TORONTO, July 24 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as domestic wholesale trade data beat expectations, oil prices moved higher and the greenback struggled to shrug off soft data and political uncertainty. The loonie is trading at its strongest in 14 months, helped by a hawkish turn from the Bank of Canada and an interest rate hike earlier this month. At 8:49 a.m. ET (1249 GMT), it was trading at C$1.2512 to the greenback, or 80 U.S. cents, [Read more]
Headlines
Hedge funds close bearish positions in crude and gasoline
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Hedge fund managers have continued to cover short positions in crude oil and gasoline, helping lift prices across the petroleum complex against a backdrop of improving fundamentals. Hedge funds and other money managers reduced short positions in the five major petroleum futures and options contracts by a further 44 million barrels in the week to July 18. Total short positions in ICE Brent, ICE and NYMEX WTI, NYMEX gasoline, and NYMEX heating oil were cut to 350 [Read more]
Ghawar vs. the Permian – who would guess that a government-owned business would be run more wisely?
Petroleum reservoirs are not infinite. That might sound self-evident and/or stupid, but they are often treated as if they are. That can be a natural reaction as new fields are being developed, when the boundaries are still being delineated, and sometimes those enthusiastic thoughts just get stuck in everyone’s head. The phenomenon happens everywhere, but always fades with time. Two of the biggest examples of the past 50 years are Saudi Arabia’s reserves and US shale production. For decades [Read more]
Oil dives about 2.5 percent; OPEC crude output rise forecast
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slid on Friday, settling about 2.5 percent lower after a consultancy forecast a rise in OPEC production for July despite the group's pledge to curb output, reigniting concerns the global market will stay awash with crude. Benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled down $1.24 or 2.52 percent at $48.06 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 settled down $1.15 or 2.45 percent, at $45.77 a barrel. "This turn around late in the week is [Read more]
Westcore Energy Ltd. Announces Closing of $499,950 Equity Financing
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwired - July 21, 2017) - Westcore Energy Ltd. ("Westcore" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:WTR) is pleased to announce that it has completed a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") for aggregate gross proceeds of $499,950.00. An aggregate of 3,333,000 units have been issued, each at a subscription price of $0.15 per unit, with each unit consisting of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant entitles [Read more]
U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for second week since January -Baker Hughes
U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for a second week since January as crude prices have declined in recent months despite an OPEC-led effort to cut production and end a multi-year glut. Analysts, however, noted weekly declines in the rig count were likely just a brief pause in a drilling recovery expected to continue through at least 2019. Drillers cut 1 oil rig in the week to July 21, bringing the total count down to 764, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely [Read more]
Canada Weekly Rig Count Up 15 to 206
Western Canada’s fleet of drilling rigs increased this week to 206 actively drilling rigs according to data collected by Baker Hughes for the week of July 21. From one week ago, Alberta rig counts increased to 132 rigs from 121, the Saskatchewan rig count went down – current count at 42 from 39. Oil drilling increased to 118 rigs from 106; gas rigs increased to 88 from 85. View a full breakdown of western Canada’s rig activity. [Read more]
Husky Energy Reports Second Quarter 2017 Results
CALGARY, Alberta, July 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Husky (TSX:HSE) generated funds from operations of $715 million in the second quarter, leading to free cash flow of $135 million. “Despite a challenging oil price environment and planned turnarounds at the Lloydminster Upgrader and asphalt refinery, we increased funds from operations and realized another quarter of positive free cash flow,” said CEO Rob Peabody. “At the same time, investments to improve margin capture along our Integrated [Read more]
Encana delivers strong second quarter results; company expands margins, exceeds type curves, grows premium well inventory and updates guidance
CALGARY, Alberta, July 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Encana’s (TSX:ECA) (NYSE:ECA) performance through the second quarter has put the company well ahead in the first year of its five-year plan. Driven by strong oil and condensate growth, an increasingly liquids-weighted portfolio and lower costs, Encana significantly expanded its non-GAAP corporate margin. Core asset growth is ahead of schedule and the company increased its type curves and premium return well inventory. Encana has increased total [Read more]
“Dirty, Difficult, And Dangerous”: Why Millennials Won’t Work In Oil
Like many industries today, the oil industry is trying to sell its many job opportunities to the fastest growing portion of the global workforce: Millennials. But unlike any other industry, oil and gas is facing more challenges in persuading the environmentally-conscious Millennials that oil is "cool". During the Super Bowl earlier this year, the American Petroleum Institute (API) launched an ad geared toward Millennials, who now make up the largest generation in the U.S. labor [Read more]