Brent crude prices extended falls on Monday with demand sliding as travel and industrial activity contracted across the globe in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 20 cents, or 0.78%, at $23.70 a barrel, having fallen 2 percentage points more than Brent this year. Brent crude futures were up 10 cents, or 0.47%, to $27.72 a barrel by 1223 GMT. The demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic comes as the oil market [Read more]
U.S. to send Coates as special energy envoy to Saudi Arabia
The Trump administration will appoint Victoria Coates as a special energy representative to Saudi Arabia as Washington struggles to deal with a global oil price crash that drags on the economy and threatens U.S. energy producers, an Energy Department official said. Coates, who was one of President Donald Trump's longest serving security aides, moved from the White House in February to become a senior adviser to Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette. "Coates will be based in Saudi Arabia to [Read more]
U.S. physical crude markets signal heavy oversupply
U.S. physical crude markets in Cushing, Oklahoma, on Monday signaled a prolonged period of oversupply, with prices to roll positions forward to the next month sinking to the weakest in nearly a decade. Tanks in Cushing, one of the biggest storage hubs in the world, are expected to fill to capacity as early as May, traders said, as the coronavirus pandemic destroys demand and Saudi Arabia and other nations ramp up supply. Global oil demand could fall by as much as 10 to 12 million barrels [Read more]
Canada oil sands work camp says coronavirus case possible, not positive
A northern Alberta work camp near Canada's oil sands said on Monday that it is awaiting test results to determine whether a worker who was sick last week was indeed stricken by the coronavirus as the company had previously said. Houston-based Civeo Corp said that the worker's illness is a "possible case." The man has symptoms consistent with COVID-19, has been tested and results are pending, Civeo spokeswoman Grace Altman said. Civeo had sent a letter on Thursday to companies housing [Read more]
Exxon notifies contractors, vendors of spending cuts over coronavirus
Exxon Mobil Corp is notifying contractors and vendors of planned near-term cuts in capital and operating expenses over a coronavirus pandemic, and will announce the plans once they are final, company spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry said on Sunday. "Based on this unprecedented environment, we are evaluating all appropriate steps to significantly reduce capital and operating expenses in the near term," Eikenberry said. "We are notifying contractors and vendors of our intended reductions, and [Read more]
In oil market standoff with Saudi Arabia, weakened rouble helps Russia
In Russia's battle for oil market share with Saudi Arabia, a sharp fall in the rouble has handed the Russians one advantage - they can now produce cheaper than the Saudis, according to Reuters calculations. The Russian currency has lost nearly a fifth of its value against the U.S. dollar - the currency of oil - since their talks on coordinated output cuts collapsed on March 6. Brent crude futures have fallen by nearly 50% to about $26 a barrel and that has knocked the rouble, which is down [Read more]
Oil sands work camp reports coronavirus infection
A work camp near the oil sands has reported a case of coronavirus, highlighting the potential risk posed by the outbreak to the commodities industry, which often sees large groups of workers together housed together in remote areas. Houston-based Civeo Corp sent a letter on Thursday to companies housing workers at its Borealis Lodge of a "presumptive positive" coronavirus case in a worker who stayed there this week. The worker had been taken by ambulance to hospital. All areas where the [Read more]
U.S. to send senior official to Saudi Arabia for months to help stabilize oil markets
The United States believes Saudi Arabia's flooding of oil markets compounds the coronavirus-caused global economic crash and intends to send a senior official to Riyadh for months to boost efforts to stabilize energy markets, senior U.S. officials said on Friday. The Energy Department official will work closely with U.S State Department officials in Riyadh and an existing energy attache for months at the least, the officials said on condition of anonymity and on not being quoted [Read more]
U.S. drillers this week cut most oil rigs since April -Baker Hughes
U.S. energy firms cut the most oil rigs in a week in almost a year as a meltdown in oil and natural gas prices due to the coronavirus outbreak has forced producers to deepen cuts in spending on new drilling. Drillers cut 19 oil rigs in the week to March 20, bringing the total count down to 664, the lowest since January, 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 19% from the same week a [Read more]
OPEC supply curbs, U.S. measures could support oil prices near term -Goldman
Supply restraint by core-OPEC producers could push second-quarter Brent oil prices up to $30 a barrel, while U.S. measures to support the market could underpin prices in the near term, Goldman Sachs said in a research note. Citing Wall Street Journal reports that the United States was considering intervening in the ongoing Saudi-Russian price war and Texas regulators may curb oil output, the U.S. investment bank said such action would reduce global and U.S. domestic supplies. U.S. crude [Read more]