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Oil Pares Gain as IEA Sees Lower Price While Iran Talks Drag

Oil pared its advance as the International Energy Agency forecast prices will need to fall further to curb excess supplies, countering gains after nuclear talks stalled between Iran and world powers. Futures were 0.6 percent higher in New York, having earlier climbed 2.1 percent. The world remains “massively oversupplied” before markets tighten in 2016 when output growth outside OPEC grinds to a halt, according to the IEA. Senior officials involved in the nuclear negotiations said it was too late to reach an agreement by a Friday deadline. Oil is heading for a second weekly loss driven by China’s equities rout and the turmoil in Greece. Iran, the fourth-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, plans to boost crude exports and recapture market share if international sanctions are lifted. “The realization that the tightening in the oil market will take longer than expected was definitely one of the […]

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Oil Prices Rise on China Recovery and Iran Deadlock

NEW YORK—U.S. oil prices climbed Thursday, snapping a five-session losing streak, as expectations of higher Iranian crude-oil exports receded. Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers are appear likely to drag on past Thursday’s midnight deadline. If a deal isn’t complete by Friday morning, Congress will get an extra month to review the deal. The prospect of a final deal has weighed on oil prices in recent months. If a deal is reached, sanctions currently limiting Iran’s oil exports would eventually be lifted, allowing the nation to sell more oil to the already-oversupplied global market. Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled up $1.13, or 2.2%, at $52.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, rose $1.56, or 2.7%, to $58.61 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Oil prices fell sharply earlier this week amid concerns about gyrations in the Chinese stock markets […]

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Natural Gas Prices Rebounds After Setting New One-Month Low

By Timothy Puko Natural gas prices rebounded on Thursday, gaining after falling earlier to a fresh one-month low. Bearish traders who have dominated the market may be taking profits by buying and bidding up the price, after weekly government storage data was published, a broker and analyst said. Prices dipped after the U.S. Energy Information Administration update at 10:30 a.m., EDT, said storage levels grew by 91 billion cubic feet, larger than the expected and average additions, in the week ended July 3. The five-year average addition for that week was 75 bcf. Forecasters surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had a median expectation of 85 bcf. The heavy surplus would indicate the market is oversupplied and by more than most had expected. But with that inventory news out of the way, traders who bet on a fall in prices may have been closing out their bets. In addition […]

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As oil teeters at $50, a few shale producers still drilling more

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, April 29, 2013. A handful of optimistic U.S. shale drillers are sticking with plans to deploy more rigs in the coming months even as oil prices take a sharp dive well below many producers’ $60-a-barrel breakeven point. On Wednesday, Pioneer Natural Resources Co. became the first big company to publicly confirm it was drilling more wells, saying it had already added two rigs in the Permian Basin of Texas this month and would keep on adding two a month as long as the oil price "remains constructive." Smaller shale oil producer WPX Energy Inc, whose operations are focused on North Dakota’s Bakken shale, said this week that its decision to add two rigs later this year was unaffected by a nearly $8 drop in crude prices since June to toward $50 a barrel. While half a dozen […]

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The Cost of Insuring Against a Commodities Crash Is Rocketing

Pink Slime No Brake to Beef Rally as Herd Contracts China’s stock slump has played havoc with the commodities market as traders fret that the economy driving global demand for raw materials is about to tank. The Bloomberg Commodity Index , which includes 22 commodities, everything from live cattle to natural gas, traded near a 13-year low this week as industrial metals and oil tumbled. Nickel plunged 9 percent in a single day. Here’s what prices have done over the past five days: Best and worst performers in Bloomberg’s Commodity Index over the past five days The increase in volatility has sent the cost of buying options to insure against bigger drops in the price of some commodities soaring. The table below shows the implied volatility for 90 percent puts on commodities, or options that bring protection against a 10 percent drop in prices. The higher the implied volatility, […]

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IEA Says Oil May Fall Further Before Supply Growth Slows

Oil prices may fall further as the world remains “massively oversupplied,” before markets tighten in 2016 when output growth outside OPEC grinds to a halt, according to the International Energy Agency. There will be no overall production growth outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for the first time since 2008, according to the IEA. Growth in U.S. shale oil supplies will stagnate to mid-2016 while output declines in Russia, the Paris-based adviser said in its first detailed assessment of the year ahead. Global oil demand growth will slow in 2016, the agency predicted. Oil-producing nations around the world are reeling after OPEC initiated a strategy in November to defend its share of global markets by pressuring rivals to curb output. Oil prices, 45 percent lower than a year ago, may need to decline further to reduce the supply surplus, the IEA said. “The bottom of the market may […]

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IEA Says Oil Prices May Fall More Amid Slowing Demand

The International Energy Agency said Friday global demand for oil would slow down next year, as it warned that crude prices could resume a recent downward spiral. “The bottom of the market may still be ahead,” the agency said in its closely watched monthly oil-market report. In its first oil-consumption assessment for next year, the IEA—which advises industrialized nations on their energy policies—said global oil demand growth is forecast to slow to 1.2 million barrels a day in 2016. That compares with an average 1.4 million barrels a day this year. It said a return of Iranian oil and if Greece were to exit from the euro could put further pressure on oil prices—which have lost about 10% in the past month. Tehran this week failed to meet a deadline to clinch a nuclear deal with world powers. But if sanctions were lifted, it could raise exports immediately out […]

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Oil Market Report

mb/d World Oil Demand *Please note that these Highlights are from the latest Oil Market Report, which is released in full to subscribers only – according to this schedule each month . Non subscribers get free access to the latest Highlights on this schedule, however the full Oil Market Report is released to the public two weeks after the report is released to subscribers. If you would like to receive the full report with accompanying charts and graphs on the day of publication please subscribe or contact the subscription manager . Crude oil prices fell to their lowest in nearly three months in early July, pressured by ever rising supply while financial turmoil in Greece and China unsettled world markets. At the time of writing, Brent was around $59/bbl and US WTI at $53.10/bbl. Global oil demand growth is forecast to slow to 1.2 mb/d in 2016, from an […]

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Nuclear talks deadlocked as U.S. refuses to accept Iran’s rights on sanctions: Fars agency

The United States’ refusal to accept Iran’s rights, particularly on sanctions, is blocking a deal between the Islamic state and the six major powers, a source told Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency on Thursday. "While the Iranian team is showing flexibility, the Americans are refusing to accept Iran’s obvious right, particularly on sanctions," Fars quoted an unnamed source as saying. The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China have been negotiating with Iran to reach a long-term deal under which Tehran would its curb nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

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Restart of crude oil exports from Libya’s Ras Lanuf port in doubt after threat

* Petroleum guards say vessels would be impounded * Two tankers seen headed for 220,000 b/d port * Force majeure at Ras Lanuf lifted July 2 Libya’s hopes of resuming crude exports from its third-largest port Ras Lanuf may have been dashed after guards that protect the facility said they would not allow any vessel to dock there. State-owned NOC lifted the force majeure on crude loadings at Ras Lanuf — which had been in place since December — on July 2, theoretically allowing for exports to resume from the 220,000 b/d capacity terminal. Article continues below… The Platts Global Energy Awards is a competitive awards program honoring excellence and accomplishments in the global energy industry. The 17th annual awards will be presented at a black-tie gala, attracting energy industry leaders from around the world on Wednesday, December 9th, 2015 at Cipriani’s in New York. Don’t miss this opportunity […]

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Iran Talks Stall as Russia, West Spar Over Arms Restrictions

Talks on Iran’s nuclear program were deadlocked and set to miss another deadline as the Islamic Republic’s interlocutors argued over persistent differences, including lifting restrictions on arms sales. Senior officials involved in the negotiations said it was too late to reach a deal by Friday morning in Vienna, the last chance to qualify for a 30-day review in the U.S. Congress. An agreement after that would be subject to 60 days of scrutiny, pushing back the date when Iran could qualify for sanctions relief, its main objective. Diplomats alternated between insisting that a deal is within reach and threatening that they are almost ready to walk out. “We are very close, but if the important, historical political decisions are not made in the next hours we won’t have an agreement,” European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told CNN late on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said […]

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Accusations Fly as Iran Nuclear Talks Stall

Senior Iranian officials charged the U.S. and European powers with backtracking on recent commitments they made in negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, assuring a Friday congressional deadline for reaching a deal would be missed. American, European and Iranian negotiators had voiced hope in recent days that a landmark agreement to constrain Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions could be reached this week. But Iran and the U.S. on Thursday charged each other with an unwillingness to make crucial political decisions to conclude nearly two years of talks. Senior Iranian negotiators specifically accused the U.S. and its European Union partners of walking back over the past 24 hours commitments Tehran said the six world powers—the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, Germany and China—made on issues that include sanctions relief and the lifting of a United Nations arms embargo on Iran. On Thursday, Iranian President Hasan […]

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Oil may have further to fall due to oversupply: IEA

A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. Oil prices are set to come under further pressure from easing global demand and an expanding glut of crude while a rebalancing of the markets may last well into next year, the West’s Energy watchdog said on Friday. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said it expected global demand growth to slow next year to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.4 million this year – far less than needed to balance stubbornly growing non-OPEC and OPEC supply. "The bottom of the market may still be ahead," the IEA said in its monthly report. "The rebalancing that began when oil markets set off on an initial 60 percent price drop a year ago has yet to run its course. Recent developments suggest that the process will extend well into 2016." "The oil market was massively oversupplied […]

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China stocks jump again as emergency measures bite

Chinese stocks rose strongly for a second day on Friday, buoyed by a barrage of government support measures, but worries persist about the long-term impact that four weeks of stock market turmoil may have on the world’s second-largest economy. Over the past two weeks Chinese authorities have cut interest rates, suspended initial public offerings, relaxed margin lending and collateral rules and enlisted brokerages to buy stocks, backed by cash from the central bank. Some analysts predict further moves to come from the central bank, which often makes policy announcements over the weekend, such as another rate cut or relaxation of the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves. The frantic efforts to stem the market slide finally began to gain traction on Thursday, when shares rose around 6 percent after the securities regulator banned shareholders with large stakes in listed firms from selling. The CSI300 index of the […]

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Ripples in China Stir Expectations for Oil

In the oil world, just like everywhere else, the sun rises in the East. Oddly, it may set there, too. Friday sees the release of the International Energy Agency’s monthly oil-market report. Many will focus on what the IEA has to say about supply, particularly from U.S. shale. But in a week where China’s stock market showed all was far from well in the world’s emerging market-in-chief, oil investors shouldn’t forget demand. In the July report, the IEA will release its first monthly forecast of what oil demand will be in 2016. In February, when the agency released its annual five-year outlook, it projected global demand next year at 94.47 million barrels a day, up from 93.34 million projected for 2015. These numbers move around a lot. A year ago, the IEA’s first forecast for demand growth in 2015 was 1.41 million barrels a day. By January, that had […]

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OPEC influence debated during House export hearing

Secretary General of OPEC Abdalla el Badri sits in on latest production policy meeting in Vienna. House leaders hear debate over OPEC’s market influence during hearing on U.S. crude oil export policies. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) — U.S. House leaders heard testimony largely in support of lifting a ban on crude oil exports, though debate over OPEC’s market role emerged on the margins. The House Agriculture Committee heard testimony from industry leaders and experts largely in favor of lifting the 1970s-era ban on domestic crude oil exports. Chairman K. Michael Conway, R-Texas, said lifting the ban would have widespread benefits for the United States in the era of shale. "Lifting the oil export ban will grow our economy, it will also improve our geopolitical position and it will lower gas prices," he said in a statement. Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting […]

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The EIA’s Short-Term Guessing Game

The EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook came out a few days ago. That is where they try to guess the future production and price for oil, for the USA as well as the world. As of late they seem to be getting a little timid with their predictions. They are saying not much growth is happening until the fourth quarter of 2016, and only a slight bump then. STEO N-O Liquids This chart is Non-OPEC Total Liquids in million barrels per day. Production of N.O Liquids surged upwards from September of 2012 until December 2014, gaining 6.38 million barrels per day in those 27 months. That’s an average increase of 236,000 barrels per day per month. But then in January 2015 there was a drop of 800,000 bpd. Non-OPEC total liquids still have not reached that December high again but the EIA thinks they will by August. I have my […]

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Ending crude export ban would help rural US areas, House panel told

Rural US communities generally have benefited from the nation’s crude oil production renaissance, and potentially could be helped more if restrictions on exports of crude were eliminated, witnesses told a US House Agriculture Committee hearing on July 8. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David J. Porter called the crude export ban “a leftover relic from another period of time.” Allowing more US-produced oil to be sold overseas would spur domestic production, foster economic growth, and provide direct benefits to rural America and the nation as a whole, Porter said in his written testimony. “The export ban is more than just an outdated policy,” he maintained. “Keeping it in place is actually harming our economy.” When crude prices recently dropped, Texas felt harsh economic impacts as thousands of production workers were laid off and rigs were idled, he told the committee. The number of drilling permits the commission issued fell from […]

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House revisits push for Keystone XL

House committee issues subpoena to State Department seeking all documents related to the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned to cross the U.S.-Canadian border. Photo courtesy of TransCanada WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) — A committee from the Republican-led House of Representatives said it issued a subpoena to the State Department on the permit process for Keystone XL . The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said it wanted "all reports, recommendations, letters, and comments received by the State Department" about the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned to cross the U.S.-Canadian border. The Republican-led Congress that took its seat in January said passing legislation to approve construction of Keystone XL, offered for U.S. federal consideration more than six years ago, was job No. 1. The pipeline has become a scapegoat for U.S. energy policies, with backers touting its energy and economic benefits, while detractors say it’s too environmentally risky to support. […]

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Shell U.S. Unit Name May Drop ‘Oil’ as Alternatives Proliferate

The U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc may soon drop the word “oil” from its name in a move that would signal its transition to other sources of energy, an executive said. With Shell Oil Co.’s parent focusing more on natural gas and looking at other energy alternatives, the “oil” in the name “is a little old-fashioned, I’d say, and at one point we’ll probably do something about that,” Marvin Odum, director of the company’s upstream Americas business, said Thursday at the Toronto Global Forum. “The increasing returns and the profile of some of the renewable-energy companies is absolutely true,” Odum said in an interview with Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief emeritus of Bloomberg News. “The good news about that is it’s a clear signal that the transition is actually here.” The Anglo-Dutch parent, Europe’s biggest oil company, began producing more natural gas than oil two years ago, a trend […]

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U.S. gasoline demand roars back to life: Kemp

A man gets gasoline at a BP station in St. Louis, Missouri January 14, 2015. Consumption of gasoline in the United States is surging according to estimates prepared by the Energy Information Administration. More than 9.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline were supplied to domestic customers over the last four weeks. Consumption is running about 480,000 bpd above the 2014 level and 250,000 bpd above the 10-year seasonal average ( link.reuters.com/wuh25w ). The amount supplied to domestic customers has to be estimated from refinery production, imports, exports and stockpiles so it is subject to some estimating errors but the data all paint a consistent picture of strong demand. Refineries are running flat out to meet fuel demand from motorists. U.S. refineries have been processing a near-record 16.5 million bpd of crude in recent weeks,1 million bpd higher than the seasonal average ( link.reuters.com/zuh25w ). Gasoline production is […]

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U.S. jobless claims rise to highest level since February

Job seekers listen to prospective employers during a job hiring event for marketing, sales and retail positions in San Francisco, California, in this file photo taken June 4, 2015. New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits rose last week to their highest level since February, suggesting some slowdown in the labor market recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 297,000 for the week that ended July 4, the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday. Even with the rise in claims, the latest report marks the 18th consecutive week of new filings below 300,000, which is considered consistent with a firming labor market. The previous week’s claims were revised to 282,000, showing that 1,000 more people filed than initially reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected new applications to fall to 275,000 last week. The four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes out […]

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Saipem loses Russian pipe-laying contract

Italian energy services contractor Saipem loses contract to build pipeline for Russian energy company Gazprom. Photo courtesy of Saipem. MILAN, Italy, July 9 (UPI) — Italian energy services company Saipem said Thursday it received word from Gazprom its contract to build a natural gas pipeline through Turkey was cancelled. The Italian company said it received official notice late Wednesday that its contract to build part of the South Stream natural gas pipeline for Europe was pulled under a termination for convenience clause . "The termination for convenience is a standard contractual clause which provides for the termination of the agreement in the absence of a contractual breach, with compensation determined in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract," the company explained. Russian officials in mid-December confirmed South Stream, touted as the answer to European transit woes, was no longer viable as envisioned in 2007. Instead, Russian energy […]

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Ukraine raises gas imports from Slovakia: company

Ukraine will take about 21 percent more gas from Slovakia to boost deliveries to underground storage after the country suspended imports from Russia over a pricing dispute, transport monopoly Ukrtransgaz said on Friday. Ukraine plans to import 16.5 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas on Friday from Slovakia, up from daily imports of 13.6 mcm so far this month, a spokesman for the company said. He said Ukraine pumped 27 mcm of gas per day from July 1-9 and collected 12.2 billion cubic meters of gas in reserves as of July 10. Ukrainian energy officials say Ukrtransgaz must store about 60 mcm of gas per day to ensure it has enough gas to meet demand during the winter and to guarantee the transit of Russian gas to European consumers. With Ukraine’s economy close to bankruptcy because of years of economic mismanagement and fighting against pro-Russian rebels in the country’s […]

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Greek Plan Accepts Austerity to Get Debt Relief

Photo Pensioners wait outside of a National Bank of Greece branch in Athens on Thursday. Credit Yannis Kolesidis/European Pressphoto Agency ATHENS — Only a day after grim predictions of financial and social collapse in Greece , a scramble appeared underway to work out the details of a new bailout package to bring the country back from the brink of falling out of the euro. As details of the new offer emerged, it appeared that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was capitulating to demands on harsh austerity terms that he urged his countrymen to reject in the referendum last Sunday, like tax increases and various measures to cut the costs of pensions. But Mr. Tsipras sought a three-year bailout loan totaling 53.5 billion euros (about $59 billion) and asked creditors to commit to discussing restructuring the nation’s massive debt. The amount was more than it would have been without a nationwide […]

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Greek Bailout Assessment Could Come Friday, Official Says

A vendor waits for customers outside his shop in central Athens on Friday. BRUSSELS—Greece’s creditor institutions could make an assessment on the country’s eligibility for new bailout on Friday, a eurozone official said, as a deadline to avoid a possible Greek financial meltdown draws near. The institutions that have been overseeing Greece’s bailouts—the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—may come out Friday with their assessment of Greece’s request for help from the eurozone’s rescue fund, said a spokesman for the chairman of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers. That assessment will also take into account the latest overhaul proposals from Greece, the spokesman added. The institutions’ assessment still needs to be discussed and approved by eurozone finance ministers, who may push for tougher criteria to avoid having to take aggressive action of reducing Greece’s debt. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who presides over meetings of eurozone finance […]

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EU’s Tusk urges debt relief as part of Greek deal

The European Union’s chairman joined growing international calls for Greece to be granted debt restructuring as part of any new loan deal if it delivers convincing reforms to avert imminent bankruptcy. The call was an implicit challenge to Germany, Athens’ biggest creditor, which has so far ruled out any write-offs as illegal and taken a restrictive view of reprofiling the debt to help Greece over a major repayment hump this year. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was finalizing a tough package of tax hikes and pension reforms to send to euro zone authorities by midnight in a race to secure agreement at the weekend on a third financial rescue for his country. European Council President Donald Tusk, who is to chair a special euro group summit on Sunday that will decide Greece’s fate, hoped the plans would be concrete and realistic. "The realistic proposal from Greece will have to […]

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KRG extending control over Kirkuk oil exports

KRG President Massoud Barzani (L) meets with Kirkuk Gov. Najmaldin Karim (R) in Kirkuk on June 8, 2015. (STAFF/Iraq Oil Report) Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is pushing to control all oil sales from Kirkuk province – a further sign that a cooperative oil export and revenue sharing deal with Baghdad has disintegrated.The federal North Oil Company (NOC) is continuing to pump about 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Kirkuk fields into Kurdistan’s autonomous pipeline to Turkey, according to both federal and KRG oil officials. But for more than two weeks, none of that oil has been transferred bac… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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Oil prices bounce on China stock rebound, strong economic data

A man fills up his 1976 Chevy Nova with gasoline at a PDVSA gas station in Caracas January 12, 2015. Crude oil prices bounced on Thursday on strong economic data from Japan and Germany, and as Chinese stocks picked up after the government launched new steps to halt a rout in its share markets. Front-month U.S. crude futures were up 84 cents at $52.49 per barrel at 0652 GMT, but remain almost 7.5 percent lower than the end of last week. Brent crude was 9 cents higher at $57.72 a barrel, though still 4 percent below last Friday. Chinese stocks rallied on Thursday after the securities regulator banned shareholders with large stakes in listed firms from selling, in Beijing’s most drastic step yet to stem a sell-off that has roiled global financial markets. The police are also investigating clues pointing to potentially "malicious" short-selling of Chinese shares, state news […]

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Oil prices fall as China share crisis worsens, traders hedge for further drops

A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. Oil futures fell again on Wednesday as worries over the Greek debt crisis and China’s stock market turmoil outweighed an expected U.S. inventory drop, with traders anticipating further drops. China’s stocks tanked further on Wednesday in a deepening crisis in which China’s Securities Finance Corp said it would provide liquidity to ease "panic" as over 500 Chinese-listed firms suspended trading. Front-month Brent crude futures were 38 cents lower at $56.47 a barrel at 0452 GMT, and are down over 6 percent so far this week to levels last seen in April. U.S. crude was down 35 cents at $51.98, down more than 8 percent for the week. "A perfect storm of events has hit oil markets," Morgan Stanley said. The bank said "turmoil in China and Greece may put recent robust demand growth at risk," although […]

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Natural Gas Falls to One-Month Low on Oversupply

By Timothy Puko and Christian Berthelsen Natural-gas futures retreated to small losses and a fresh one-month low on Wednesday as analysts don’t expect the weather in the coming days to spur strong demand. The front-month August contract settled down 3.1 cents, or 1.1%, to $2.685 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A three-session losing streak has pushed gas below the 18-cent range it had settled in every session for the past month. Traders and analysts are expecting the weekly storage addition to return to far-above-average levels, after the last addition missed that mark with smallest addition in two months. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly update on inventories at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. Producers likely added 85 billion cubic feet to storage for the week ended July 3, according to the median average of 21 forecasters surveyed by the Wall Street […]

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Russia Says Iran Nuclear Deal ‘Within Reach’

UFA, Russia — A final deal on Iran’s nuclear programme is within reach, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, adding that he is ready to return to Vienna for talks between Tehran and six major world powers to work on the agreement. "We are close to a comprehensive agreement," Lavrov told journalists on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Ufa. "It is within reach." He added that a new, permanent deal would open the road to lifting sanctions against Iran. Iran offered some new solutions to resolve the disputes in the nuclear talks on Wednesday, Iranian media reported, but Western officials suggested they had heard nothing new from Tehran. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Jack Stubbs)

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New Tensions Emerge in Iran Nuclear Talks

Police officers in front of the Palais Coburg where nuclear talks continue. VIENNA—Tensions in the nuclear talks between Iran and six powers have boiled over in recent days, producing heated exchanges among foreign ministers as Washington and Tehran struggled to overcome remaining hurdles to a final agreement, according to people involved in the talks. The German and British foreign ministers returned to the Austrian capital Wednesday evening as Western diplomats insisted a deal was still possible in coming days. However, time was running out for the agreement to be sealed before a deadline this week which would give the U.S. Congress an extra month to review a deadline. People close to the talks have warned that the longer Congress and opponents of the diplomacy get to pick over an agreement and galvanize opposition, the greater the political risks for supporters of the process, which aims to block Iran’s path […]

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Number of Syrian Refugees Climbs to More Than 4 Million

GENEVA — The number of Syrians who have fled into neighboring countries to escape the civil war has reached more than four million, the United Nations said Thursday, and with the fighting dragging into its fifth year the number is still rising. More than 24,000 people crossed into Turkey to escape fighting in northern Syria in June, pushing the number now sheltering in neighboring countries past four million, increasing the Syrian refugee population by one million in just 10 months, the United Nations refugee agency reported. International aid agencies say the fighting has driven at least 7.6 million people who remain in the country from their homes. “This is the biggest refugee population from a single conflict in a generation,” Antonio Guterres, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, said in a statement. Mr. Guterres, once again, warned that international aid was not keeping pace with the scale of […]

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West Africa: Next big deal in oil?

With the right investment strategies, calmer waters off the coast of West African could make economic sense of the oil industry. Photo by James Jones Jr./Shutterstock LONDON, July 8 (UPI) — With the right investment strategies, the emerging offshore oil prospects in West Africa could be the industry’s next big deal, an executive leader said. West Africa has drawn interest from international energy companies eager to tap into unexploited reserves. Africa-focused Tullow Oil is among the early players in West African basins , tapping into prospects off the coast of Ghana. The region’s deepwater Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme prospect, known also as the TEN project, should deliver its first oil by 2016. At its peak, the company said the prospect is expected to produce about 80,000 barrels of oil per day. The Jubilee field off the Ghanaian coast could eventually produce more than 125,000 bpd. Keith Millheim, a director at drilling and […]

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Premier Oil raises exploration budget to spend more in Falklands

Oil producer Premier Oil has increased its 2015 exploration budget by $20 million to account for higher investments in its drilling campaign in the Falkland Islands, the company said in a trading update on Thursday. The London-listed firm, whose operations stretch from the Falkland Islands to Indonesia, also said it had received an offer for its Pakistan business and was starting a process with interested parties to dispose of those assets. The company expects revenue in the first half of 2015 of $580 million, down 34 percent from a year earlier due to lower oil prices and lower production levels as the result of a disposal. Premier Oil is scheduled to report half-year results on August 20.

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China Stock Gains Gather Pace

Gains in Chinese shares gathered pace Thursday, restoring some confidence in Beijing’s suite of attempts to rescue its struggling stock market. The Shanghai Composite rose 5.8% to 3709.33 while the smaller Shenzhen market rose 3.8%. Both indexes have lost around a third of their value in the past month. The small-cap ChiNext board, which has shed some 38% from its June highs, rose 3%. Stocks in Hong Kong, which suffered their worst trading session since the global financial crisis on Wednesday, rose 4.1%. A gauge of Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies, known as H-shares, is up 4%. “The market shows signs of stabilizing because the regulator came to rescue small-caps, especially those on the ChiNext, which eased the liquidity crisis and gave investors a much-need dose of confidence,” said Tang Yonggang, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities. On Wednesday, regulators announced that the China Securities Finance Corp., a commission unit […]

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Big Chinese steelmakers lose $2.7 billion in core business for Jan-May: steel association

Large Chinese steelmakers’ losses in core business more than doubled during the first five months from a year earlier as tumbling steel prices plunged producers into red, a top official of the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) said on Thursday. CISA members, comprising of 101 big mills, posted a loss of 16.48 billion yuan ($2.65 billion) in steelmaking business for January-May, which was 10.36 billion yuan more from the same period of last year, according Zhang Guangning, CISA’s chairman. "It’s obvious that China’s apparent crude steel consumption has reached the peak, and the large growth of demand has became a history," Zhang said in a speech that was published on the CISA website. Chinese steel prices are at their lowest in more than 20 years as the stuttering economy is hitting demand for a range of commodities including iron ore, steel and copper, threatening the survival of small […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Plunge in Chinese Stocks Is Resistant to Government’s Efforts

SHANGHAI — As the Chinese stock market slumps, the country’s government has stepped in boldly, unveiling a raft of measures to prop up shares. But those efforts have done little to stabilize the market, with stocks continuing to slide on Wednesday. The losses create a political and economic challenge for the nation’s leadership. Beijing could face social unrest if the sell-off accelerates, since tens of millions of ordinary investors have plowed their savings into the market. The psychological toll on investors, in turn, could erode consumer confidence, dragging down growth in the already slowing economy. “The stock market is connected to the real economy,” says Fraser Howie, a longtime Asia banker and co-author of “Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China’s Extraordinary Rise.” “When you see such violent moves, you don’t know what kinds of ripples are going to come down.” The Chinese government is moving swiftly to […]

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Investors grumble as China leaders stay mum on stocks rout

An investor takes notes as he watches a board showing stock prices at a brokerage office in Beijing, China, in this July 6, 2015 file photo. China’s wild stock market rout is a challenge not a crisis, say people close to the country’s leadership. But at the sharp end, among the millions of often retired, small retail investors who account for around 85 percent of market trading, the mood is less sanguine. "China is not about to become the next Greece. You are too pessimistic," one individual close to the leadership in Beijing told Reuters, referring to foreign media and detractors. "We still have many policy tools we can use." As the CSI300 index .CSI300 of the largest listed stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 6.8 percent on Wednesday – it has lost close to a third of its value in less than a month after more than doubling […]

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China Peak Oil: 2015 Is the Year

Image Credit: REUTERS/Stringer Domestic production looks set to peak, with some profound implications for the world market. Intense focus on the North American shale boom, Saudi Arabia, and ISIS obscures an important emerging energy trend: China’s oil production is peaking. This has profound implications for the world oil market, because China is not just a massive importer of crude; it is also among the world’s five largest oil producers , trailing only the U.S., Russia, and Saudi Arabia, and virtually neck-in-neck with Canada. China’s oil industry has delivered impressive oil and gas production growth over the past decade. Yet a range of data and historical analogies increasingly suggest that, at global oil prices between $50-to-$100 per barrel, China’s oil supply capability is plateauing and may peak as soon as this year. Lower or higher prices would accelerate or extend this timing. China’s crude oil output has stagnated for the […]

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Shell suffers early arctic setback

Icebreaker contracted by Shell to carry a piece of safety equipment to Alaskan waters suffers minor hull breach. UPI/Kathryn Hansen/NASA JUNEAU, Alaska, July 8 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell confirmed an icebreaker carrying a piece of safety equipment to a drilling site in arctic Alaskan waters suffered a minor hull breach. A Shell spokesman confirmed in a statement emailed to Alaska Public Media a "small breach" was discovered in the hull of MV Fennica, chartered to carry a capping stack to drilling sites in the Chuckchi Sea. Shell is proposing as many as six wells in a region known as the Burger prospect, located in shallow waters off the coast of Alaska, using the Noble Discoverer and Polar Pioneer rigs. Shell would need the capping stack positioned near drilling sites under the terms of federal permits. Industry group American Petroleum Institute in July 2014 outlined recommended practices for the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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North Dakota Fights Fracking Rule

North Dakota Fights Ruling Two days after North Dakota filed an injunction to delay new federal fracking rules, a district court grants a temporary reprieve. Related: New Fracking Rules for Public Lands U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl delayed the new ruling, which was to go into effect this week, saying that permitting of oil and gas wells on federal land will proceed under current regulations until July 22nd. The case before Judge Skavdahl combined a challenge from North Dakoa, Wyoming and Colorado with one from industry groups who believed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) did not follow federal rule-making law and exceeded their authority. Jessica Kershaw, a BLM spokeswoman said “While the matter is being resolved, the BLM will follow the court’s order and will continue to process applications for permit to drill and inspect well sites under its pre-existing regulations.” In March, the BLM passed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Prices: Where Did Summer Go?

Few things unnerve drivers more than some inexplicable knocking sound that portends engine trouble. The latest weekly inventory figures from the Energy Information Administration, released Wednesday, amount to much the same thing for an oil market already driving defensively. We are in the middle of U.S. driving season, when gasoline demand peaks. On that front, the latest data show at least one trend that should, all else equal, rev up oil bets: average gasoline demand over the four weeks ended July 3 was up 5.3%, year over year. And yet, and yet…there is no escaping the sound of gears grinding. Despite relatively healthy gasoline demand, 1.2 million barrels of the stuff flowed into storage tanks last week, keeping gasoline inventories in the upper half of their seasonal average range. What is more, inventories of crude oil increased by 400,000 barrels. That isn’t a huge amount; the U.S. consumes that […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Net petroleum product exports continue to increase

graph of U.S. net petroleum product exports, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly Over the past decade, domestic refinery output of petroleum products has grown significantly while consumption has declined, resulting in a major increase in product exports. Petroleum product exports averaged 4.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in the first four months of the year, an increase of 0.5 million b/d over exports the same time last year. Product imports are also higher than last year, but to a lesser extent, leading to an increase in net petroleum product exports. Import and export patterns vary by region, with most exports leaving from the Gulf Coast (Petroleum Administration for Defense District 3), and imports coming to the East Coast (PADD 1). Record-high refinery runs and increased global demand for petroleum products from the United States continue to push exports higher . […]

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Canadian imports of US crude hit fresh highs in May: Statistics Canada

Canada imported a record 573,400 b/d of US crude in May, Statistics Canada data showed. As US crude exports are heavily restricted, the lion’s share of US exports often go to Canada as much of the refined product produced eventually feeds into US Northeast demand. Canada has four refineries on its East Coast: Irving Oil’s 300,000 b/d Saint John facility in New Brunswick; Harvest Operations’ 115,000 b/d Come By Chance refinery in Newfoundland and Labrador; and Valero’s 265,000 b/d Jean Gaulin refinery and Suncor’s 137,000 b/d Montreal refinery, both in Quebec. While these refineries traditionally take Atlantic Basin crudes — including offshore Canadian production — they have recently been sourcing more and more barrels from Texas, and increasingly North Dakota and Wyoming as well, Statistics Canada data shows. Article continues below… Crude Oil Marketwire delivers vital intelligence to help you make critical decisions. Delivered daily direct to your desktop, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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California Farms Are Using Fracking Wastewater to Grow Crops

OriginClear’s equipment purifies wastewater by zapping it with electric pulses. Source: OriginClear via Bloomberg California’s epic drought is pushing Big Oil to solve a problem it’s struggled with for decades: what to do with the billions of gallons of wastewater that gush out of wells every year. Golden State drillers have pumped much of that liquid back underground into disposal wells. Now, amid a four-year dry spell, more companies are looking to recycle their water or sell it to parched farms as the industry tries to get ahead of environmental lawsuits and new regulations. The trend could have implications for oil patches across the country. With fracking boosting the industry’s thirst for water, companies have run into conflicts from Texas to Colorado to Pennsylvania. California could be an incubator for conservation efforts that have so far failed to gain traction elsewhere in the U.S. CHART: Big Oil’s Other Gusher […]

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Ukraine reviews domestic gas options

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk calls for domestic natural gas reserves to dominate the nation’s energy sector within the next 10 years. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI KIEV, Ukraine, July 8 (UPI) — Ukraine’s prime minister said the country must wean itself off foreign natural gas within 10 years, offering tax breaks as an incentive to private companies. "Ukraine has to provide itself with domestic gas production within 10 years by reducing the consumption and increasing the domestic production," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said. Trilateral talks between European, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators collapsed last week in Vienna. The energy relationship between Ukraine and Russia has been strained at least since 2006, when Ukrainian debt issues prompted Russian energy company Gazprom to cut gas supplies through the country. The Kremlin during last week’s debate opted to keep prices for Ukraine unchanged from the second quarter, which included a $40 […]

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Euro zone gives Greece until Sunday for debt deal

BRUSSELS Euro zone members have given Greece until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from crashing out of Europe’s currency bloc and into economic ruin. "The stark reality is that we have only five days left … Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say loud and clear that the final deadline ends this week," European Council President Donald Tusk told a news conference. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has until Friday to present the proposal, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she hoped to have convincing reform commitments from Tsipras on Thursday so she could ask the German parliament to authorize negotiations on a new aid program. Merkel said she was "not exaggeratedly optimistic" for a solution. At an emergency summit in Brussels on Tuesday, representatives […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple