Oil prices fell on Monday as a continued surge in coronavirus cases globally forced a series of renewed lockdowns, including strict new measures in Southern California in the United States, the world's top oil consumer. West Texas Intermediate oil futures fell 47 cents, or 1%, to $45.65 a barrel. Brent crude oil futures were down 40 cents, or 0.8%, at $48.66 a barrel. Both benchmarks gained for a fifth consecutive week last week. "Crude pared earlier vaccine roll-out gains after Los [Read more]
U.S. drillers add oil and gas rigs for 11th week in 12
U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the 11th time in 12 weeks as producers return to the wellpad even as most are cutting spending this year and next. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose three to 323 in the week to Dec. 4, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday. That was 476 rigs, or 60%, below this time last year. The number of operating rigs has surged since August, when it hit a [Read more]
Oil prices rise as producers agree on supply compromise
Oil prices rose on Friday, heading for a fifth week of gains, after major producers agreed to continue to restrain production to cope with coronavirus-hit demand but the compromise fell short of expectations. West Texas Intermediate had risen 41 cents, or 0.89% at $46.04 a barrel. Brent was up 48 cents, or 1.03%, at $49.18 a barrel after gaining around 1% on Thursday. OPEC and Russia on Thursday agreed to ease deep oil output cuts from January by 500,000 barrels per day, failing to [Read more]
OPEC+ to boost output as oil market tightens: Kemp
OPEC and its partners have agreed to raise their collective production by 0.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, with output to be reviewed and adjusted at monthly intervals thereafter. The increase is much smaller than the 2 million bpd scheduled last April, but marks a significant shift from the start of November, when the group seemed poised to leave output unchanged for another three months. The shift responds to news of successful coronavirus vaccine trials, which could lead to [Read more]
Heavy discount widens to nearly 4-month high as production slowly rises
Canadian heavy crude's discount versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) widened on Thursday, touching the highest level since early August: Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $12.10 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, wider than Wednesday's settlement of $11.95 under. Slowly increasing production is seen pushing the differential wider, offset partly by demand for heavy oil recovering. The differential is likely [Read more]
Chevron cuts spending plans again, sets 2021 budget of $14 bln
U.S. oil major Chevron Corp on Thursday cut billions more off its long-term capital and exploratory budget after completing a major restructuring of its operations as it seeks to preserve its dividend. The company said it now expects its total capital and exploratory budget through 2025 to be between $14 billion and $16 billion, down from an earlier forecast of between $19 billion and $22 billion. It also said that despite the reduction to the overall budget, it expects to be able to raise [Read more]
UAE’s oil expansion gives it new weight within OPEC
The United Arab Emirates' resistance at OPEC meetings to extend deep supply cuts into 2021 is the start of a more assertive policy stance that could make it harder for the group's de-facto leader, Saudi Arabia, to balance global oil supply. The seeds of the emerging divergence have their roots in a major expansion in capacity in the UAE as well as an effort that is gathering pace for the country’s oil to become one of the few grades of crude used as a benchmark to price world supply. The [Read more]
Heavy discount widens modestly as supplies grow
Canadian heavy crude's discount versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) widened on Wednesday as producers continue to cautiously add volumes: Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $12 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, wider than Tuesday's settlement of $11.45 under. Improving demand for heavy oil in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has supported prices, but it will be slow to fully come back during the pandemic, said Martin [Read more]
Oil prices steady as market awaits output deal
Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as the market awaits a pact from producers on output and Britain became the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for use, boosting hopes for a future recovery in oil demand. Prices were hit by a surprise build in oil inventories in the United States and as OPEC and its allies created uncertainty with a two-day delay to a formal meeting to decide whether to increase production in January. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 49 cents, or 1.1%, at [Read more]
U.S. oil producer ConocoPhillips to shed up to 500 workers
ConocoPhillips, the largest U.S. independent oil producer, said on Tuesday that it would lay off up to 500 Houston employees, about a fifth of its headquarters workforce, to match staffing with expected activity levels. Oil and gas producers have cut the value of their assets by about $80 billion and shed tens of thousands of jobs this year as the coronavirus pandemic savaged global energy demand and pushed energy prices down. ConocoPhillips posted a loss of $1.93 billion through the first [Read more]