OPEC and its allies met on Sunday to try to agree further cuts in production, sources told Reuters, as the group faces flagging oil prices and a looming supply glut. The group, known as OPEC+, delayed the start of formal talks by at least three and a half hours due to members’ discussions on the sidelines of production baselines, from which cuts and quotas are calculated, sources said. OPEC’s most influential members and biggest Gulf producers led by Saudi Arabia were trying to persuade under-producing African nations such as Nigeria ...

U.S. oil and gas production continued to rise strongly in March – the delayed impact of very high prices that prevailed until the third quarter of 2022. Oil output increased by 171,000 barrels per day (b/d) in March compared with February, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“Petroleum supply monthly”, EIA, May 31). The gains were led by the Lower 48 states (+137,000 b/d) and Gulf of Mexico (+45,000 b/d), which more than offset lower production from Alaska (-11,000 b/d). Output rose by almost 10% in the first three ...

U.S. crude oil production averaged 12.2 million barrels per day (b/d) during the week ending May 26, down by 100,000 b/d from the previous week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday. The figure rose by 300,000 b/d over this time last year, according to the EIA. More than 80 percent of U.S. crude oil production growth comes from the country’s Lower 48 states, which does not include production from Alaska and the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico, according to the EIA. The United States has been a major ...

Oil prices rose over 2% on Friday after the U.S. Congress passed a debt ceiling deal that averted a government default in the world’s biggest oil consumer and jobs data fueled hopes for a possible pause in Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The focus is now turning to a meeting of OPEC and its allies this weekend. Brent futures rose $1.85, or 2.5%, to settle at $76.13 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.64, or 2.3%, to settle at $71.74. The closes were the highest since ...

Stagflation is a word that should strike fear into the hearts of OPEC ministers scheduled to meet in Vienna on June 3. The economic phenomena of low growth and entrenched inflation that wreaked havoc in the 1970s may be back with a vengeance. For OPEC and its allies led by Russia, global stagflation is very bad for business. It invariably means tepid demand for crude oil in the major industrialized nations most affected, or even worse demand destruction. Higher oil and commodity prices are classically root causes of stagflation, with ...

OPEC Secretary General, HE Haitham Al Ghais, underlined the importance of enhancing refining capacity globally to meet the growing demand for oil products. The Secretary General delivered these remarks at the 13th Technical Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries participating in the Charter of Cooperation (CoC). Al Ghais praised OPEC Member Countries for their exceptional efforts in expanding their refining capacities by constructing refineries, such as Al Zour Refinery, Kuwait; Dangote Refinery, Nigeria; and Jazan Refinery, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Secretary General also highlighted the importance of the technical ...

Emerging producer Namibia is seeking to calm its natural resources sector, with allies of its energy minister saying his comments about the government potentially taking free equity stakes in oil companies were being misinterpreted. We are making a case that local ownership must start with the state, which holds ownership of our natural resources,” Tom Alweendo, minister of mines and energy, told lawmakers May 29. “The proposed state ownership should take the form where the state owns a minimum equity percentage in all mining companies and petroleum production, for which ...

OPEC and its allies are unlikely to decide on further oil supply cuts at a meeting on Sunday despite a fall in oil prices toward $70 per barrel this week, two sources from the alliance said on Friday although another said the outcome was still unclear. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps around 40% of the world’s crude, meaning its policy decisions can have a major impact on oil prices. Two OPEC+ sources said they did not expect the group ...

Two weeks of market speculation in the wake of threats by Saudi Arabia’s energy minister to leave short-sellers “ouching” will come to a head June 3-4 in Vienna, as OPEC and its allies prepare to hold their first in-person meeting since October to deliberate on oil-production quotas. While Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman’s comments, made at an industry conference in Qatar May 23, left open the interpretation that deeper output cuts could be coming, several delegates have told S&P Global Commodity Insights that a decision has not been made, and the ...

OPEC and its allies are unlikely to decide on further oil supply cuts at a meeting on Sunday despite a fall in oil prices toward $70 per barrel this week, two sources from the alliance said on Friday although another said the outcome was still unclear. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps around 40% of the world’s crude, meaning its policy decisions can have a major impact on oil prices. Two OPEC+ sources said they did not expect the group ...

Climate and environmental considerations are increasingly a key component of investment decision-making. Not just by corporates but by the financial sector, too. So much so that most of the world’s major banks and institutional investors have policies to exit or lessen their exposure to coal. Oil and gas – fossil fuels that release carbon when combusted and, in turn, contributes to climate change – are likely to be the next commodities affected by the financing sector’s focus on “greening” their balance sheets. This paper aims to understand the current sources ...

Mexico’s president took office in late 2018 pledging to boost local output of gasoline while phasing out imports, but so far state refineries have instead set a different course: bumper production of highly-contaminating fuel oil. To make Mexico self-sufficient, leftist resource nationalist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wants the country to wean itself off dependence on foreign gasoline and diesel supplies, mostly from U.S. refiners, and replace them by 2024 with production from state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). The push to increase Pemex’s output, however, has ramped up fuel ...

Russia continues contacts with the members of the OPEC+ organisation of leading oil producers, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, before the group meets on Sunday to make a decision on its production policy. He declined to comment on the possible outcome of the meeting. OPEC and its allies are unlikely to decide on further oil supply cuts at a meeting on Sunday despite a fall in oil prices toward $70 per barrel this week, two sources from the alliance said on Friday although another said the outcome was ...

Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Darren Woods told an energy industry conference on Thursday he aims to double the amount of oil produced from its U.S. shale holdings over a five-year period using new technologies. “We are beginning to see the signs of some very promising new technologies” that will “significantly improve recovery” volumes, Woods said at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference. Exxon currently recovers about 10% of shale resources from its operations. A first wave of new shale technology could come by fracking along much longer lateral well segments, and ...

Mixed signals by major OPEC producers and their main allies have sparked volatility in oil prices ahead of an OPEC+ oil policy meeting set to take place this weekend. Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures ended last week over 1.5% higher, but fell by over 1% at 1047 GMT on Tuesday. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other allies, surprised the market on April 2 with further output cuts that pushed up the price of oil. The group meets on ...