Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. said on Wednesday it offered to take Canada's Inter Pipeline Ltd private for about $13.5 billion. Pipeline and storage space for crude was in high demand in Western Canada before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and caused both oil demand and supply to fall sharply. The region's production has rebounded quickly this year. However, Inter Pipeline's share performance and credit profile have remained strained despite the recovery in commodity prices, [Read more]
Head of U.S. Senate energy committee urges Biden to reverse opposition to Keystone XL pipeline
The head of the U.S. Senate energy committee, Joe Manchin, on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to reverse his opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, saying the project provides union jobs and is safer than transporting the oil via trucks and trains. Biden revoked a permit for the pipeline which would transport 830,000 barrels a day of carbon-intensive heavy crude from Canada's Alberta to Nebraska. It was part of a flurry of Biden's executive orders aimed at curbing climate change. In a [Read more]
Iraq says OPEC+ cuts unchanged in March, but easing after
Iraq said on Wednesday OPEC+ would keep its output cuts policy unchanged at a March meeting, but that Saudi Arabia would likely abandon voluntary production cuts of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) after that as oil prices rally. Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said he anticipated an oil price of $58 to $63 in 2021. The minister spoke at a news briefing in Baghdad. Abdul Jabbar said he hoped Saudi Aramco might get a share in a deal to develop Iraq's Akkas gas field. He said a [Read more]
Suncor Energy running COVID-19 rapid test pilot project
Alberta is providing rapid COVID-19 tests for a pilot program at Suncor Energy Inc's main oil sands plant and a nearby First Nations and Métis community, the government said on Tuesday. Suncor is taking part in the pilot project led by Creative Destruction Lab, a Toronto-based nonprofit organization, along with 11 other companies across the country. The aim is to develop rapid screening for asymptomatic staff suitable for workplaces nationwide in order to help reopen the economy. "This is [Read more]
Trans Mountain restarts work on oil pipeline expansion
Trans Mountain has begun the restart process for construction on an expansion project for the oil pipeline, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) said on Monday, about two months since it was halted due to safety-related issues. "The CER will continue its regular oversight of all aspects of the project, including construction, and will be conducting various on-site inspections in the near future to ensure the company is doing its utmost to ensure the safety of workers," the regulator said on its [Read more]
Oil climbs to 13-month highs on output cuts, demand recovery hopes
Oil prices edged up to their highest in 13 months on Tuesday as supply cuts by major producers and optimism over fuel demand recovery support energy markets. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) for March was at $58.42 a barrel, up 45 cents, or 0.8%. Brent crude futures for April gained 48 cents, or 0.8%, to $61.04 a barrel. Both Brent and WTI are at their highest since January 2020. Front-month prices for both contracts are up for the seventh session on Tuesday, the longest win streak [Read more]
U.S. and Canadian natural gas prices soar during arctic freeze
Natural gas prices across North America soared on Monday as homes and businesses cranked up their heaters to escape a blast of arctic air and snow moving from Canada to the U.S. Midwest. "This blast of cold air will likely settle in for multiple days to come," meteorologists at AccuWeather said. High temperatures in Chicago were expected to remain below freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit or zero degrees Celsius) from Feb. 5-22, AccuWeather said. The normal high in the city at this time of [Read more]
Hedge funds bet on oil’s ‘big comeback’ after pandemic hobbles producers
Hedge funds are turning bullish on oil once again, betting the pandemic and investors' environmental focus has severely damaged companies' ability to ramp up production. Such limitations on supply would push prices to multi-year highs and keep them there for two years or more, several hedge funds said. The view is a reversal for hedge funds, which shorted the oil sector in the lead-up to global shutdowns, landing energy focused hedge funds gains of 26.8% in 2020, according to data from [Read more]
U.S. drillers add oil and gas rigs for 11th week in a row
U.S. drillers this week added oil and natural gas rigs for an 11th week in a row for the first time since June 2017 as crude prices hit pre-pandemic highs. The U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by eight to 392 in the week to Feb. 5, the highest since May, according to data on Friday from energy services firm Baker Hughes Co. Despite rising for six months in a row, that count is still 398 rigs, or 50%, below this time last year. The total count, however, [Read more]
Oil prices rise to highest in a year on U.S. growth optimism, crude supply restraint
Oil prices climbed on Friday to their highest levels in a year, extending a run of strong gains on signs of economic growth in the United States and a continued commitment by producers to hold back crude supply. "Rising confidence in an upturn in economic and oil demand recovery around the corner is a major impetus for crude," said Vandana Hari, energy analyst at Vanda Insights. "Right now, the concurrent tightening of supply due to the additional Saudi cuts is adding to the tailwinds," [Read more]