The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday pledged to prosecute protesters who damage oil pipelines and other energy infrastructure, a decision that could escalate tensions between climate activists and the administration of President Donald Trump. The DOJ said it was committed to vigorously prosecuting those who damage "critical energy infrastructure in violation of federal law." Attempts to "damage or shut down" pipelines deprive communities of services and can put lives at [Read more]
Canadian dollar loosens close ties with oil on energy investment doubts
TORONTO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar is unlikely to recapture its tight link with the price of oil even as the interest rate outlook settles, given crude trades far removed from levels needed to affect investment in Canada’s energy sector, economists and strategists said. Canada’s so-called “petro-currency” has historically traded in the same direction as oil, one of the country’s major exports. But the correlation between the currency and the commodity has turned negative in [Read more]
U.S. drillers add the most oil rigs in a week since June: Baker Hughes
(Reuters) - U.S. energy companies added the most oil drilling rigs in week since June as crude prices traded up to their highest levels since the summer of 2015. Drillers added nine oil rigs in the week to Nov. 10, bringing the total count up to 738, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. The rig count, an early indicator of future output, is still much higher than a year ago when only 452 rigs were active after energy [Read more]
Bullish oil and tight supply lift Asian spot LNG market
LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices rose this week on already tight supply and production outages in Australia and was further buoyed by climbing crude oil prices. Spot prices LNG-AS for December delivery rose to $9.45 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), 30 cents above last week’s levels. Australia’s North West Shelf export facility suffered a partial outage on Friday morning after several production units were taken offline, though at least one [Read more]
Keystone XL pipe has adequate commercial support: TransCanada
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO) has received adequate support from crude oil shippers on its long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline, but the parties still need to work out specific terms, the company said on Thursday as it reported a rise in quarterly earnings. The pipeline, which would carry 830,000 barrels per day of Canadian crude to U.S. refineries, has been delayed for more than eight years by regulatory hurdles as North American energy projects face increasing [Read more]
Oil prices stabilize just below two-year highs
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied just below two-year highs on Thursday, supported by supply cuts by major exporters, but analysts said the market could be vulnerable to a sell-off after several months of gains. Brent crude oil was up 20 cents at $63.69 a barrel by 1120 GMT. On Tuesday, Brent reached an intra-day high of $64.65, its highest since June 2015. U.S. light crude was 15 cents higher at $56.96, just shy of this week’s more than two-year high of $57.69 a barrel. Traders [Read more]
TransCanada reports profit for third quarter
TransCanada Corp on Thursday reported a third-quarter profit compared with a loss a year ago, when the pipeline operator took an after-tax goodwill impairment charge of C$656 million. The Calgary-based company's net income attributable to shareholders was C$612 million ($482 million), or 70 Canadian cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of C$135 million, or 17 Canadian cents per share, a year ago. Revenue fell to C$3.24 billion from C$3.63 billion. [Read more]
U.S. crude stocks build unexpectedly as imports jump, output climbs: EIA
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week as imports jumped, exports tumbled and production inched up to its highest since at least 1983, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Gasoline and distillate inventories fell to multi-year lows, even as refining rates rose, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy said. Crude inventories rose 2.2 million barrels in the week to Nov. 3, contrary to analysts’ expectations for a decrease [Read more]
Oil steadies as Middle East tensions offset rising U.S. output
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as rising political tensions in the Middle East offset U.S. government data showing an increase in domestic crude production and a surprise build in stockpiles. U.S. crude production rose to 9.6 million barrels per day during the week of Nov. 3, the most in a week on record according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data going back to 1983. “The most notable thing in the EIA report was that production increased. [Read more]
ConocoPhillips vows financial discipline as aims to boost output
NEW YORK (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips (COP.N) said on Wednesday it will boost output over the rest of the decade but vowed to do so only when it was financially prudent as executives emphasized a strict adherence to shareholder returns. The largest U.S. independent oil and natural gas producer plans to spend an average of $5.5 billion annually for the next three years on capital projects as long as oil prices CLc1 stay above $50 per barrel. The spending forecast, an increase from 2017 and [Read more]