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Oil Futures Rise in Asian Trade, WTI Tops $100/Bbl Mark

Crude-oil futures rose in Asian trading hours Wednesday ahead of weekly data on U.S. oil stockpiles and with Ukraine continuing its crackdown on separatists. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at $100.15 a barrel at 0508 GMT, up $0.65 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.26 to $107.32 a barrel. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said its data showed a 1.8 million-barrel drop in weekly U.S. crude stocks, while gasoline supplies rose by 2.4 million barrels and distillate stocks grew by 763,000 barrels. The more closely watched survey from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later Wednesday. Analysts surveyed expect an increase of 1.2 million barrels in the week ended May 2. "Seasonally, demand conditions for oil start improving toward the end of May […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil rises on industry data showing stockpile fall

The price of oil rose Wednesday after industry data showed a decline in U.S. supplies. Benchmark U.S. crude for June delivery was up 59 cents at $100.09 a barrel at 0605 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 2 cents to close Tuesday at $99.50. Brent crude, a benchmark for international varieties of oil, rose 22 cents to $107.28 on the ICE exchange in London. American Petroleum Institute data on Tuesday showed a decline in U.S. crude stocks for last week, which might reflect increased demand. Traders are now looking to Energy Department figures on U.S. crude stockpiles, due later Wednesday, to confirm or debunk the API data. The data for the week ending May 2 is expected to show an increase of 1.3 million barrels in crude oil stocks and a draw of 900,000 barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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WTI-Brent Oil Spread Shrinks on Cushing Forecast

West Texas Intermediate crude’s discount to Brent narrowed the most in a week after Morgan Stanley said stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma , are weeks away from reaching minimum levels. The U.S. grade settled above $99, and Brent slid 0.6 percent. Supplies at Cushing, the delivery point for New York-traded futures, may reach a floor of around 20 million barrels in two to three weeks, Adam Longson, a Morgan Stanley analyst in New York, said in an e-mailed note yesterday. Brent dropped as two oil fields in western Libya are scheduled to resume production this week. “Historically, the minimum operating inventory level has been in the neighborhood of 20 million barrels, and we are approaching the minimum,” James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economics, an energy-research firm in London , Arkansas , said by phone. “It’s supportive for front-month WTI. It would have a tendency to narrow the price differential […]

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NYMEX June gas higher to $4.733/MMBtu as traders focus on weather

June natural gas futures pushed slightly higher early Tuesday in the US, yet remains rangebound as traders dial in on slight changes to weather forecasts until Thursday’s storage report provides the market’s next catalyst. At 8:11 am EDT (1211 GMT), the contract traded at $4.733/MMBtu, up 4.5 cents from Monday’s close. It traded overnight between $4.692/MMBtu and $4.742/MMBtu. Prices continue to trade "in the middle of the mini-range ($4.52-$4.85)," EcomEnergy analysts said, while adding "when prices are going nowhere and are in a range — it can be a good time to sell premium." The firm saw support at $4.708/MMBtu and resistance at $4.808/MMBtu. National Weather Service forecasts show a mixed pattern with above-normal temperatures in the Southeast and West over the next two weeks and below-normal temperatures taking hold in the Upper Midwest. Bentek Energy forecast supply for Tuesday at 71.7 Bcf, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EIA Raises Forecast for Natural-Gas Prices

Natural gas will cost more this year, on average, than previously expected, government forecasters said Tuesday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said natural gas will average $4.74 per million British thermal units, up 6.8% from its forecast last month, as supplies are likely to stay tight. The country’s shale boom is encouraging power plants and industrial consumers to use more gas than expected, but the boom hasn’t produced as much supply as expected this year, the EIA said. The agency’s short-term forecast predicts the gas industry will need to produce more in November and December to catch up and match consumer demand of 72.3 billion cubic feet a day in 2014, up 0.22 billion cubic feet a day from last month’s forecast. Gas prices have been rising this spring as investors question whether even record production could match unrelenting demand. Forecasters now say average prices from April through […]

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Libyan ports Es Sider, Ras Lanuf still closed as deal splinters: US ambassador

The reopening of the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil ports in eastern Libya remains in limbo as the government appears to be backing away from a deal with rebels negotiated by ousted Prime Minister Ali Zidan, the US ambassador to Libya said Tuesday. "We have no way of knowing" if the ports would reopen, Ambassador Deborah Jones said in a conference call with US businesses considering investing in Libya. "I’m not terribly optimistic in large part because there was not a lot of buy-in in the General National Council, their parliament, for the terms of the deal." Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, which have a combined capacity of 560,000 b/d, have been closed since rebels seeking more autonomy took over the ports last August. Article continues below… Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream […]

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Angola May Miss 2015 Oil-Output Target

Angola, Africa ’s second-biggest oil producer, probably won’t reach an output target of 2 million barrels a day next year because new projects will be too late to boost declining flows, Wood Mackenzie Ltd. said. Sonangol EP, the state oil company, said in a statement May 5 that the target remains in place after government-run newspaper Jornal de Angola reported that the goal was deferred to 2017. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries member pumped 1.54 million barrels a day last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “I don’t think 2 million barrels a day by next year is realistic,” David Thomson , a Wood Mackenzie analyst in Edinburgh, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “I am confident it will happen, but toward the end of the decade.” Total SA’s CLOV fields in Block 17 and Eni SpA’s Western Hub in Block 15/06 are expected to start […]

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Israeli gas may be bound for Egypt

Noble Energy said it was considering sending as much as 440 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Tamar field offshore Israel to a plant in Egypt. Noble and its field partners at Tamar signed a non-binding letter of intent with Union Fenosa Gas to deliver natural gas to a facility that can turn it into super-cooled liquefied natural gas. The letter of intent spells out a 15-year term for a total 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from Tamar. "This LOI with Union Fenosa Gas represents a major milestone for our Tamar asset and is indicative of the strong regional demand for natural gas," Keith Elliot, Noble’s vice president in charge of regional operations, said in a statement Tuesday. Spanish company UFG holds an 80 percent stake in the subsidiary controlling the Damietta LNG facility in Egypt. It has […]

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Iran says its gas could reach Iraqi market

A deputy oil minister in Iran said Tuesday there could be natural gas sent to power stations in southern Iraq during the current calendar year. Ali Majedi, Iran’s deputy oil minister for international affairs, said a pipeline from southern Iran across the border to power stations in Basra province is "currently under construction." The pipeline will stretch from the Iranian port city of Asaluyeh, near the South Pars gas field, to Iraq. Iran has boasted of its potential to reach new gas customers through South Pars, which is one of the largest gas complexes in the world. Iran shares the field with Qatar. European officials have brushed off Tehran’s gas offerings because of sanctions imposed on the Iranian energy sector. Though Iran secured some sanctions relief through an interim nuclear deal with Western powers last year, the U.S. government in particular has said Iran […]

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Iran keeps links to Chinese energy companies

Chinese companies are still welcome in Iran’s energy sector, but those not meeting their obligations are a source of frustration, the oil minister said Tuesday. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh last week said a contract with China National Petroleum Corp. for development of the South Azadegan oil field was torn up because the company wasn’t meeting Iran’s expectations at a field said to hold more than 40 billion barrels of oil. The minister said Tuesday there was a continued interest with working with Chinese companies, though the government was so far not happy with their performance. "[The] ministry has by no means any intention of removing Chinese companies and investors from [Iran’s] petroleum industry, but Iran has ended its cooperation with the Chinese firms that have not fulfilled their obligations in some projects," he said . CNPC was given a contract from the Iranian […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple