Global oil markets are increasingly over-supplied with light distillates, such as gasoline, while there are not enough middle distillates, such as diesel, which has opened a big price differential between the two fuels. To keep meeting healthy demand for mid-distillates, refiners are processing high volumes of crude and creating a glut of gasoline. U.S. gasoline prices for delivery in June 2019 are trading just $7 per barrel above benchmark Brent futures for the same month, compared with a premium of $18 per barrel for low-sulphur distillate fuel oil. Early in ...

US crude supply increased to a 48-week high last week on the back of record-high production and languishing refinery runs, Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday. Commercial crude storage expanded for an eighth-straight week, adding 10.27 million barrels during the week ending November 9 to 442.05 million barrels, EIA data showed. The build far exceeded analyst expectations of a 2.33 million-barrel increase reported in an S&P Global Platts analysis Monday, and puts inventories 4.8% above the EIA-reported five-year average. The EIA data release was delayed to Thursday due to a ...

When U.S. President Donald Trump asked Saudi Arabia this summer to raise oil production to compensate for lower crude exports from Iran, Riyadh swiftly told Washington it would do so. But Saudi Arabia did not receive advance warning when Trump made a U-turn by offering generous waivers that are keeping more Iranian crude in the market instead of driving exports from Riyadh’s arch-rival down to zero, OPEC and industry sources say.Angered by the U.S. move that has raised worries about over supply, Saudi Arabia is now considering cutting output with ...

Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and the Blockchain are shaping Oil and Gas 4.0, which Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, believes will make the oil and gas sector more efficient, more productive and create greater value. “At the core of Oil and Gas 4.0 is a basic truth,” Dr Al Jaber said. “While advances in technology are impacting every industry, it is time to really focus on how it can evolve the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry must think ...

When it comes to climate change and the need to decarbonize, the oil majors have changed their tune in recent years. In the wake of the Paris Agreement on climate change and increased pressure from investors, many have agreed to shareholder resolutions asking them to explain how they will deal with climate impacts, they have stepped up their investments in renewable energy and electric vehicle infrastructure, and a number have even set dates by which they believe oil and gas demand will peak. And yet, two new pieces of research ...

Canada’s oil sector is divided over whether to force a temporary cut to production, with some major producers pushing the controversial idea in a bid to ease a supply glut and halt a steep plunge in prices, according to seven people familiar with the matter. Executives from Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Nexen Energy ULC are among those who made the pitch to Alberta’s premier last month, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the meeting was private. Cenovus Energy Inc. is also publicly advocating for a forced ...

Increased oil and natural gas development in the Wolfcamp play has helped drive overall crude oil and natural gas production growth in the Permian Basin during the past decade. Drilling and completion operations within the Wolfcamp play have been responsible for much of the crude oil and natural gas production growth in the Permian Basin since 2007. As of September 2018, the Wolfcamp accounted for about 1 million barrels of crude oil per day (b/d) and 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (Bcf/d). Crude oil production in ...

British wholesale day-ahead gas prices rose on Friday as forecasts for colder weather lifted demand expectations. * Day-ahead gas rose 2.3 pence to 72.50 pence per therm at 0840 GMT * Within-day gas was yet to trade * Forecasts for domestic gas use for the day ahead were increased by 64 million cubic metres (mcm) to 199 mcm * At the same time the temperature forecast has been halved to 6 degrees Celsius on average * The rise in demand is offset by lower gas-for-power usage which is expected to ...

Oil traded up slightly in a volatile session on Friday, supported by expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would agree to cut output next month, though prices were set to for a weekly drop on underlying oversupply worries. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia is keen for the major producers to cut output by about 1.4 million barrels per day, around 1.5 percent of global supply, to support the market, sources told Reuters this week. But other producers, including Russia, have been reluctant to agree to a cut. Brent ...

Norway’s new energy minister Kjell-Borge Freiberg hopes the imminent startup of the major Aasta Hansteen natural gas field in the northern Norwegian Sea will spur further developments in the region. In an interview with S&P Global Platts, Freiberg — who replaced Terje Soviknes on the last day of August — was upbeat about future production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf given continued high spending and new project approvals. “I choose to be optimistic,” Freiberg said. “The last couple of licensing rounds have resulted in record high numbers of license awards ...

Working natural gas in underground storage in the Lower 48 states as of October 31, 2018, totaled 3,208 billion cubic feet (Bcf), according to interpolated data from EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report released on November 8. Inventory levels for the Lower 48 states and in each of the U.S. natural gas regions ended the refill season at their lowest levels since October 2005, and these levels were considerably lower than their previous five-year averages. Although the natural gas storage injection, or refill, season is traditionally defined as April 1 ...

The US oil and natural gas rig count surged by 21 this week to 1,200, the highest total since early 2015, with gas-oriented rigs accounting for the bulk of the additions, according to data by S&P Global Platts Analytics. This week’s total is the highest figure seen since January 2015, and marked the fourth straight increase. It also coincided with a jump in spot and futures gas prices. The gas-oriented rig count rose by 11 to 229 and oil-driven rigs increased by seven while the remaining additions targeted both oil ...

It is important for OPEC and non-OPEC producers to cooperate to maintain oil market stability, the head of Libyan state oil firm NOC said in a statement on Thursday. Mustafar Sanalla issued the statement after meeting Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Fali. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

As oil suffered its biggest one-day slump in three years, it wasn’t OPEC or President Donald Trump that was shaking the market. Instead, trading desks were abuzz with chatter of “negative gamma.” So what is it? This obscure concept starts out on the options desks of Wall Street. There’s a lucrative business for banks that facilitate trades allowing crude producers — individual companies, or sometimes entire countries — to reduce their exposure to volatile markets by locking in a price for their future production. Say the government of a large ...

Spot premiums for Russian crude oil grades Sokol and ESPO Blend sold in Asia stayed firm on Friday, supported by strong demand for crude that have high middle distillates yields, trade sources said. * At least three January-loading Sokol cargoes moved this week at premiums of $4.80 to just above $4.90 a barrel to Dubai quotes, steady levels compared with earlier deals, they said * Sokol was highly valued by Asian refiners for its strong middle distillates yield, one of the sources said * ONGC and Exxon Mobil will sell ...