The discount on Canadian heavy crude narrowed on Friday to trade at less than $11 a barrel:* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, last traded at $10.65 per barrel below West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, according to Net Energy Exchange. On Thursday, WCS for August delivery settled at $11.15 a barrel below WTI crude futures.* Heavy crude differentials have narrowed throughout the week, with traders citing lower western Canadian inventories as a [Read more]
Headlines
U.S. oil companies put up $16.5 mln to build West Texas charter schools
Twenty top U.S. energy companies agreed to contribute $16.5 million to open new schools in West Texas, where an influx of oil and gas workers have strained schools, roads and other civic services.This is the first initiative by the Permian Strategic Partnership, a consortium of shale producers which has pledged to raise $100 million to address civic strains, a spokesman for the group said. The companies all operate in the Permian Basin, the top U.S. shale field. Another $22 million will be [Read more]
Alberta seeks to intervene in B.C.’s appeal to Supreme Court on energy projects
EDMONTON - Alberta wants to have its say when British Columbia goes to the Supreme Court for a ruling on who is in charge of interprovincial projects like pipelines. The Alberta government says it has filed a notice of intervention in B.C.'s appeal to the top court. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the B.C. Court of Appeal made it clear in its May ruling that the federal government, not the provinces, has sole authority over projects that cross provincial boundaries. [Read more]
U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for second week in a row -Baker Hughes
U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a second week in a row as drillers follow through on plans to cut spending this year.Drillers cut four oil rigs in the week to July 12, bringing the total count down to 784, the lowest since February 2018, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. That compares with 863 rigs operating during the same week a year ago.The rig count, an early indicator of [Read more]
Mexico’s formula to execute annual oil hedge is ready -official
Mexico has finished calibrating the formula used as a basis for its massive oil hedging program, a finance ministry official said on Friday, clearing a major obstacle for the hedge, the world's largest and most secretive Wall Street oil trade.Mexico buys as much as $1 billion worth of financial derivatives in order to protect its oil-sales revenue for the coming year against price volatility, in a highly anticipated financial trade that can make or break an investment bank's deal [Read more]
Group releases video reinforcing all Canadians should be proud of their energy industry
A group called Proud To Be Canadian took a page out of Oklahoma's book and released an inspiring pro-Canadian energy video. The video promotes Canada's biggest industry which has helped create the modern world. Canadian energy, the nationwide oil and gas industry is something every Canadian should be rightfully proud of. Watch the video below courtesy Proud To Be Canadian: [Read more]
Trudeau, Sohi, meeting with workers at TMX’s Edmonton terminal this morning
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is paying a visit to the Trans Mountain pipeline terminal in Edmonton this morning. It has been almost a month since Trudeau gave a second go-ahead to expanding the pipeline, after the courts overturned his government's original approval. Trudeau and Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi — who represents a nearby Edmonton riding — will meet with workers at the terminal, which is the start of the pipeline that carries Alberta oil to a [Read more]
Oil hovers near 6-wk highs amid Gulf of Mexico storm, Middle East tensions
Oil prices hovered near six-week highs on Friday as U.S. oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico cut more than half their output in the face of a tropical storm and as tensions continued to simmer in the Middle East. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 42 cents, or 0.7%, at $60.62 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark marked its highest level since May 23 in the previous session at $60.94. Brent crude futures were up 53 cents, or 0.8%, at $67.05 per barrel by 0606 GMT. The [Read more]
IEA sees oil market oversupplied in 2019 on U.S. production
Surging U.S. oil output will outpace sluggish global demand and lead to a large stocks build around the world in the next nine months, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.The forecasts appear to predict the need for producer club OPEC and its allies to reduce production to balance the market despite extending their existing pact, forecasting a fall in demand for OPEC crude to only 28 million barrels per day (bpd) in early 2020."Market tightness is not an issue for the time [Read more]
U.S. natgas futures rise on output cuts for Tropical Storm Barry
U.S. natural gas futures rose on Friday as the market focused more on a drop in output caused by Tropical Storm Barry and forecasts for more demand next week than previously expected than a decline in the amount of gas flowing to liquefied natural gas export terminals. Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were up 3.8 cents, or 1.6%, to $2.454 per million British thermal units at 8:55 a.m. EDT (1255 GMT). The U.S. National Hurricane Center [Read more]