U.S. natural gas futures edged up on Wednesday as the market focused more on a slowdown in output rather than a forecast decline in air conditioning demand and low liquefied natural gas exports. Front-month gas futures rose 1.3 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $1.780 per million British thermal units. Refinitiv said production in the Lower 48 U.S. states fell to an average of 88.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in June from a one-year low of 89.2 bcfd in May and an all-time monthly [Read more]
Heavy discount narrows on tight supplies after curtailments
Canadian heavy crude's discount narrowed versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Wednesday, as recent curtailments kept supplies tight and producers were slow to restore production. "It appears we're in a bit of a cautious restart mode at present," said Tudor Pickering Holt & Co analyst Matt Murphy, noting that production facilities Kearl and Syncrude are in turnaround. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at [Read more]
Oil rises as U.S. inventory rise revives oversupply concerns
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after data showed a rise in crude and fuel stockpiles in the United States, reviving concerns about oversupply and falling fuel demand in the world's largest crude consumer amid the coronavirus outbreak. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures grew $1.33, or 3.54%, to $39.71 a barrel, having risen about 2% in the previous session. Brent crude futures rose $1.04, or 2.55%, to $41.86 a barrel after gaining nearly 1% on Tuesday. Both contracts rose to their [Read more]
Heavy discount widens slightly
Canadian heavy crude's discount widened slightly versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Tuesday, but remained relatively narrow following deep Canadian production cuts. Little of Canada's production that has been curtailed this year due to low prices has been restored, a Calgary-based trader said. WTI needs to trade over $40 to provide incentive for meaningful volumes to return, the trader said, predicting that this may happen by August. Western Canada Select (WCS) [Read more]
U.S. crude output decline in 2020 to be steeper than previously expected
U.S. crude output is set to fall by 670,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2020 to 11.56 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday, steeper than the 540,000 bpd decline it forecast previously as drillers have slashed activity. The agency now expects U.S. petroleum and other liquid fuel consumption to plunge 2.4 million bpd to 18.06 million bpd in 2020 compared with its previous forecast for a drop of 2.19 million bpd. Oil prices collapsed this year as the [Read more]
Heavy discount edges wider as oil prices fall
Canadian heavy crude's discount widened slightly versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Monday. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $9.05 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, wider than Friday's settle of $9 under. Light synthetic crude from the oil sands was trading at $3.35 after Friday's settle of $3.50 under. Global oil prices fell after Saudi Arabia said an extension of output cuts by [Read more]
Oil major BP to cut 15% of workforce
LONDON - BP will cut about 15% of its workforce in response to the coronavirus crisis and as part of Chief Executive Bernard Looney’s plan to shift the oil and gas major to renewable energy, it said on Monday. Looney told employees in a global online call that the London-based company will cut 10,000 jobs from the current 70,100. “We will now begin a process that will see close to 10,000 people leaving BP – most by the end of this year,” Looney said in a statement. Reuters had earlier [Read more]
Oil prices slip despite OPEC+ cuts as Gulf ends voluntary curbs
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil slipped on Monday after Saudi Arabia said an extension of output cuts by OPEC+ nations would not include extra voluntary cuts by a trio of Gulf producers. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 12 cents, or 0.28%, to $38.93 a barrel. Brent crude was down 14 cents, or 0.3%, at $41.74 per barrel. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers - a group known as OPEC+ - agreed in April to cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per [Read more]
Russia says global oil deal took nearly 9 mln bpd off the market
The OPEC+ deal to cut crude production removed nearly 9 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) from the global market as demand was hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told a briefing on Monday. OPEC, Russia and allies agreed on Saturday to extend record oil output cuts until the end of July, prolonging a deal that has helped crude prices double in the past two months by withdrawing almost 10% of global supply from the market. Novak said on Monday that it [Read more]
Heavy discount narrows after mostly widening this week
Canadian heavy crude's discount narrowed versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Friday, reducing some of the discount that had otherwise expanded this week. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $8.70 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, narrower than Thursday's settle of $9.25 under. The differential has widened overall this week as producers reverse some curtailed oil production, a Calgary trader [Read more]