The Canadian heavy oil differential narrowed against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Monday, the first day of a new monthly trading window. * Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $39.50 a barrel below the WTI benchmark crude futures , compared with Friday's settle of $43.50, according to Shorcan Energy brokers. * Friday's settle marked a new record spread for the differential.* Rising output from [Read more]
Canadian oil merger to help manage price discounts – Husky CEO
Husky Energy Inc's hostile bid for MEG Energy Corp reflects the need for Canadian oil companies to own integrated assets, from production to refineries, to manage the deep price discounts on Canadian crude, Husky Chief Executive Rob Peabody said on Monday.Peabody said Husky will shortly begin to meet with MEG shareholders about the deal, valued at C$6.4 billion, but would welcome talks with MEG's board. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba) [Read more]
Canada’s Husky Energy offers to buy MEG Energy in $6.4 bln deal
Canadian oil and gas producer Husky Energy Inc said on Sunday it has offered to acquire rival MEG Energy Corp in a deal valued at C$6.4 billion (USD $5 billion) including debt. The combined company will have total production of more than 410,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and refining and upgrading capacity of about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), Husky said. The offer comes as many Canadian oil producers have struggled with transportation bottlenecks as output has surged, [Read more]
U.S. oil drillers add fewest rigs in quarter since 2017
U.S. energy companies cut oil rigs for a second consecutive week as new drilling stalled in the third quarter with the fewest additions in a quarter since 2017 due to pipeline constraints in the nation's largest oil field. Drillers cut three oil rigs in the week to Sept. 28, bringing the total count down to 863, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. For the third quarter, the increase of five oil rigs was the smallest since [Read more]
Oil market hears echoes of 2007/8
LONDON (Reuters) - Eleven years ago, on Monday Sept. 24, 2007, the price of Brent crude closed just below $79 per barrel, not far from where it is today. Three days later, Brent closed above $80 for the first time in history. Less than 10 months after that, prices closed at an all-time high of $146. Past prices are not necessarily a guide to the future, but the events of 2007/08 are a reminder that price moves are highly non-linear, especially around turning points in the cycle. Price [Read more]
Keystone XL pipeline route would not harm environment – U.S. State Dept
The U.S. State Department on Friday issued an environmental assessment of a revised route for the Keystone XL crude pipeline that concluded it would not harm water or wildlife, clearing a hurdle for the project that has been pending for a decade. Even if the pipeline spilled crude oil along its revised route through Nebraska, a top concern of environmentalists, there would likely be no impact to groundwater, the nearly 340-page draft review said. "Prompt cleanup response would likely be [Read more]
U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for second week in three -Baker Hughes
U.S. energy companies cut oil rigs for a second week in three as new drilling has stalled in the nation's largest oil field, where production was forecast to grow at the slowest pace in nearly two years due to pipeline constraints. Drillers cut one oil rig in the week to Sept. 21, bringing the total count down to 866, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is still much [Read more]
Canada orders new regulatory review of Trans Mountain pipeline
The Canadian government on Friday directed its National Energy Board (NEB) regulator to conduct a new review of its application to expand the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, taking into account the impact of additional marine traffic. The NEB must report to cabinet within 22 weeks, Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Canada's Federal Court of Appeal last month overturned the Liberal government's approval of expansion of the pipeline, which runs from [Read more]
Now near 100 million bpd, when will oil demand peak?
LONDON (Reuters) - Sometime in the next few weeks, global oil consumption will reach 100 million barrels per day (bpd) - more than twice what it was 50 years ago - and it shows no immediate sign of falling. Despite overwhelming evidence of carbon-fuelled climate change and billions in subsidies for alternative technologies such as wind and solar power, oil is so entrenched in the modern world that demand is still rising by up to 1.5 percent a year. There is no consensus on when world oil [Read more]
Trump sets implied oil price target below $80
LONDON (Reuters) - The United States has sent mixed messages to OPEC and its allies over the last week about whether they need to do more to raise oil production and hold down prices. “The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now” President Donald Trump demanded on Twitter on Sept. 20. “We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices,” he complained. “We will remember,” the [Read more]