Barclays: Revised North American upstream spending to increase 15% in 2018 (31 August 2018): By OGJ editors - In Barclay’s midyear global spending survey of more than 200 companies, global upstream spending for 2018 is on pace to rise 8%, essentially in line with its December spending report. “Compare to the last two cycles, the recovery in global spending has been remarkably restrained, but may be poised to accelerate in 2019 based on encouraging signs in the Middle East and certain offshore markets,” Barclays said. (Source: OGJ)
Barclays: Revised North American upstream spending to increase 15% in 2018 (31 August 2018): By OGJ editors - In Barclay’s midyear global spending survey of more than 200 companies, global upstream spending for 2018 is on pace to rise 8%, essentially in line with its December spending report. “Compare to the last two cycles, the recovery in global spending has been remarkably restrained, but may be poised to accelerate in 2019 based on encouraging signs in the Middle East and certain offshore markets,” Barclays said. (Source: OGJ)
Oil Rallies On Flurry Of Bullish News (30 August 2018): By Nick Cunningham - Oil is on track for a second consecutive week of gains, after two months of losses. Oil prices have climbed 10 percent in the past two weeks, and the big question is whether or not the momentum can continue. The reasons for the recent rebound are multiple. First, from the perspective of the physical market, there have been recent bullish data points that suggest the market is tightening. The latest EIA report revealed a surprisingly strong decline in crude oil inventories, gasoline inventories and also higher gasoline demand. Oil prices popped on the news. (Source: Oil Price)
Why Oil And Natural Gas Prices Are Diverging (29 August 2018): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Until a decade ago, the prices of natural gas in Europe were tightly linked to oil prices. Back then, gas delivery points and gas markets were highly segmented across Europe, natural gas competed with oil and oil-derived products for power generation, and most supplies of natural gas were indexed to oil prices. This summer, however, European natural gas prices have not followed the typical oil price trends. Rather, they followed their own supply-demand and pricing logic, highlighting a fundamental change in Europe’s natural gas supply and market. (Source: Oil Price)
Rising Supply Will Keep Oil Prices Rangebound (28 Aug 2018): By Nick Cunningham - Rising oil production from various parts of the globe could keep oil prices “range-bound” for the rest of this year. During the second quarter, fears of supply shortages began to mount, as OPEC disruptions combined with strong demand and shrinking inventories to push prices up significantly. More recently, concerns have focused on weak demand, driven by a strong dollar, cracks in emerging markets (punctuated by the currency crisis in Turkey), and a weakening macroeconomic picture globally. (Source: Oil Price)
Is This North America’s Next PetChem Hub? (27 August 2018): By Jon LeSage - Alberta is poised to find a booming market supplying petrochemical companies from its natural gas shale fields — and cost-competitive enough to potentially take away some of the U.S. oil and gas market’s share. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has unlocked vast reserves of natural gas from shale rock in the U.S., which began transforming the country’s markets starting a decade ago. Alberta sees real potential in moving beyond the primary use of its extracted oil and gas — such as motor fuels, heating, and power generation — into petrochemicals used in plastics, fertilizer, fuel, and other products. (Source: Oil Price)
South Korea Doubles Down On Gas And Renewables (25 August 2018): By Tim Daiss - Korea Gas (KOGAS), South Korea’s dominant liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer, has launched a new strategy designed to overhaul its business, worth a total investment of $9 billion (10 trillion won) that should also create 90,000 new jobs, the company said. The move comes amid South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s pivot to replace nuclear power and coal fired thermal power plants with renewables and increased natural gas usage. South Korea is currently the world’s third largest procurer of LNG after Japan and China. (Source: Oil Price)
Oil Prices Rise As Rig Count Slips (24 August 2018): By Julianne Geiger - Baker Hughes reported a 13-rig decrease to the number of active oil and gas rigs in the United States on Friday. Oil and gas rigs fell to 1,044, according to the report, with the number of active oil rigs falling by 9 ad the number of gas rigs falling by 4. The oil and gas rig count is now 104 up from this time last year. At 09:58 a.m. EDT on Friday, WTI Crude was up 1.74 percent at $69.01, while Brent Crude traded up 1.73 percent at $76.39, on signs that Iran’s oil exports have started to drop off, although overall market sentiment was cautious as the U.S.-China trade dispute drags on. Both benchmarks were up significantly from this time last week. (Source: Oil Price)
U.S. Oil Data Has Markets Confused (23 August 2018): By Nick Cunningham - The oil market continues to stagger forward without direction, and the EIA data is offering little clarity. Just last week, the EIA reported a sharp build up in crude oil inventories, raising concerns about over supply. But inventories have seesawed back and forth for much of this summer, muddying the waters for analysts. Just this week, the agency reported a huge drawdown in stocks, restoring some bullish sentiment, and helping to push oil prices up more than $2 per barrel on Wednesday.
'Fireball explosion' at major oil refinery (22 August 2018): LONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Fire engines were sent to Essar Oil UK’s 200,000 barrel per day oil refinery in northwest England after smoke was spotted, although the scale of the fire was unclear, a local fire service spokeswoman said. Smoke and flames from the Stanlow oil refinery fire could be seen eight miles (13km) away. “There was a report of a large plume of black smoke. We have several pumps at the scene,” a spokeswoman for the Cheshire fire service said. In a statement, the service said engines from five locations were on the scene. (Source: Hydrocarbon Processing)
Oil Edges Higher On Iran Fears (21 August 2018) By Tom Kool - Oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday morning as analysts think that reduced supply from Iran could have a more significant impact on oil markets than previously thought. The U.S. port district of Houston-Galveston recently became a net exporter of crude oil, the first time on record. In April, exports exceeded imports by 15,000 bpd, a figure that jumped to 470,000 bpd in May. The Houston-Galveston port area has made up more than half of the share of U.S. oil exports, a figure that jumped to 70 percent in in May as exports surged. (Source: Oil Price)
Tariffs will hurt U.S. more than the rest of the world, Maersk says (20 August 2018): By CHRISTIAN WIENBERG - COPENHAGEN (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy will be hit many times harder than the rest of the world by an escalating global trade war, according the CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S. Soren Skou, who runs the world’s biggest shipping company from Copenhagen, said the fallout of the current protectionist wave “could easily end up being bigger in the U.S.” Tariffs could slow global annual trade growth by 0.1 to 0.3%, though for the U.S. the effect could be “perhaps 3 or 4%,” he said at a presentation at Maersk’s headquarters on Friday. “And that would definitely not be good.” (Source: World Oil)
API: U.S. sets new record for natural gas liquids production, ties record for crude oil in July (17 August 2018): WASHINGTON -- The American Petroleum Institute’s latest monthly statistical report shows the U.S. set a record for the production of natural gas liquids (NGL) last month producing 4.4 MMbpd. July also saw the U.S. tie its record for crude oil production at 10.7 MMbpd. “With total U.S. liquid fuels production, up by more than 2.0 MMbpd year-over-year, the United States has been the world’s only substantive source of oil production growth so far in 2018 ... (Source: World Oil)
Can U.S. Shale Stop A Global Oil Supply Crisis? (16 Aug 2018): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Despite an expected slowdown in Permian growth rates, the U.S. shale patch is increasing production and will continue to do so this year and next. Oil market investors and analysts are currently very much focused on the demand side, with concerns over the potential of trade wars to curb oil demand growth. On the supply side, analysts have shifted their focus onto losses from Iran, crumbling Venezuelan production, and whether OPEC and its allies will be able—and willing—to offset supply disruptions. (Source: Oil Price)
The One Oil Industry That Isn’t Under Threat (15 August 2018): By Nick Cunningham - Peak oil demand might be near, but the consumption of oil for plastics will keep demand elevated for decades. Indeed, the IEA has said that plastics and other petrochemicals are the only sector in which oil consumption could continue to grow well into the 2030s. Rising plastic consumption is driven by population growth, higher median incomes and urbanization. Plastic production and consumption has absolutely skyrocketed over the last two decades and the growth in emerging economies such as China and India will ensure that consumption continues on its steep upward trajectory. (Source: Oil Price)
After $80-billion blowouts, mega oil and gas projects are back (14 August 2018): By DAN MURTAUGH - SINGAPORE (Bloomberg) -- Investors are about to find out whether the world’s largest oil companies have learned their lesson from $80 billion of cost blowouts in major projects during the era of $100-crude. From liquefied natural gas in Mozambique to deep-oil in Guyana, the world’s biggest energy companies are gearing up to sanction the first slate of mega-projects since the price crash in 2014, Wood Mackenzie Ltd. analysts, including Angus Rodger, said in a report. Firms will approve about $300 billion in spending on such ventures in 2019 and 2020, more than in the three years from 2015 to 2017 combined. (Source: World Oil)
Fire breaks out at BPCL's Mumbai refinery, several injured (8 August 2018): MUMBAI (Reuters) - State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd shut a hydrocracker unit at its Mumbai refinery following a fire that left 40 people injured, said a top company official. “We have shut the hydrocracker and assessment will be done on Thursday to know how long we need to keep it shut,” R Ramachandran, head of refineries, told Reuters. The remaining units at the 120,000-barrel-per-day refinery in the western Indian state of Maharashtra are operating normally, he added. The fire started around 0915 GMT in the compressor shed of the hydrocracker plant, the company said in a statement. (Source: Hydrocarbon Processing)
Oil Prices Slide As China Imposes 25% Tariff On U.S. Oil (8 August 2018) By Tsvetana Paraskova - Amid a steep correction in crude prices, China said on Wednesday that it would impose a 25-percent tariff on U.S. imports worth US$16 billion, including crude oil, diesel, cars, coal, and steel products, in retaliation to the U.S. list of US$16 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be taxed by U.S. authorities from August 23. On Wednesday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a list of around US$16 billion worth of imports from China that will be subject to a 25-percent additional tariff as part of the United States’ response to China’s unfair trade practices related to the forced transfer of American technology and intellectual property, the office said. (Source: Oil Price:)
Rosneft net profit almost quadruples in second quarter and shares hit all-time high (7 August 2018): Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft said on Tuesday its second-quarter net profit more than tripled to 228 billion roubles (Dh13.22bn) on higher production and prices, pushing its shares to an all-time peak, Reuters reported. That exceeded Rosneft’s profit for the whole 2017 and beat analysts’ estimates. Free cash flow rose to 221bn roubles, while dollar-denominated net debt shrank 12 per cent, according to Bloomberg. Rosneft, which counts among major shareholders the Russian state and BP, said its profit was also supported by a one-off gain from a share acquisition in an upstream joint venture and the revaluation of a stake in another joint venture, Reuters said. (Source: The National (UAE))
Goldman Sachs Expects “Very, Very Tight” Oil Market (6 August 2018): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Oil demand continues to be strong and the oil market is “eating very quickly” through OPEC’s spare capacity, so we are going into a “very, very tight oil market,” Michele Della Vigna, head of energy industry research at Goldman Sachs, told the Bloomberg Surveillance show on Monday. There is no doubt that we are heading to slowing supply growth, according to Goldman’s expert. Venezuela’s oil production continues to decline, the heat on Iran could remove up to 1 million bpd off the market depending on how some countries like China react, Libya remains in a constant state of unpredictability, and U.S. supply growth is constrained by infrastructure— (Source: Oil Price)
The Next Big Energy Standoff Will Happen Here (5 August 2018): By Tim Daiss - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have agreed on a so-called single working text to continue negotiations for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the disputed South China Sea. “I am pleased to announce yet another milestone in the COC process,” said Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday, Singapore’s foreign minister, who is hosting the meeting of regional leaders. They have also agreed on the "key modalities" for future rounds of negotiations, he said in opening remarks at the ASEAN-China Ministerial Meeting, one of several related meetings held alongside the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore this week. (Source: Oil Price)
China rejects U.S. request to cut Iranian crude imports (3 August 2018): By RACHEL ADAMS-HEARD AND NICK WADHAMS - HOUSTON and SINGAPORE (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has been unable to persuade China to cut Iranian oil imports, according to two officials familiar with the negotiations, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to isolate the Islamic Republic after his withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord. Beijing has, however, agreed not to ramp up purchases of Iranian crude, according to the officials, who asked not to be identified because discussions with China and other countries continue. That would ease concerns that China would work to undermine U.S. efforts to isolate the Islamic Republic by purchasing excess oil. (Source: World Oil)
Texas pipeline blaze put out after 7 hospitalized (2 August 2018): HOUSTON, (Reuters) - Authorities were investigating what caused a fire and a series of natural gas pipeline explosions on Wednesday in Midland County, Texas, which sent seven people to the hospital and shut down five lines before being extinguished late in the evening. Workers and firefighters were responding to a leak when the blast occurred, Midland County Fire Marshal Dale Little said on Thursday. Five workers with critical injuries were airlifted to University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, and were being treated at the center's burn unit, medical center spokesman Eric Finley said on Wednesday. (Source: Hydrocarbon Processing)
Oil Prices Fall After EIA Confirms Crude Inventory Build (1 August 2018): By Irina Slav - After yet another surprise report—this time of an inventory build—from the American Petroleum Institute weighed on prices yesterday, the Energy Information Administration confirmed a build, reporting U.S. crude oil inventories had added 3.8 million barrels last week. At 408.7 million barrels, the EIA said, crude oil inventories were below the five-year seasonal average. Analysts polled by IG Group had expected a slight inventory decline of 200,000 barrels, after the previous week’s major, 6.1-million-barrel draw reported by the EIA. (Source: Oil Price)