Oil pipelines The oil markets will have to wait almost two more months before the uncertainty surrounding the pending OPEC deal is settled, so in the meantime a renewed focus on the fundamentals is in order. The global oil production picture is still highly fluid, particularly with promises for a cut to OPEC production while some OPEC members (Nigeria, Libya, Iran) could actually ramp up output. But while output figures are more difficult to pin down, data on inventories is much clearer – and it still doesn’t look good for oil bulls. As for crude oil inventories, they remain at extraordinary heights, despite having come down more recently. In the U.S., refineries are well into maintenance season, leading to a drop off in demand in September. Crude stocks are declining, but still remain high. For the week ending on September 23, U.S. oil inventories sat at 502.7 million barrels, […]