Phillips 66 is running all the heavy Canadian crude oil the independent refiner can handle at its U.S. refineries and will not seek additional supply from a new pipeline, Chief Executive Greg Garland said on Friday. "We're bringing over 500,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude in today," Garland said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts. "So we're the largest importer of Canadian crude. We're probably running at about 80 percent of it or so, I would guess. So we're kind of maxed [Read more]
U.S. drillers add oil rigs for first week in three
U.S. energy companies this week added oil rigs for the first time in the past three weeks as drillers follow though on plans to spend more on exploration and production in anticipation of higher crude prices in 2018 than recent years. That move higher came despite recent declines in U.S. crude prices , which are on track to fall for a fourth week in a row this week on worries trade tensions between the U.S., China and Europe could hurt oil demand. Drillers added three oil rigs in the week [Read more]
U.S. crude inventories slump 6 million barrels to Feb 2015 low: EIA
(Reuters) - U.S. crude oil inventories last week tumbled more than expected to their lowest level since 2015 as exports jumped and stocks at the Cushing hub dropped, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell 6.1 million barrels in the week to July 20, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 2.3 million barrels. At 404.9 million barrels, inventories, not including the nation’s emergency petroleum reserve, were at their lowest level since [Read more]
Spotlight falls on Cenovus debt reduction, rail contract talks
July 24 (Reuters) - Canadian oil sands company Cenovus Energy investors will scrutinize quarterly earnings this week for details on Chief Executive Alex Pourbaix’s debt-cutting efforts and crude-for-rail contract negotiations to help resolve pipeline jams. After last year's unpopular acquisition of ConocoPhillips' assets, Pourbaix, who inherited a company last October with C$9.51 billion in long-term debt, is giving himself until 2019 to turn Cenovus around and bring that figure down. He [Read more]
Oil market hits a cyclical pause: Kemp
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures prices are trading in contango for the first time in 10 months, as traders anticipate an increase in crude availability during the remainder of 2018. The Brent calendar spread for the first six months slumped into a contango of 43 cents per barrel on Monday, from a backwardation of $3.50 as recently as April 26. Brent futures are trading in contango for the four contracts closest to delivery, from September 2018 through January 2019. Hedge [Read more]
ETP says Ohio’s EPA wants to delay Rover natgas pipeline completion
Energy Transfer Partners LP said on Monday that state environmental regulators in Ohio were using a notice of violation related to the unapproved disposal of industrial waste to delay completion of the company's Rover natural gas pipeline.The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issued the violation to Rover after the company deposited spent drilling mud containing low levels of a chemical solvent, tetrachloroethene, known as PCE, without approval, according to the EPA's July 11 [Read more]
Oilfield service giants miss earnings forecasts despite soaring U.S. production
(Reuters) - Oilfield service giants Schlumberger and General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes missed second quarter revenue forecasts on Friday as slow international growth offset record production in the United States that boosted domestic demand for their services. The Houston-based companies were the first among their peers to report earnings, putting them under scrutiny from analysts seeking clues about the health of the industry. Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services firm, is [Read more]
U.S. drillers cut rigs by most since March this week
July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. energy companies this week cut oil rigs by the most since March as the rate of growth has slowed over the past month or so with recent declines in crude prices. U.S. crude prices are on track to fall for a third week in a row this week as escalating U.S.-China trade tensions threatened to hurt oil demand. Drillers cut 5 oil rigs in the week to July 20, bringing the total count down to 858, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely [Read more]
Oil prices contend with strengthening U.S. dollar: Kemp
LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - The rising value of the U.S. dollar against most other major currencies is creating an additional headwind for oil prices, as it pushes up the local price of crude and fuels across much of Asia, Europe and Latin America. In trade-weighted terms, the dollar has risen to its highest since late 2016 and early 2017, and before that 2002/2003. Adjusted for inflation, the dollar’s trade-weighted value is close to its highest since 2004, according to the broad exchange [Read more]
Gas leak at Suncor’s Edmonton refinery, workers sent to hospital
Several workers have been sent to the hospital after they were potentially exposed to a hydrogen sulphide leak from a unit in Suncor's Edmonton refinery in Alberta on Wednesday, the company said. A number of employees and contractors, who were in the vicinity of the release, were assessed by Suncor and Alberta Health Services personnel, company spokeswoman Erin Rees said.A handful of the workers were transported to hospitals for further assessment and have since been released, Rees said, [Read more]