politically motivated…
MN Regulators Signal Support of Enbridge Pipeline
Three of five members of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission said on Thursday they support issuing a certificate of need for Enbridge Inc to rebuild its Line 3 oil pipeline, angering environmentalists but offering hope to Western Canadian oil producers. The two other commissioners did not explicitly say they would vote in favor of the certificate but approval appeared to be imminent. It was not yet clear what conditions would be placed on the approval or whether the commission would approve the pipeline route preferred by Enbridge. "I think we have a certificate of need decision essentially made," said commissioner John Tuma. Enbridge shares climbed 3 percent in Toronto.
Oil Climbs on Libya Force Majeure, Canada Outage
Libyan disruption cuts 850,000 bpd of oil from market; Canada outage drains U.S. crude, product inventories. Oil prices rose on Tuesday after Libya declared force majeure on some of its crude exports, while the loss of Canadian supplies helped lift U.S. crude to 3-1/2-year highs. U.S. light crude jumped 99 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $74.93 a barrel, its highest since November 2014, before easing back to $74.79, up 85 cents, by 1120 GMT. Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 70 cents at $78.00. Production at Syncrude Canada's 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil sands facility near Fort McMurray…
U.S. Crude Hits $75 as Oil Supply Risks Mount
U.S. crude oil prices rose above $75 a barrel for the first time since 2014 on Tuesday after Iran appeared to threaten to disrupt oil shipments from the Middle East Gulf if Washington pressed ahead with sanctions."The Americans have claimed they want to completely stop Iran's oil exports," the website, president.ir, quoted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as saying. "They don't understand the meaning of this statement, because it has no meaning for Iranian oil not to be exported, while the region's oil is exported."The comments, partially repeated at a news conference in Switzerland…
Largest Oil Shipment Sent from Vancouver to China Since 2015
An Aframax tanker is scheduled to deliver the largest shipment of crude oil from Vancouver to China since January 2015 later this month, Thomson Reuters trade flow data show.For years, Canadian officials have pushed for an escalation in crude exports to rapidly growing Asian markets, but companies in the oil-rich Alberta have limited capacity to move crude to the nation's western coastline.That makes Canadian crude exports from Vancouver to Asia rare, but shipments have picked up in recent months, with oil tankers to China, Thailand and South Korea departing in April and July. Most of the crude shipped from Vancouver - which has limited export capacity - is carried to the U.S.
Oil Slips as U.S. Crude Stockpiles Show Surprise Build
U.S. crude stocks up 1.3 mln bbls vs 3.5 mln draw forecast-EIA. Oil fell on Thursday after U.S. government data showed an unexpected build in crude oil stockpiles. U.S. crude futures fell $1.20 to settle at $72.94 a barrel, retreating from Tuesday's 3-1/2-year high of over $75. Brent crude futures lost 85 cents to settle at $77.39 a barrel. U.S. crude stockpiles rose 1.3 million barrels last week, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Analysts had expected a 3.5 million-barrel decline. "An unexpected build in the U.S. commercial crude inventory has prompted profit-taking," said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy in London.
Hardide Coatings Invests in North America
Surface coating technology company Hardide Coatings has appointed Mark Hanania as Business Development Engineer based in Houston to help drive growth in the oil, gas and energy sectors throughout North America.Strong growth in demand from oil and gas customers in North America and recent entry into the aerospace market is underpinning significant investment in coating technology and quality accreditation at the company’s U.S. coating facility in Martinsville, Va.A third coating reactor will be installed by fall 2018 to accommodate increased demand from major oil and gas operating and service companies.
Sinopec Plans to Build Canadian Oil Refinery
China's Sinopec Corp has joined a group planning to build an oil refinery in Alberta, an enterprise that would strengthen demand for the Canadian province's heavily discounted crude.State-owned Sinopec, formally known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, along with an Alberta indigenous group, China State Construction Engineering Corp and Alberta management company Teedrum, plan to build a refinery to process 167,000 barrels per day of crude into gasoline and other products, the project's consulting firm Stantec Inc said in a statement on Thursday.The SinoCan Global refinery would cost C$8.5 billion…
Federal Judge Orders Keystone XL Pipeline Review
A federal judge in Montana on Wednesday ordered the U.S. State Department to do a full environmental review of a revised route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, possibly delaying the project's construction and dealing the latest setback for Canada's TransCanada Corp.For more than a decade, environmentalists, tribal groups, and ranchers have fought the $8-billion, 1,180-mile (1,900-km) pipeline that will carry heavy crude to Steele City, Nebraska from Canada's oilsands in Alberta.U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris ruled for the Indigenous Environmental Network and other plaintiffs…
US Sees Little Impact from Keystone XL Pipeline's Planned Route
The Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project cleared a hurdle on Monday as the Trump administration said in a draft environmental assessment that an alternative route through Nebraska would not do major harm to water and wildlife.The State Department's assessment of a plan for an alternative route through Nebraska submitted by TransCanada Corp, the company trying to complete the pipeline, said Keystone XL's cumulative effects would be "minor to moderate" on issues including water and biological resources.It said the pipeline would have only minor impacts on cultural resources…
TransCanada sees 'Robust' Shipper Interest in Keystone XL
Pipeline operator TransCanada Corp is seeing strong interest from oil shippers in locking up the remaining space on Keystone XL and expects it to be fully subscribed, its chief executive said on Thursday.TransCanada has not yet made a final investment decision on its $8-billion Keystone XL (KXL) expansion, which would boost export capacity from the oil-rich province of Alberta to U.S. refineries. That decision may come late this year or in early 2019, pending some remaining regulatory approvals needed and court challenges, Chief Executive Russ Girling said.In the meantime…
Enbridge Completes 40 pct of Line 3 Work, Tops Profit Estimates
Enbridge Inc said on Friday it had completed 40 percent of replacement work on its massive Line 3 pipeline and reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit by reining in costs.Canada's largest pipeline operator won a key approval in June to replace the 1,031-mile (1,660-km) long pipeline, which began service in 1968 and operates at half its capacity.A replacement would allow the pipeline, which runs from Alberta in western Canada to Wisconsin in the United States, to return to approved capacity of 760,000 barrels per day.The company also reaffirmed…
Canada Crude Differential Seen Staying High as Refiners Take Downtime
The discount on Canada's heavy crude, which reached a nearly five-year high this week, looks to remain elevated with pipelines strained and the refiners who buy it going offline for maintenance, industry officials say.Western Canada Select (WCS) oil traded on Tuesday for $34.15 per barrel less than West Texas Intermediate light oil, the biggest differential since November 2013, according to Shorcan Energy Brokers. The differential reduces the benefits of otherwise recovering global prices.WCS crude for September delivery was trading on Friday…
Canada to Buy Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline
The Canadian government said on Tuesday it will buy Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd's Trans Mountain pipeline project for C$4.5 billion but does not intend to be the long-term owner of the project, which has faced fierce environmental opposition.Canada will also offer federal loan guarantees to ensure construction continues through the 2018 season as part of the deal with the company, a unit of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc ."The federal government has reached an agreement with Kinder Morgan to purchase the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, and infrastructure related to the Trans Mountain expansion project," Finance Minister Bill Morneau told reporters."So our message today is simp
