The differential on Canadian heavy crude against the North American benchmark widened slightly on Thursday: * Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, was trading at $13 per barrel below West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, according to Net Energy Exchange. On Wednesday, it settled at $12.90 below WTI. * A boost in rail shipments and draining crude supplies in Alberta are keeping the differential tight, a Calgary-based trader said. U.S. [Read more]
U.S. natgas futures rise nearly 2% on forecasts for hot weather ahead of storage report
U.S. natural gas futures rose almost 2% on Thursday as record power demand in Texas and forecasts for hotter weather and greater cooling demand in late August lifted prices from a near three-year low in the prior session. That increase comes despite the impending release of a federal report later Thursday that is expected to show a bigger than normal storage build. Analysts said utilities likely added a bigger-than-normal 59 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage during the week [Read more]
Saudi Arabia plans to keep Aug-Sept oil exports below 7 mln bpd – official
Saudi Arabia plans to keep its crude oil exports below 7 million barrels per day in August and September despite strong demand from customers, to help drain global oil inventories and bring the market back to balance, a Saudi oil official said. State-owned Aramco's oil nominations - the requests made by refiners and customers for Saudi crude - were high in September, a sign of healthy oil demand globally, the Saudi official, who asked not to be named, said on Thursday. Despite that, the [Read more]
Activist groups urge insurers to drop coverage of oil sands pipeline
A coalition of 32 environmental and indigenous groups on Thursday urged insurers to stop underwriting the Trans Mountain pipeline to pressure Canada to cancel its plan to expand the project which carries crude from Alberta's oil sands to British Columbia's Pacific coast. Self-insurance by the government for the expansion would cost taxpayers $1.1 billion, the groups said. The coalition sent a letter to 27 companies registered to insure the pipeline, including Munich RE , Talanx and Zurich [Read more]
Oil jumps on expectations producers may cut supply after 4% slump
Oil futures jumped more than $1 a barrel on Thursday, recovering half of the nearly 5% losses in the previous session, on expectations that lower prices may lead to production cuts. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures jumped $1.51, or 2.96%, to $52.60 a barrel, while Brent crude rebounded to $57.75 a barrel, up $1.52, or 2.7%, from its last close by 0401 GMT, Both contracts hit their lowest levels since January on Wednesday after a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories [Read more]
Western Canadian crude inventories fall to smallest level in nearly two years
Western Canadian crude oil inventories fell in July to their lowest level in nearly two years, energy information provider Genscape said on Wednesday, as crude-by-rail shipments accelerated. Total stocks were 27.7 million barrels as of July 26, down sharply from the record high of 37.1 million barrels set in April. The inventories were the lowest since November 2017. The decline follows Alberta government production curtailments that were imposed on Jan. 1 to help drain a glut of crude in [Read more]
Heavy discount settles unchanged
The differential on Canadian heavy crude against the North American benchmark settled unchanged on Wednesday: * Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.90 per barrel below West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, according to Net Energy Exchange, matching Tuesday's settled price. * Brisk rail movement and government limits on production are keeping the differential tight, a Calgary-based industry source said. * Western Canadian [Read more]
U.S. natgas futures fall to near 3-yr low as oil prices plunge
U.S. natural gas futures for Wednesday slipped close to a 38-month low with a 5% drop in crude prices and forecasts for less gas demand next week than previously expected. The move lower came despite a decline in production and forecasts that power demand in Texas would rise to a record high over the next week as a heat wave bakes the state. Front-month gas futures for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.8 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $2.083 per million British [Read more]
Heavy discount stays tight despite easing oil curtailments
The differential on Canadian heavy crude remained at tight levels compared to the North American benchmark on Tuesday, despite easing production limits in Alberta. * Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $13 per barrel below West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, according to Net Energy Exchange, unchanged from Friday's settlement. * Canadian crude markets were closed on Monday for a Canadian holiday. * The continued tight [Read more]
U.S. natgas output, demand seen rising to record highs in 2019
U.S. dry natural gas production will rise to an all-time high of 91.03 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2019, breaking last year's record of 83.39 bcfd, the Energy Information Administration said in its Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) on Tuesday. The latest output projection for 2019 was down from EIA's 91.35 bcfd forecast in July. EIA also projected U.S. gas consumption would rise to 84.65 bcfd in 2019, beating the record-high of 82.07 bcfd a year ago. The 2019 demand projection [Read more]