Canadian heavy crude's discount widened versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Tuesday, as moves by some countries to ease lockdown measures propelled global oil prices while data showed Canadian crude oil exports to the U.S. fell. Canadian oil exports to the United States dropped to 3.74 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, down 130,000 bpd from 3.87 million bpd in February, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for June [Read more]
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to drop in May as demand slides
Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports in May are expected to drop to about 6 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest in almost a decade, and domestic refining output is likely to fall as the coronavirus crisis hits demand, industry sources and analysts say. The world's top oil exporter will cut crude production by 23% to about 8.5 million bpd in May and June, under a supply reduction pact with OPEC+ alliance to shore up prices hammered by demand destruction due to the coronavirus-related [Read more]
Oil prices rise on demand prospects as lockdowns start to ease
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session, on expectations that fuel demand will begin to recover as some U.S. states and nations in Europe and Asia start to ease coronavirus lockdown measures. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose as much as 8.2% to a three-week high of $22.06 per barrel and were up 6.5%, or $1.33, at $21.72 at 0454 GMT. The U.S. benchmark is on a five-day win streak that started on April 29. Brent crude futures hit a high of [Read more]
Heavy discount narrows as production cuts mount
Canadian heavy crude's discount narrowed versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Monday, surpassing an 11-year low set on Friday. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $3.70 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, narrower than Friday's settle of $5.35 under. Prices at that level were the lowest recorded by NE2 in data that goes back to 2009. Cuts to Canadian oil production totalled at least 525,000 [Read more]
Enbridge to store Canadian crude in Mainline pipeline amid weak demand
Enbridge Inc said on Monday the Canadian pipeline operator has reached a deal with shippers to temporarily store crude oil in North America's largest oil pipeline network from June 1 and is working with governments to provide additional capacity. A crash in crude prices due to global economic restrictions aimed at curbing the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced oil companies to cut costs and production while stoking fears that global storage levels are fast approaching capacity. Enbridge [Read more]
Coronavirus pushes oil majors to biggest output cuts in 17 years
Oil and gas output from some of the world's top oil companies is set to drop by over 12% in the second quarter of 2020 to levels not seen in at least 17 years, according to Reuters calculations. The output cuts are driven by an unprecedented drop in oil consumption due to coronavirus-related movement restrictions that have led to a surge in supplies and a collapse in crude prices to levels not seen in more than two decades. Four of the top publicly-traded oil and gas producers, known as [Read more]
Oil prices rise on U.S.-China trade tension
Oil prices grew in early trade on Monday, fighting worries the global oil glut may persist as U.S.-China trade tension could hold back an economic recovery even as coronavirus pandemic lockdowns start to ease. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $2.49, or 12.67%, at $22.18. The benchmark contract rose 17% last week. Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.34%, at $26.68, after touching a low of $25.53. Brent rose about 23% last week following three consecutive [Read more]
U.S. drillers cut oil rigs for seventh week in a row
U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for a seventh week in a row as major producers slam the brakes on shale oil production at a time when crude prices and fuel demand have plunged due to global lockdowns to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Drillers cut 53 oil rigs in the week to May 1, bringing the total count down to 325, the lowest since June 2016, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, is down [Read more]
Heavy discount narrows to at least 11-year low on oil curtailments
Canadian heavy crude's discount narrowed versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Friday to the smallest level in 11 years of records. With hundreds of thousands of Western Canadian barrels shut in due to low oil prices, some refineries are running short of heavy oil, a Calgary-based trader said. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $5.70 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, narrower than Thursday's [Read more]
Oil rises again as output cuts kick in, inventories grow less than expected
Oil prices rose on Friday, extending the previous session's gains, as major producers began output cuts to offset a slump in fuel demand triggered by the coronavirus pandemic while data showed U.S. crude inventories grew less than expected. Still, prices gave up some of their earlier gains as the month of May began with more of the volatility that made last month one of the most turbulent in the history of oil trading, when U.S. futures briefly crashed into negative territory. U.S. crude [Read more]