Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell for the fourth week in a row, with traders expecting a further slide due to abundant supplies, full inventories and mild weather. The average LNG price for December delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was estimated at $5.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), $0.30/mmbtu down from last week. The January delivery price is around $5.90/mmBtu, market sources said. “Clearly there is no buying demand on the market. All inventories across the world are high, production is strong and the weather seems ...

Global oil inventories consist of three major components. The first is a combination of total OECD commercial oil stocks and Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR). OECD commercial stocks typically serve as a key indicator of the status of the oil market, as seasonal variations are linked to oil demand through an inverse relationship. Stocks in OECD countries are covered by data routinely obtained through national government reporting systems. The second major component is non-OECD inventories, which have become more important in recent years as non-OECD oil demand has increased, requiring more ...

Oman’s production of crude oil during October reached 30,540,423 barrels, an average of 985,175 barrels a day, the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas said in a report Saturday. The quantity of Omani crude oil exported in October amounted to 30,131,845 barrels, an average of 971,995 barrels a day, said the report. Japan’s imports of Omani crude oil decreased from 3.99 percent in September to 3.28 percent in October while Myanmar’s imports increased from 2.64 percent in September to 4.76 percent in October 2019, added the report. Source: Xinhua

Oil and gas companies will reap financial as well social benefits from actively promoting inclusion and diversity in their organizations, industry leaders at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) heard last Nov. 14. In delivering the keynote address for ADIPEC’s co-located Inclusion and Diversity in Energy Conference, Tala Al Ramahi, Chief Strategy Officer for the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi, said that while diversity remained a problem in oil and gas, ADNOC and other leading companies were actively seeking to change this. “Women make up only ...

Saudi Arabia – the world’s oil market maker – is gearing up for the historic initial public offering (IPO) of state oil giant Saudi Aramco. Given that Aramco is the most profitable company in existence, earning $68 billion between January and September of 2019, expectations are high for the largest IPO to date. But headwinds exist. Oil prices are middling, oil demand is tepid, and Middle East oil supplies are under constant threat of attack or seizure. Attempting to put a further damper on the IPO deal, Iranian President Hassan ...

The last decade has been a rocky ride for employees at Chesapeake Energy. Under its former CEO and Chairman, the late Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake became an early pioneer in a number of shale plays, including the Haynesville, the Marcellus Shale and the Barnett Shale. That was during the first decade of this century, during a time when McClendon was betting the company’s fortunes on natural gas as the energy play of the future, and on the proposition that the price for natural gas would remain at robust levels. For awhile, ...

Money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to Nov. 12, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said. The speculator group raised its combined futures and options position in New York and London by 39,995 contracts to 169,386 during the period. U.S. crude futures were flat during that time period as shifting expectations for the U.S.-China trade deal kept crude from advancing or falling dramatically. Natural gas speculators in four major NYMEX and ICE markets, meanwhile, continued to trim net short positions, ...

The pioneers of the U.S. shale boom are warning of a slowdown in oil production growth, but it appears the U.S. government doesn’t agree. The Energy Information Administration revised up its forecast for the growth rate for crude output in 2020 to 1 million barrels a day from 910,000 barrels a day in October, according to the monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook on Wednesday. The report came as a surprise given signs that companies are reining in spending to focus on shareholder returns rather than keep burning through cash. “The EIA ...

Along with slower global demand growth, surging U.S. oil production has been the primary bearish factor in the oil market. Per U.S. Department of Energy numbers, domestic crude output is at all-time records of 12.6 million b/d, some 80% of all U.S. liquids supply. The industry has deployed constant technology and efficiency gains to compensate for less CAPEX investment and drilling. To illustrate, since July 2018, even as the total number of oil-directed rigs has fallen by more than 20% to the 685 range, crude production has still risen by ...

The U.S. shale industry plans another spending freeze next year, and a sharp slowdown in production growth, as prolific oil and natural gas output has pressured prices and squeezed profits. Blistering growth in shale fields propelled U.S. crude output to a record 13 million barrels per day (bpd) this month. As production swelled, U.S. crude futures dropped 7.5% in the third quarter on worries about global trade tensions. Investors have fled the sector as returns have lagged those of market indexes for years. Shale companies have been cutting spending under ...

Oil and gas will continue to play a central role in achieving sustainable economic development and reducing ‘energy poverty’, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo has told industry leaders at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC). Presenting data from the 2019 OPEC World Oil Outlook, Barkindo said the organization’s analysis predicted a 25 percent increase in total primary energy demand worldwide between 2018 and 2040, with oil and gas expected to meet most of this demand. He said growth would be driven by rising demand in developing ...

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has made $1 billion from trading fuel oil this year, making it one of the standout winners from rules designed to make the shipping industry greener. Shell said last month that it made substantial money in fuel-oil trading in the third quarter, but the company didn’t disclose the size of the profits. Shell traders celebrated hitting the $1 billion mark so far, likely the biggest by any one company in fuel oil this year, by ringing a bell on the company’s trading floor in London earlier ...

Natural gas is a clean and versatile energy source that unlocks an opportunity for the planet to reliably meet the globally growing energy demand, reducing GHG emissions and urban pollution and allowing economies to grow. The European Investment Bank’s (EIB) decision to stop the financing of fossil fuel energy projects, which includes natural gas, stands in conflict with its parallel commitment to align financing activities with the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Natural gas is an essential component of the global energy mix if there is any hope ...

Feedgas deliveries to the six major US LNG export facilities were near a record Friday, even as warm weather was on the way to parts of Europe and Asian forward prices were at their lowest-ever December level, S&P Global Platts Analytics data show. Positive netbacks to the Gulf Coast from both regions, sub-$3/MMBtu domestic supplies and strong underlying global market fundamentals such as the increasing transition to gas to fuel power plants are key to the bet that American producers are making heading into the heart of the winter. The ...

Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant could be valued at up to $1.7 trillion, according to a price range announced Sunday for its upcoming listing, less than the $2 trillion figure the kingdom’s crown prince had previously targeted. Saudi Aramco said in a press statement Sunday morning that it’s hoping to sell a 1.5% stake in the company, or about 3 billion shares. The indicative price range for the shares is 30 Saudi riyals ($8.00) to 32 riyals, valuing the initial public offering (IPO) up to as much as 96 billion ...