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Oil prices dip as traders take profit following sharp jump

A customer holds a nozzle to fill up his tank in a gasoline station in Nice December 5, 2014. Crude oil prices fell in early Asian trading as traders took profit following a 4 percent rise in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $46.23 per barrel at 0024 GMT (0824 EDT), down 45 cents from their last settlement. Globally traded Brent futures were at $48.51 per barrel, down 41 cents. The dip in prices came after oil rallied on Monday, with U.S crude surging more than 4 percent on signs of declining stockpiles and a fall in drilling activity, which implies lower future oil production. A Reuters poll on Monday forecast that U.S. crude inventories as a whole fell by 2.1 million barrels last week. [EIA/S] Traders also focused on the soon-to-expire front-month contract in the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which serves […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Rally Fizzles as Iran Advances in Deal to Revive Exports

Oil fell in New York as Iran made progress on an accord to lift sanctions on its exports, threatening to add to the surplus in global markets. West Texas Intermediate futures declined as much as 2.3 percent, after climbing 4.5 percent on Monday. Iran’s cooperation with inspectors is aiding the investigation of the country’s past nuclear activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency told world powers in Vienna on Monday. Successful implementation of the July 14 deal would allow the OPEC member to resume crude sales halted by sanctions. Iran’s vow to increase output “at any cost” to reclaim market share will potentially add to a global surplus that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts may keep prices low for the next 15 years. Oil’s slump is taking its toll on shale drilling in U.S., where production has fallen from the highest level in more than three decades. “Oversupply is being […]

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Oil prices edge up as U.S. drilling declines

Oil pumps are seen at a MAX oil station in Yangon April 21, 2014. Oil prices edged up in early trading in Asia on Monday as U.S. drilling slowed and analysts estimated that $1.5 trillion worth of planned American production was uneconomical at prices of $50 per barrel or lower. Crude oil prices have plunged almost 60 percent since June 2014, when soaring global production started to clash with slowing demand. This includes losses of more than a quarter since June this year as a sharp slowdown in China has sparked concerns over the health of the world economy. Analysts said the low prices were beginning to impact production as drillers slow down new projects, especially in cost-sensitive North America where drillers react fast to changing prices. U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for a third week in a row last week, a sign that the latest crude market […]

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Hedge funds no longer sure oil prices will fall further

An oil pump jack can be seen in Cisco, Texas, August 23, 2015. Hedge funds continued to pare short positions in U.S. crude oil last week even as the previous short-covering rally ran out of steam. The unusual concentration of hedge fund short positions built up between June and August has been partially unwound, reducing some of the persistent selling pressure evident in the market during the third quarter. Speculators are not yet ready to bet heavily on a rebound in prices but the bearishness that dominated the market over the summer is dissipating. Hedge funds and other money managers reduced their gross short position in the main NYMEX U.S. crude futures and options contract by 14.5 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 15 ( link.reuters.com/her65w ). Hedge funds have reduced their gross short position for five consecutive weeks by a total of more than 52 million barrels, […]

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$50 Oil Will Cut Budgets, New Projects to a Sliver of Previous Estimates

Azerbaijan 2016 Oil, Gas Production To Be Steady Around 2015 Levels Operators need to chop between 20 percent 30 percent on new projects, trimming budgets throughout the supply chain and services sector – double what analysts say must be squeezed out on average. Instead of focusing on cuts, operators must delve into project optimization, efficiencies and smarter ways of doing more with less. Wood Mackenzie’s analysis estimates that $1.5 trillion of uncommitted spending on new conventional projects and North American unconventional oil is uneconomic at $50 per barrel. Investment in the upstream is actually down by $220 billion in 2015 and 2016, compared to pre-oil price crash projections. A reduction of 46 onshore North American projects have been deferred. “We estimate that as much as $1.5 trillion of investment spend destined for new (pre-sanctioned) and U.S. tight oil projects is now out of the money, or in the starter […]

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Cheap Food Eases Pain of Slumping Oil in Mideast Wary of Unrest

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa that subsidize food for their citizens are catching a break, even as the global oil slump hammers the region’s economy. From Iran to Morocco, the cost of importing basic grains such as wheat and barley will plunge by as much as a third to the lowest in at least five years, according to the Rome-based United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization. The FAO will release global data in October. After two years of bumper global harvests, cheaper grain will help ease the blow of a plunge in oil revenue in a region that supplies more than a third of the world’s crude but can’t produce enough of its own crops. Many people in the area rely on their governments to ensure affordable basic food supplies. In 2010 and 2011, surging food costs contributed to street protests from Oman to Egypt, Tunisia […]

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U.N.-Brokered Libya Peace Talks Teeter on Collapse

CAIRO—United Nations-brokered peace talks aimed at reconciling Libya’s two rival governments teetered on the edge of collapse Monday, as the deadline for an accord passed. The talks aim to create a unified governing body and end a four-year power vacuum that has devastated the country’s economy and led to the growth of an illegal people-smuggling network that has become a focal point of the largest refugee crisis in decades. A framework deal for a national unity government including officials from the two competing administrations was to have been presented Sunday. It was unclear on Monday whether talks were still proceeding or the deadline had been extended. The U.N.’s mission in Libya didn’t comment on the lapsed deadline, and officials from rival camps couldn’t be immediately reached. Both parties have jockeyed for influence and control of Libya’s oil resources and central bank. Armed fighting between forces loyal to each side […]

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Unrest in Turkey disrupts vital KRG border

A man waves a Kurdistan flag as a Turkish military truck escorts a convoy of Peshmerga vehicles at the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing, also called the Habur border gate, on Oct. 29, 2014. (KADIR BARIS/Reuters) The main economic artery between the Kurdistan region and international markets has been severely disrupted this month, as Turkey’s customs authorities have repeatedly closed the Ibrahim Khalil border over security concerns. As the fight between Turkish security forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has escalated – including airstrikes in northern Iraq’s mountains and targeted killing of police by the PKK – Turkey has besieged areas suspected of supporting the PKK near the border… 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 .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Kurds Lose Fight to Sell Crude Oil in U.S. After Iraq Sues

Iraq’s self-ruled Kurds can’t sell Iraqi crude oil in the U.S. under a court decision that puts a fresh hurdle in the path of Kurdish efforts to achieve financial independence from the central government in Baghdad. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans dismissed an attempt by the Kurdistan Regional Government to overturn a judge’s earlier decision against its planned sale of oil to an unidentified buyer in the U.S. The KRG’s eventual sale of the disputed cargo in Israel made the appeal moot, the court said in a ruling. The case began last year when Iraq’s central government sued to seize a tanker loaded with crude from the country’s Kurdish region that had sailed to the Gulf of Mexico and anchored 60 miles (97 kilometers) off the coast of Texas. The appeals court upheld an order by a judge in Houston requiring the […]

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Report: Post-sanctions Iran still tricky

Military influence over economic affairs in Iran means complex issues will remain in a post-sanctions climate, report finds. File photo by Mohammad Kheirkhah/UPI BATH, England, Sept. 21 (UPI) — Western investors looking to capitalize on easing sanctions pressure on Iran’s energy sector should exercise a degree of caution, analysis finds. Iran’s economy emerged from recession in December. Finance Minister Ali Tayebnia said the momentum should continue into 2015 as sanctions pressures ease in response to a July nuclear agreement reached with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany. Sanctions imposed on Iran’s energy sector curb the country’s ability to generate revenue from oil and gas sales. The Central Bank of Iran, however, said a nine-month growth rate of 3.6 percent represents an increase of $54 billion for the nation’s economy. With more of its oil expected back in the global market, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani […]

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