Oil Falls as OPEC Nears Deal to Raise Production
Oil prices fell on Thursday as crude exporters in OPEC appeared to be nearing a deal to increase production.Benchmark Brent crude dropped $1.80 a barrel, or 2.4 percent, to a low of $72.94 before recovering a little to $73.30, down $1.44, by 1358 GMT. U.S. light crude was 71 cents lower at $65.00.Brent reached a 3-1/2-year high above $80 a barrel last month but has fallen steadily in recent weeks as Saudi Arabia…
U.S. Oil Stocks Fall Sharply, Product Inventories Rise
U.S. crude stocks fell last week as refineries hiked output, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.Crude inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels in the week to June 15, compared with analysts' expectations for a decrease of 1.9 million barrels.Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.3 million barrels, EIA said.Refinery crude runs rose by 196,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed.
Axeon to Close NJ Asphalt Plant
Axeon Specialty Products plans on shutting down its 75,000 barrel-per-day asphalt refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey, as early as this summer, according to a local politician and sources familiar with the company's plans. If completed, the shutdown marks another contraction in the shrinking refining sector along the U.S. northeast, where four of the region's 10 refineries have shut in the past decade. Axeon is owned by New York-based hedge fund Lindsay Goldberg.
US Oil Output Seen Growing Less than Expected in 2017
U.S. oil production is expected to rise 100,000 barrels per day to 8.98 million barrels in 2017, 0.3 percent less than previously forecast, according to a monthly U.S. government report released on Tuesday. “Global oil supply and demand is now expected to be largely in balance during 2017 as the gradual increase in world oil inventories that has occurred over the last few years comes to an end…
US Refiners Process Record Volume of Crude as Demand Climbs
U.S. oil refineries are processing record volumes of crude but stocks of refined fuels remain well contained thanks to strong exports and demand at home. U.S. refineries processed 17.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in the week ending on May 26, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration ("Weekly Petroleum Status Report", EIA, June 1). Throughput was more than 1.2 million…
Record Number of U.S. Motorists Forcasted for July 4 holiday
The number of Americans traveling by car for the Fourth of July holiday will hit a record high this year, fueled by a growing economy and relatively low gasoline prices, the nation's largest motorists' advocacy group said on Thursday. The forecast for strong driving numbers will be welcomed by U.S. refiners, which are banking on summer driving season to draw down high product inventories and resurrect margins from seasonal lows.
Saudis Curtail Crude Flow to United States
Saudi Arabia is making good on promises to curtail oil shipments to the United States with the likely intention to drain visible inventories and support prices. The United States imported an average of 524,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Saudi Arabia in the week ending July 14, the lowest volume for more than seven years (http://tmsnrt.rs/2vI1iE2). Imports from Saudi Arabia averaged just 810,000 bpd over the last four weeks, according to the U.S.
US Drillers Add No Oil Rigs as Harvey Slows Production
U.S. energy firms did not add any oil rigs this week as Hurricane Harvey barrelled into the nation's energy heartland, forcing drillers to halt production and refiners to shut plants. The total oil rig count for the week ended Friday stayed at 759, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its report on Friday. That compares with 407 active oil rigs during the same week a year ago. Drillers have added rigs in 56 of the past 67 weeks since the start of June 2016.
US Fuel Exports Recover after Harvey
Fuel exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast are rising rapidly as refineries recover from weeks of disruptions due to Hurricane Harvey, offering respite to buyers in Latin America and Europe. The gradual resumption of operations in the region that has become a major oil export hub has prompted a drop in benchmark gasoline and diesel refining margins on both sides of the Atlantic. Margins measure the profit from converting crude into fuels.
Heatwave Spurs Record U.S. Gas Burn
Record gas consumption at power plants this summer is accelerating the rebalancing of the U.S. natural gas market. Working gas stocks in underground storage started the year at a seasonal record of 3,643 billion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Stocks were 554 billion cubic feet higher than at the start of 2015. Unusually mild weather in February and March pushed the year-on-year surplus to 1…
Oil Up on U.S. Crude Drawdown, Forties Outage
Britain's biggest pipeline likely to be shut for several weeks. Oil prices rose on Wednesday as industry data showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stockpiles, while expectations for an extended shutdown of a major North Sea crude pipeline also continued to bolster markets. Brent crude was up 42 cents at $63.76 a barrel by 1122 GMT. It had settled down $1.35, or 2.1 percent,…
Rebounding US Shale Poses Problem for OPEC
U.S. crude oil prices have risen above $60 per barrel which should accelerate shale drilling and production in the next few months, provided the price increase is sustained. U.S. crude futures are trading over $60 for all delivery months between February and August 2018, an increase of about 40 percent since the middle of 2017 (http://tmsnrt.rs/2CW5DIt). And the futures strip for 2019, the benchmark against which U.S.
EIA Can Operate for a Short Time During Shutdown
U.S. Energy Information Administration will continue normal data collection and publication for now, despite government shutdown - spokesman U.S. EIA will be able to operate 'for a short period of time' during shutdown - spokesman Reporting By Tim Gardner
Falling U.S. Gas Output meets Strong Demand
The U.S. natural gas market is on an unsustainable trajectory as consumption grows rapidly while domestic production is falling. Gas production was down nearly 4 percent in July compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data published by the Energy Information Administration. Marketed dry gas production amounted to 2,212 billion cubic feet in July 2016 compared with 2,304 billion cubic feet in July 2015 (http://tmsnrt.rs/2dKHFan).
U.S. Output, Inventories Push Oil Lower
At the same time, the Dollar hits 15-month low vs. yen, supporting commodities. Oil slipped towards $64 barrel on Thursday as record U.S. production and rising inventories outweighed a weak dollar and Saudi Arabia's comments that OPEC and other producers were committed to their pact on cutting supplies. U.S. crude output hit a record 10.27 million barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, making it a bigger producer than Saudi Arabia. U.S.
Oil Slips Below $64
Oil slipped below $64 a barrel on Thursday as record U.S. production and rising inventories outweighed a weak dollar and Saudi Arabia's comments that OPEC and other producers were committed to their pact on cutting supplies. U.S. crude output hit a record 10.27 million barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, making it a bigger producer than Saudi Arabia. U.S. crude and gasoline inventories rose last week, U.S. data showed.
U.S. Crude Output Falls 167,000 bpd in Sept -EIA
U.S. oil production fell 167,000 barrels per day to 8.58 million bpd in September from August, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday in a monthly report. Production declined by 139,000 bpd in the offshore Gulf of Mexico, and rose slightly in Texas, increasing by 6,000 bpd. Production in North Dakota slipped by 12,000 bpd, the EIA said. (Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault)
US DoE Unfairly Criticized: Kemp
The U.S. Department of Energy has become a lightning rod for criticism in parts of the Republican Party and the fossil fuels industry unhappy about the Obama administration's energy and climate policies. Presidential candidate Rick Perry promised to abolish the Department of Energy along with the Departments of Commerce and Education during a debate in 2011. Perry's views on the department's…
U.S. Distillate Demand to Rise in 2017: Kemp
U.S. refiners are likely to see stronger demand for middle distillates such as heating oil and diesel in 2017 after two years of declining domestic consumption. Distillate consumption is forecast to increase by 60,000 barrels per day in 2017, after falling by 120,000 bpd in 2016 and 40,000 bpd in 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Hedge funds have taken notice and…
EIA Lifts 2019 U.S. Crude Output Growth Forecast
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday it expects domestic crude oil production in 2019 to rise by more than previously expected.In its monthly short-term energy outlook, the agency forecast that U.S. crude oil output will rise by 1.14 million barrels per day (bpd) to 11.86 million bpd next year. Last month, it expected a 750,000 bpd year-over-year increase to 11.44 million bpd.Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault
