Energy Oil strengthened yesterday, with ICE Brent breaking back above US$43/bbl, following the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). The Saudis put renewed pressure on members who are falling short of the deal, to hit compliance, as well as compensate for their lack of compliance so far. The JMMC supported the request of several of these laggards to extend the period for compensatory cuts through until the end of December 2020. The UAE, which has produced above its quota for the last 2 months, has said that it will not ...

Asia’s benzene market was bolstered by firm crude oil futures, following US offshore production shutdowns from Hurricane Sally. Spot benzene prices rose above $415/tonne FOB (free on board) Korea, after receiving a shot in the arm from buoyant crude, from around $406.5/tonne FOB Korea in the first half of the week. Brent crude futures topped $42/bbl, after slipping under $40/bbl recently, as US crude stocks declined. The uptick in benzene prices, however, appeared to be still tempered by ample availability in Asia. “The market is slightly firmer, the crude oil ...

Amid oil price volatility, expanded producers’ agreements and questions about the long-term outlook for oil, Opec is celebrating its 60th birthday this week. Opec’s ability to emerge from adverse situations and perform its fundamental task of balancing the global oil market and securing favorable price levels for its members has kept the entity both relevant and efficient six decades on, says MEED, part of GlobalData. Opec’s 60-year journey has been filled with crises and episodes that have repeatedly struck at its very existence. Since its formation, the oil producers’ group ...

Indian gasoline sales rose for the first time since the nation imposed one of the world’s strictest virus lockdowns in late March, a positive sign for global oil markets amid a stalling energy demand recovery. Sales at India’s three biggest fuel retailers climbed 2.2% in the first half of September, the first year-on-year increase in six months, according to preliminary data from officials with direct knowledge of the matter. The uptick in gasoline sales in the world’s third-largest oil importer is a welcome development for a global market that’s been ...

COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the global economy in 2020. Growth across key Asian economies is expected to rebound in 2021, as the containment measures and stimulus packages are likely to increase economic activities and drive petrochemicals demand in the region, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. John Paul Somavarapu, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The regional capacity additions are largely concentrated in China, targeting self-sufficiency to meet the country’s existing and growing petrochemicals demand. China is followed by India and Indonesia, also capitalizing on their ...

Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corp. reiterated on Sept. 18 that it will not lift force majeure on crude exports from the blockaded oil terminals unless these facilities are demilitarized. This statements come amid reports that talks between the UN-backed Government of National Accord and the self-styled Libyan National Army brokered by Turkey and Russia were making progress. Sources also told S&P Global Platts that negotiations to restart the bulk of Libya’s crude output and end the eight-month long blockade on the country’s oil exports were continuing, with the issue of ...

The U.S. returned to being a net energy exporter in August despite disruptions from Hurricane Laura and ongoing uncertainty over the pandemic, according to data released today in the American Petroleum Institute’s August 2020 Monthly Statistical Report and Q3 2020 Industry Outlook. Higher demand and lower supply translated into lower crude oil inventories and further illustrated the gradual rebalancing of the market. “Although the market remains fragile, we saw substantive progress in August towards the rebalancing and normalizing of key indicators,” API Chief Economist Dean Forman said. “The U.S. return ...

More than 30% of US Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and 25% of natural gas output remained offline Sept. 17 after Hurricane Sally made landfall the day prior, according to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Oil producers began to redeploy evacuated crews, but even more oil was reported shut in than on previous days. Crude producers have shut in 567,770 b/d of crude and 670 MMcf/d of gas output, 30.69% and 24.73% of total offshore US Gulf output, respectively. A total of 70 platforms and rigs were ...

The US oil and gas rig count climbed six in the week ended Sept. 16 to an eight-week high 293, rig data provider Enverus said Sept. 17, but drilling activity across the major named basins edged lower. The number of oil-focused rigs climbed four to 200, while the number of rigs chasing mostly gas edged up two to 93, the highest since the week ended July 1. The uptick marked a fourth straight week of rising US drilling activity, potentially signaling rig counts are set to break out of the ...

Iraq is forging ahead with plans to boost its refining capacity by about a third by the first quarter of 2022 to reduce dependence on imports of gasoline and gas oil, deputy oil minister told S&P Global Platts Sept. 17. Iraq, which has a current refining capacity of 640,000 b/d and design capacity of 700,000 b/d, plans to add about 210,000 b/d of refining capacity by the first quarter of 2022 and boost the quality of processed products to generate more gasoline and gasoil, Hamed al-Zobai said. “The ministry’s master-plan ...

Storm-tossed U.S. offshore energy producers and exporters began clearing debris on Thursday from Hurricane Sally and booting up idle Gulf of Mexico operations after hunkering down for five days. The storm toppled trees, flooded streets and left about 570,000 homes and businesses from Mississippi to Florida without power. Sally became a tropical storm and spread heavy rains overnight from Alabama to Georgia. Crews returned to at least 30 offshore oil and gas platforms. Chevron Corp CVX.N began restaffing its Blind Faith and Petronius platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Bristow ...

Some refiners in the Middle East are reducing throughput while others, such as BPCL’s Mumbai, are raising runs. Meanwhile, clouds are gathering around Australia’s Geelong refinery. Runs fell in China and India in July, the International Energy Agency said in its latest report. Refineries in India reduced rates in July after many states reimposed lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, according to S&P Global Platts data. ** India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. cut the combined run rate for two of its refineries in July for the fifth month ...

Singapore — The market structure for benchmark Dubai crude futures strengthened in noon Asia Sept. 18 amid a flurry of activity seen in the spot market during the week starting Sept. 13, as well as an OPEC+ meeting on Sept. 17. At 0400 GMT (12 pm Singapore time), the October/November timespread was pegged at a contango of 17 cents/b, narrowing 11 cents/b from the Asian close on Sept. 17. The November/December timespread was pegged at a contango of 19 cents/b, narrowing 10 cents/b over the same period, Platts data showed. ...

Oil prices edged lower on Friday after Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said a blockade on Libyan oil exports, which has been in place since January, would be lifted. Erasing gains made in earlier Asian and European trading hours, Brent crude was down 20 cents at $43.10 a barrel by 1125 GMT while U.S. oil futures fell 20 cents to $40.77. The benchmarks were still set for weekly gains after Hurricane Sally cut U.S. production, Saudi Arabia pressed allies to stick to production quotas and banks including Goldman Sachs predicted a ...

Oil prices rose for a fourth day in a row on Friday, putting crude on track for a weekly gain of about 10%, after Saudi Arabia pressed allies to stick to production quotas and banks including Goldman Sachs predicted a supply deficit. Brent crude LCOc1 was up 18 cents at $43.48 a barrel by 0756 GMT while U.S. oil futures CLc1 rose 17 cents to $41.14. Both contracts are set for their strongest weekly gains since early June after Hurricane Sally cut U.S. production and OPEC and its allies laid ...