Oil prices fell on Tuesday as concerns over a possible recession and China's COVID-19 curbs outweighed an expectation of tight global supply and a pick-up in fuel demand with the U.S. summer driving season. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July delivery dropped 8 cents, or 0.07%, to $110.37 a barrel. Brent crude futures for July rose 37 cents, or 0.33%, to $113.74 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell by more than $1 earlier in the session. Brent gained 0.7% on Monday while [Read more]
Headlines
Prairie Provident announces Director retirements and planned board refreshment
CALGARY, Alberta - Prairie Provident Resources Inc. (“Prairie Provident”, “PPR” or the “Company”) announces that Mr. Derek Petrie and Mr. Rob Wonnacott have decided to retire from the Board of Directors (the “Board”) and will not be standing for re-election at this week’s annual shareholders' meeting to be held at 10:00 a.m. (Calgary time) on May 26, 2022. Mr. Petrie and Mr. Wonnacott have served on the Board since 2016 and 2011 respectively. “We are grateful for the contributions Derek and [Read more]
U.S. natgas futures ease on output increase, lower demand forecast
U.S. natural gas futures eased about 1% on Tuesday from a near 13-year high in the prior session on a slow increase in monthly output and forecasts for less demand this week than previously expected. That small price decline came despite forecasts for a little more demand next week than previously expected and an increase in the amount of gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants to a seven-week high. U.S. front-month gas futures for June delivery fell 3.9 cents, or [Read more]
Cargoes of Russia’s flagship crude oil at sea climb to record high
Some 62 million barrels of Russia's flagship Urals crude oil, a record amount, are sitting in vessels at sea, data from energy analytics firm Vortexa showed, as traders struggled to find buyers for the crude. The United States and other countries have banned imports of Russian crude and oil products over its invasion of Ukraine, and others have avoided acquiring cargoes out of fear of future sanctions. The European Commission is considering an embargo of Russian oil. The volume of Urals [Read more]
Biden weighs reducing tariffs on China, asking OPEC to pump more oil
U.S. President Joe Biden said he was weighing cutting tariffs on Chinese goods while increasing calls on OPEC to raise oil production as he grappled with a politically damaging wave of inflation. "I am considering it. We did not impose any of those tariffs. They were imposed by the last administration and they're under consideration," Biden said on reducing tariffs on China. He made the comments during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. [Read more]
Canada’s weekly rig count up 3 to 95
Canada averaged 95 active drilling rigs this week according to data from the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors. Of those rigs, 39% are drilling for natural gas, 49% are drilling for oil, 2% for other (helium, hydrogen, geothermal, or potash), and 10% are moving. Drilling activity by province is 78% in Alberta, 9% in Saskatchewan, 7% in BC, and 6% elsewhere. Precision Drilling holds the majority of the Canadian market share with 34%, Ensign Drilling with 24%, Savanna Drilling with [Read more]
U.S. drillers add oil and gas rigs for ninth week in a row
U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a ninth week in a row, data showed on Friday, as mostly small producers respond to high prices and prodding by the government to ramp up output. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose 14 to 728 in the week to May 20, its highest since March 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report. Baker Hughes said that puts the total rig count up 273, or 60%, over this time [Read more]
Gas prices down slightly from record highs earlier this week
Gasoline prices in Canada have declined slightly just before the start of the May long weekend. Fuel price tracking service GasBuddy.com says the average retail price at the pump across Canada Friday morning was $1.99 per litre. It marks the first time the Canadian average gas price has dropped back below $2 since first hitting that all-time record milestone on Tuesday of this week. Gasoline prices have been elevated since late February when oil spiked to around US$100 a barrel after [Read more]
Oil falls on uncertainty over fuel demand recovery
Oil prices fell on Friday as investors worried that weakening global economic growth and tighter central bank monetary policy could curb a recovery in fuel demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June fell $1.76, or 1.58%, to $109.87 on its last day as the front-month. Brent futures for July rose 85 cents, or 0.77%, to $112.19 a barrel. The more actively traded WTI contract for July was down 0.82% at $108.99 a barrel. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged Asian [Read more]
Kenney to stay on until new party head elected
Jason Kenney will remain as premier and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) until his successor is chosen, the party said on Thursday, just a day after Kenney said he would step down. The premier of Canada's main oil-producing province, Kenney announced his intention to resign as party leader on Wednesday after receiving only 51.4% of votes in a leadership review, following criticism of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and top-down leadership style. His decision came as a [Read more]