U.S. spot natural gas prices in June at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana dropped to their lowest for the month since 1999 as record production so far this year allowed utilities to inject huge amounts of gas into storage. Next-day prices averaged $2.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in June. That compares with an average of $2.97 in June 2018 and a five-year (2014-2018) average of $3.16. In June 1999, prices averaged $2.29. So far in 2019, next-day gas prices have [Read more]
U.S. drillers add rigs for second week in a row
U.S. energy firms this week increased the number of oil rigs operating for a second week in a row with oil futures up about 12% over the past couple of weeks despite plans by most producers to cut spending on new drilling this year. The rig count, however, was still down 92, or 10%, since the start of the year. Companies added four oil rigs in the week to June 28, bringing the total count to 793, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on [Read more]
Ontario Court of Appeal rules carbon tax is constitutional
Ontario's Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that Canada's federal carbon tax is constitutional after a challenge from the province's Conservative government in a blow to efforts to strike down Justin Trudeau's environmental policies.In April, Canada's federal government imposed a carbon tax on provinces without a carbon pricing system, which was opposed by several provinces including Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Ontario said in August 2018 it would [Read more]
Michigan sues Enbridge in U.S., seeks to shut oil pipeline through Great Lakes
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The U.S. state of Michigan has filed a lawsuit asking for an Enbridge Inc oil pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes to be decommissioned, Michigan’s attorney general said on Thursday. The Line 5 oil pipeline ships 540,000 barrels per day of light crude oil and propane and is a critical part of Enbridge’s Mainline network, which delivers the bulk of Canadian crude exports to the United States. Potential disruption to Line 5 adds to [Read more]
U.S. regulator pauses review of Enbridge, Oiltanking crude export project
U.S. regulators this week temporarily suspended their review of pipeline operator Enbridge Inc's proposed crude export facility off the U.S. Gulf Coast, a government filing showed. Enbridge and Oiltanking Partners in February sought federal permits to build a deepwater port about 30 miles (48 km) off Freeport, Texas, to export U.S. shale. The U.S. Maritime Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard on June 26 issued a "stop clock" letter that pauses their evaluation of the [Read more]
Oil prices little changed ahead of G-20 talks, OPEC meet
Oil prices were little changed on Friday as traders awaited any update on the Sino-U.S. trade war from a scheduled weekend meeting of the two countries’ presidents at the G20, and eyed next week’s OPEC gathering. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 14 cents, or 0.3%, at $59.60 a barrel. The leaders of the G20 countries meet on Friday and Saturday in Osaka, Japan, but the most anticipated meeting is between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on [Read more]
Alberta seeks to offload crude by rail program by fall
Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said on Thursday the Canadian province hoped to divest the government's crude by rail program to the private sector by fall, and has hired Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to oversee the move.The provincial government, led by Premier Jason Kenney, was sworn in in April and had said it did not support a plan by the previous government to lease trains to move crude in an effort to ease bottlenecks on pipelines. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, [Read more]
Mexico’s president defiant in row with Canada over pipeline contracts
Mexico's president on Thursday pushed backed against Canadian concerns that gas pipeline contracts awarded under his predecessor's government might not be honored, saying the terms of the agreements were 'abusive' towards the state.Mexican state power utility CFE said on Tuesday it would seek to negotiate a "fairer" resolution to contractual disputes over pipelines being built by companies including Mexico's IEnova and Canada's TC Energy .The Canadian [Read more]
Alberta eases oil production curtailments for August – government statement
The government of Alberta eased crude oil production curtailments for August on Thursday, setting the limit at 3.74 million barrels per day, compared with 3.71 million bpd in July.Alberta introduced mandatory curtailments effective Jan. 1 this year to tackle pipeline congestion that left crude stranded in storage tanks in the province and widened the discount on Canadian oil versus U.S. crude to record levels.The Alberta government said letters have been sent to the 29 producers subject to the [Read more]
Russia leads as top crude supplier to China, overtakes Saudi
Russia became the largest crude oil supplier to China in May, supported by robust demand from private refiners and alongside a fall in supplies from Iran. Imports from Russia came in at 6.36 million tonnes in May, or 1.50 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday. On a barrels per day basis, imports were up 4% from a year ago, but were flat versus April when China’s total crude oil imports hit a monthly record. For the first five [Read more]