Marathon Petroleum Corp will idle its 166,000 barrel-per-day (bpd)refinery in Martinez, California beginning April 27 in response to the coronavirus pandemic's hit to demand for refined products, according to a company official. The company did not provide further comment on the likely duration of the idle, but said it intends to return the plant to normal operations once demand levels support doing so. The Martinez plant is the second in the United States and third in North America to [Read more]
Oil mixed as shrinking China economy overshadows Trump plan to ease U.S. coronavirus lockdown
Oil prices were mixed on Friday after the weakest Chinese economic data in decades showed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, offsetting some earlier gains on optimism for President Donald Trump's early plans to revive the U.S. economy. U.S. crude for May delivery, which expires on April 21, was down $1.46, or 7.5%, at $18.28 a barrel. Brent was up by 5 cents, or 0.2%, at $28.45 a barrel. China's economy shrank for the first time since at least 1992 in the first quarter, as the [Read more]
Global oil consumption cut by up to a third
What happens next in the oil market depends on how quickly and completely the global economy emerges from lockdown, and whether the recessionary hit lingers through the rest of this year and into 2021. The OPEC+ deal, finalised on Sunday, envisages production cuts of 9.7 million bpd in May and June, with the cuts tapering through the rest of 2020, 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. It assumes further reductions will come about as a result of price-driven cuts to the output of the United [Read more]
Russia, Saudi Arabia ready to take actions on oil markets if necessary
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, held a phone talk on Thursday and said in a joint statement they were ready to take measures with other OPEC+ members on the oil market if necessary. They also said both Russia and Saudi Arabia were committed to the global oil cuts deal. OPEC and other large oil producers led by Russia, a group widely know as OPEC+, have agreed to reduce their combined oil production by 9.7 million [Read more]
Pieridae delays Nova Scotia LNG export plant decision due to coronavirus
Pieridae Energy Ltd said on Thursday it delayed a decision to build the Goldboro liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Nova Scotia until after Sept. 30 as steps to curb the coronavirus outbreak cut global economic growth and energy demand. The Canadian energy firm previously said it expected to make a final investment decision (FID) to build the project in the third quarter of 2020, which would allow it to start producing LNG between November 2024 and May 2025. "Market conditions and [Read more]
Oil edges higher after hitting 18-yr lows but demand outlook weighs
Oil edged higher on Thursday following sharp losses in the previous session on hopes that a big build-up in U.S. inventories may mean producers have little option but to deepen output cuts as the coronavirus pandemic ravages demand. With official data showing U.S. inventories surging the most on record, WTI fell on Wednesday to its lowest since February 2002, with Brent slumping more than 6%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 10 cents, or 0.5%, at $20.27. Brent crude was up 3 [Read more]
U.S. court rules against permit in new setback for Keystone XL oil pipeline
A U.S. court on Wednesday ruled against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' use of a permit that allows new energy pipelines to cross water bodies, in the latest setback to TC Energy Corp's plans to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Keystone XL, which would carry 830,000 barrels per day of crude from Alberta to the U.S. Midwest, has been delayed for more than a decade by opposition from landowners, environmental groups and tribes, but construction was finally supposed to start this [Read more]
Canadian banks ease credit rules for energy companies to stave off defaults, bankruptcies
Canadian banks are beginning to relax lending standards for energy firms struggling to operate with oil prices at half the level needed to cover costs, seeking to keep them afloat until the industry recovers from its deepest slump ever. Banks are extending credit and waiving covenants for some energy companies to avoid forcing defaults and bankruptcies that leave the lenders holding assets, in contrast to some U.S. counterparts preparing to seize oil and gas fields. A 2019 Canadian Supreme [Read more]
Heavy discount narrows on oil shut-ins
Canadian heavy crude's discount versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil narrowed on Wednesday, helped by curtailed production. Shut-ins, estimated so far at 325,000 barrels per day by consultancy Rystad Energy, are accelerating, leaving the Enbridge Mainline short of capacity and supporting prices, a Calgary trading source said. Canadian crude storage levels saw a small draw this week, the source said, which also underpins prices. Net prices remain among the lowest on [Read more]
Oil market falls too big to offset with output cuts, IEA warns
The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday forecast a 29 million barrel per day (bpd) dive in April oil demand to levels not seen in 25 years and warned no output cut by producers could fully offset the near-term falls facing the market. The IEA forecast a 9.3 million bpd drop in demand for 2020 despite what it called a "solid start" by producers following a record deal to curb supply in response to the coronavirus pandemic. "By lowering the peak of the supply overhang and [Read more]