Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said some 30 million barrels of oil sitting in storage tanks would serve as backing for the OPEC nation’s state-run cryptocurrency, the petro, which has been sanctioned by the United States. The statement came as part of a renewed push by Maduro’s socialist government to promote use of the petro in recent weeks, as inflation continues to erode Venezuelans’ meager salaries and Washington’s sweeping sanctions complicate Caracas’ ability to engage in overseas financial transactions. “I will deliver these 30 million of barrels as a liquid, physical, ...

Lukoil, Russia’s second largest oil producer, expects a decision in March on whether OPEC and its allies will extend a deal to curb oil output until the end of 2020, the company’s CEO and biggest shareholder told reporters on Wednesday. “It is going to be decided in March,” Vagit Alekperov said. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by Mark Potter)

News about launches remain in focus in Middle East as the Jazan refinery in Saudi Arabia is about to start. Syria’s Ministry of Oil announced that all production sections in the Banias refinery have returned to work after an explosion in a reservoir on November 7, the country’s SANA news agency reported. The explosion occurred during maintenance operations at one of the production units in the refinery and led to the death of a worker and the injury of five others.The ministry said in a statement that the workers and ...

In the latest Australia east coast gas market research, Wood Mackenzie projects that the LNG netback price for Australia’s east coast could bottom out to A$6.50 – A$9 per gigajoule (GJ) over the next two years. The research highlights some key trends impacting the east coast gas market. Global LNG oversupply leading to lower LNG netback prices domestically While long anticipated, global LNG oversupply did not materialise until 2019. An LNG supply wave is the single biggest factor that is causing the current oversupply. Between 2016 and the end of ...

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday as fresh tensions between the United States and China over ongoing protests in Hong Kong fuelled concern that a long hoped-for deal to end a trade war between the world’s top two economies may be further delayed. Trade experts have warned the first phase of a deal could slide into next year, while markets are wary negotiations might take a hit as the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills to back protesters in Hong Kong, much to the disapproval of China. Brent crude ...

In view of the increasing competition and narrowing margins among oil and gas companies, asset management is obtaining greater relevance in enhancing operational efficiencies, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. The company’s latest thematic report, ‘Asset Management in Oil & Gas’, discusses the growing necessity to implement a comprehensive asset management strategy in the oil and gas industry. Ravindra Puranik, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Asset management provides a structured methodology of creating, operating, maintaining and decommissioning assets in a cost-effective way. Modern oil and ...

Global oil demand may rise as global trade wars subside, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), told reporters when asked what to expect from a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers set for December. “Of course, the committee will look at demand in the oil markets. But we see that the situation with demand may improve as the United States reduces pressure on China in trade wars,” Dmitriev said. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; writing by Polina Devitt; editing by Jason Neely)

Iraq’s crude production and exports continue at full throttle despite the recent violent demonstrations in the country, but analysts said the situation bears close watching as oil fields and ports could be vulnerable to escalating protests. Crude exports from Iraq’s southern terminal on the Persian Gulf stand at 3.6 million b/d so far this month, according to a port status report Tuesday seen by S&P Global Platts. That is up from 3.45 million b/d in October, which saw two days of bad weather. Government sources and officials with oil companies ...

An anticipated softer approach by some Asian governments in pushing coal-to-gas switching because of feeble economic growth and rising fuel oil supplies due to stricter shipping fuel norms may cast a shadow on the region’s appetite for gas, analysts told S&P Global Platts. While Asia’s biggest energy consumers struggle due to slowing growth — China is witnessing its slowest GDP growth in decades and India’s economy is facing headwinds — the argument to speedily replace coal with relatively expensive gas under the current economic climate is a tough sell for ...

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday he wants new volumes of gas condensate to be excluded from Russia’s quota as part of its oil output pact with OPEC. Novak’s remarks come as Russia’s output of condensate — a potentially high-value petroleum liquid — is expected to grow strongly in coming years as it expands its output of liquefied natural gas from new giant projects in the Arctic Circle. “We are trying to reach the target level [in November],” Novak told reporters. “There are certain nuances that have an effect ...

The views of the three big oil forecasting agencies on changes in inventory levels next year have diverged over the past month, as the outlook from two of them becomes slightly more positive for producers. The International Energy Agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries all still see global oil inventories building in the first half of 2020, if OPEC+ producers continue pumping as they have been, but the EIA and OPEC have both cut the size of the build. They have also become ...

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said on Wednesday the kingdom’s oil policy aims to promote stability in global oil markets, and serves consumers and producers alike. He also said the initial public offering of state oil giant Saudi Aramco will allow investors inside and outside the country to take part and will create thousands of jobs, in an annual address to the Shura Council advisory body. He said Aramco’s ability to quickly restore oil production capacity after attacks in September proved the kingdom could meet global demand during any shortage. Source: ...

China’s CNOOC Ltd has completed the construction of infrastucture aimed at boosting output at its Caofeidian 11-1/11-6 oilfield in Bohai Bay region, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The company has built two central processing platforms including six wellhead platforms and one floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) platform. A total of 89 producing wells are planned, with 12 wells currently producing, and the project is expected to reach its peak production of around 28,700 barrels of crude oil per day in 2021, CNOOC said. Caofeidian 11-1 and ...

Oil prices surged more than 2% on Wednesday after a better-than-expected U.S. crude inventories report and as Russia said it would continue its cooperation with OPEC to keep the global oil market balanced. Prices pulled back slightly after Reuters reported that the first phase of a trade deal between Beijing and Washington might not get done this year, trade experts and people close to the White House said. The 16-month trade war between the world’s top economies is raising concerns about its impact on oil demand. Brent crude LCOc1 futures ...

U.S. crude stocks rose last week even as refineries hiked output, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week to Nov. 15, compared with expectations for an increase of 1.5 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 2.3 million barrels, EIA said. Crude futures extended gains after the EIA report. “There was a large drawdown of crude oil at the Cushing delivery hub, which is supportive,” said John ...