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OPEC Sec-Gen says oil market should return to balance in H2 2015

MANAMA (Reuters) – The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General said on Sunday OPEC and non-OPEC producers should work together to stabilize oil markets, suggesting oversupply could amount to two million barrels per day (bpd). But Abdullah al-Badri added in remarks to a conference in Bahrain he had no doubt markets would return to balance in the second half of 2015, explaining that he did not believe fundamentals warranted a price drop of the extent markets had seen. "Tremendous opportunity" in oil remained, despite recent market volatility and uncertainties, he said, adding that the industry’s ‎long term outlook remained healthy. Oil prices have slid sharply in recent months as a result of a large supply glut, due mostly to a sharp rise in U.S. shale production as well as weaker global demand. The rapid decline has left several smaller oil producing countries reeling and has forced oil […]

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IEA Sees Oil Market Rebalancing in Months as Demand Rises

(Bloomberg) — The oil market will rebalance in the next several months as a price collapse boosts consumption and curbs supplies, the International Energy Agency said, a day after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister told reporters demand is rising. An oil price as low as $45 a barrel is unsustainable, Fatih Birol, the chief economist for the Paris-based adviser to 29 nations, said at a conference in London Thursday. Investment cuts in the U.S., Russia and Brazil will curtail output growth, bringing supply and demand back in line, he said. “As a result of lower prices, there will be downward pressure on production,” Birol said, adding that the market will rebalance in the coming months or quarters. “As a result of lower prices, there will upward pressure on demand.” Oil slumped by almost half in 2014 as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries maintained output amid the fastest U.S. production […]

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OPEC has no plan for special meeting before June: delegates

RIYADH (Reuters) – OPEC has no plans to hold an emergency meeting before its next scheduled gathering in June, two of the organization’s delegates said on Tuesday. Nigerian Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke told the Financial Times in comments published on Monday that she would call an emergency meeting if oil prices fell any further. "There are no concrete actions going on to organize any emergency meeting of OPEC countries," said one of the delegates, who declined to be identified. Nigeria, set to hold elections in less than six weeks, is current holder of the rotating presidency of OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). The president is responsible for liaising with OPEC members and its secretary-general on the need for an emergency meeting. "Given that the presidential elections in Nigeria have been pushed from Feb. 14 by six weeks, it is difficult not to discount the statement as […]

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OPEC rumors stir oil market pot

Rumors of an extraordinary meeting from OPEC stir crude oil market struggling to sustain an early-2015 rally. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian In an interview published Monday by the Financial Times, Nigerian Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke said most members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are "very uncomfortable" with the market situation, adding an extraordinary meeting may take place if price volatility continues. Though Nigeria’s oil minister serves as the president of OPEC, it’s unlikely de facto leader Saudi Arabia will follow the lead. A November decision from Saudi Arabia to keep output steady despite the decline in crude oil prices added durability to the bear market for crude oil. When Saudi King Abdullah died in late January, successor King Salman bin Abdulaziz showed no indications he’d change the government’s standing on crude oil policies . Riyadh had defended its position by saying it needed to ensure it was holding its […]

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OPEC Said Not to Plan Emergency Meeting Amid Falling Oil Prices

(Bloomberg) — The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has no plans to hold an emergency meeting amid falling oil prices, according to a delegate from the group. Crude prices have dropped almost 50 percent from a June peak as OPEC refused to cut production and U.S. output reached a three-decade high. There have been no concrete discussions about holding an emergency meeting, said the delegate, who asked not to be identified because the group’s talks are private. OPEC’s next regular meeting is on June 5. Brent futures dropped $1.32 to $58.90 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices rebounded to gain 45 cents in intraday trading after OPEC President Diezani Alison-Madueke said in an interview with the Financial Times that she will call a meeting if prices keep declining. “An emergency meeting would suggest that they are going to do something to support the market,” said Bill O’Grady, […]

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Oil slide could trigger Opec emergency meeting

Diezani Alison-Madueke Members of Opec have discussed holding an emergency meeting if crude continues to slide , according to Nigeria’s oil minister, in a sign of their growing alarm over the impact of a lower oil price on their economies. The comments by Diezani Alison-Madueke come three months after the cartel’s decision to hold production at 30m barrels a day, even as the oil price has plunged since mid-June. That move, driven by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, marked a sharp deviation from Opec’s traditional strategy of adjusting production to keep prices high. The group’s main objective is now to defend market share, despite dramatically reduced revenues. The price plunge has forced energy companies all over the world to rewrite their investment plans , and caused a major slowdown in the US shale oil industry. But it has also thrown the fiscal balances of big oil producers such […]

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The crash in the price of oil may change the oil market – a look at the IEA’s “Oil Medium-Term Market Report 2015”

On Tuesday 10 February at 13:00 GMT the IEA released its “Oil Medium-Term Market Report 2015 ”. The day before the release I was contacted by Jens Ergon at Sveriges Television (“Sweden’s Television, SVT) who wanted to get my opinion on the report. I had a number of hours to read through the 140 pages of the version provided to media prior to the report’s official release. This meant that I could comment on the report immediately it was released. SVT has now reported some of those comments in an article that Jens Ergon has written, “The Price Crash Will Reshape The Oil Market”. The subtitle is, “American oil boom behind the falling price. But opinions vary widely on the future of oil.” Let’s now go through the article together and I will make a few comments as we do so. “The comprehensive fall in the price of oil […]

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OPEC down, but not out, IEA says

IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven sees OPEC influence enduring, but waning in the era of U.S. shale. Photo by Anatoli Zhdanov/UPI PARIS, Feb. 10 (UPI) — OPEC’s market influence is expected to grow, but the 12-member group might not return to its pre-recession glory, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its February market report demand for its crude oil should increase as low oil prices put downward pressure on production in U.S. shale basins. OPEC in late November opted to keep production levels static to protect a market share influenced by rising U.S. oil production. The 12-member group still holds considerable influence over the global market, but IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said its status is waning . "OPEC’s share of global production will indeed grow," she said in a statement. "But it will not revisit the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple