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Mexico Battles Bad Timing in 1st Sale of Oil Fields Since 1930s

Mexico waited 77 years to invite foreign oil producers back into its borders. That was one year too many. The move to lure tens of billions of dollars from the likes of Exxon Mobil Corp. will be put to the test for the first time at an oilfield auction on Wednesday. With oil prices down by about half since last year, five of 38 potential bidders, including Glencore Plc, Noble Energy Inc. and even Mexico’s state-owned oil producer, have pulled out. President Enrique Pena Nieto moved to end the state monopoly after poor drilling infrastructure and technology failed to reverse a decade-long production decline that reduced government revenue. To lure investments now, Mexico will probably get a much smaller share of profits than it would have a year ago. “They shaped expectation at a $100-per-barrel market and we are way off that now,” Wilbur Matthews, chief executive officer of […]

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Water diversion project increases supply to parched Beijing

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) — A new pumping station has increased the capacity of the massive project bringing water from the Yangtze River to Beijing, just as the city’s water demand soars under a heat wave. Huinanzhuang, a major pumping station on the middle route of the south-to-north water diversion project, went into operation on Monday, pushing up the water inflow of the route from 24 to 38 cubic meters per second, according to the Beijing south-to-north water diversion office. As a result, the project’s water supply capacity has been increased from 2.07 to 3.28 million cubic meters per day, with its daily supply to the city’s water plants growing from 1.77 to 2 million cubic meters. Beijingers have been thirsty as the Chinese capital has baked under temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius since Saturday. Daily water supply in the city has been kept above 3 million cubic meters […]

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Emerging Stocks Halt Three-Day Gain on Fed’s Timing; Ruble Drops

Emerging-market stocks fell for the first time in four days as Chinese shares retreated and investors weighed the timing of U.S. interest-rate increases. Russia’s ruble weakened with oil. China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.2 percent before Wednesday’s economic growth data. Samsung Electronics Co. sank to a seven-month low in Seoul, leading technology stocks lower. South Africa’s Sasol Ltd. paced losses for energy companies. The ruble dropped 0.8 percent versus the dollar as Brent crude tumbled 1.7 percent after Iran and world powers were said to have reached a nuclear deal . South Korea’s won fell 1 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost 0.5 percent to 938.64 at 9:05 a.m. in London. As Greece’s parliament convenes Wednesday to vote on a bailout package, attention is shifting to the Federal Reserve as it mulls its first interest-rate increase since 2006. U.S. retail sales data are due Tuesday, while Fed Chair […]

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China commodity imports raise economic growth questions: Russell

A ship loaded with containers is seen at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, September 7, 2013. China’s commodity imports for the first half of the year go some way to confirming what is already known about the state of the world’s second-biggest economy, and also offer some pointers for the rest of 2015. Although the dynamics vary across the major commodities, there are some clear trends that have emerged in the first six months that point to a loss of economic momentum in China, the world’s largest importer of raw materials. Iron ore offers the best example, showing that not even record low prices are enough to boost demand for the steel-making ingredient. June imports were 74.96 million tonnes, up 5.8 percent from the prior month but only 0.5 percent higher than June last year. First half imports totaled 452.9 million tonnes, a drop of 0.9 percent over […]

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EIA report forecasts further US shale oil output drops in August

US crude oil production from shales is projected to fall for the fourth month in a row in August to 5.357 million b/d, a drop of 91,000 b/d from July estimates, the US Energy Information Administration said Monday in its latest Drilling Productivity Report. It is the second consecutive month the agency has predicted a month-on-month decline of 91,000 b/d. The data, which EIA began publishing in October 2013, showed estimated oil production in the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Niobrara shale plays dropping in August, although Permian Basin production will continue to rise. EIA data predicted oil output in the Permian, located in West Texas and New Mexico and widely considered the US’ hottest unconventional play, to increase 5,000 b/d in August to 2.046 million b/d. That is up from the 3,000 b/d increase that the agency estimated for July. Article continues below… Crude Oil Marketwire delivers vital intelligence […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. companies expected to report worst sales fall in nearly six years

A trader waits for news while working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange following a halt in trading in New York, July 8, 2015. U.S. companies are expected to report their worst sales decline in nearly six years when they post second-quarter results, giving investors reason to worry about future profits. Companies have managed to drive 2015 earnings by cutting costs, a practice they turned to during the financial crisis. They have also used share buybacks to lift earnings per share. But it is hard to make a case for sustained earnings growth given forecasts for a second-straight quarter of revenue decline at S&P 500 companies, which begin reporting financial results in earnest this week. Though analysts expect corporate America to show a decline in second-quarter profits, according to Thomson Reuters data, some strategists expect them to defy those forecasts and eke out a gain, just […]

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Oil output from U.S. shale plays seen down for fourth month -EIA

Oil production from U.S. shale in August is expected to fall by the most since at least 2007, according to the U.S. agency tasked with tracking oil output, the latest sign a price rout will shrink the nation’s crude output. Oil production from the largest U.S. shale plays will plunge in August for a fourth consecutive month, forecasts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Monday. Output was expected to decline by 91,000 barrels per day, 12 percent over July’s forecast production decline, to 5.4 million bpd, the lowest level since November for the seven shale plays tracked in EIA’s productivity report. Energy firms fired thousands of workers and cut back on new drilling after U.S. crude futures collapsed 60 percent from over $107 a barrel in June 2014 to near $42 in March on oversupply concerns and lackluster world demand. Despite the cuts, however, overall U.S. production […]

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Accelerating Shale Gas Declines Show Supply Held Hostage by Oil

Natural gas output from U.S. shale formations is set to fall for a third straight month after the collapse in crude prices forced drillers out of fields that yield both oil and gas. After four years of record supply, natural gas output is showing signs of weakness as producers pull back amid tumbling oil prices. Gas production from the seven largest shale basins will fall 0.6 percent to 45.1 billion cubic feet a day in August from a month earlier, the biggest drop since March 2014, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday in its monthly Drilling Productivity report. EIA estimates have shown supply declines since June. The government’s forecasts signal that the 51 percent collapse in crude oil prices since June 20, 2014, is reverberating in the natural gas market. As drillers shut wells in liquids-rich deposits from North Dakota to Texas, they’re also curtailing gas output from […]

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Shale Oil Output Heads for Record Drop After Drilling Swoon

U.S. Oil Boom Stymied Shale fields that powered the U.S. energy renaissance will suffer the biggest drop in output since the boom began after companies idled more than half their drilling rigs. Production from the prolific tight-rock formations such as the Eagle Ford in southern Texas will decline 91,000 barrels a day in August to 5.36 million, the Energy Information Administration said Monday. It’s the fourth month in a row production is expected to slide, after more than tripling from 2007. Output is slipping after producers from ConocoPhillips to EOG Resources Inc. reduced the number of drilling rigs in order to cut costs following a 50 percent drop in the price of oil. About 645 rigs were drilling for oil last week, down from 1,609 in October, according to oil-field service company Baker Hughes Inc. “The market is largely anticipating oil production to keep declining this year and snap […]

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North Dakota oil production up despite fewer rigs

North Dakota rig numbers decline, though state data show operators on shale basins are doing more with less. UPI/Gary C. Caskey BISMARCK, N.D., July 13 (UPI) — The number of rigs actively exploring for or producing oil and gas in North Dakota declined nearly 4 percent from last week, state data show. North Dakota reported 73 rigs in active service as of Monday, down from the 76 reported one week ago. The exploration and production side of the North Dakota, measured by rig counts, is slower by more than half from this date in 2014, when 190 rigs were deployed across the state. Rig deployments were near historic highs in 2012, with 215 reported. North Dakota is the second largest oil producer in the nation and, while diversified, its economy depends in part on the surge of oil taken from shale basins in the state . State government data […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple