China’s domestic natural gas production rose to a record monthly high of 16 billion cu m in December, up 7.5% year on year, preliminary data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. The last time it hit a record high was in December 2018 at 15.25 Bcm, historical data from the NBS showed. On a month-on-month basis, the December volume was up by 6.1% from 15.08 Bcm in November. Over the January-December period, China produced 173.6 Bcm of natural gas, which is also a record high in terms of ...

Upstream spend on development and exploration is a barometer of the industry’s mood. Here’s the view of our upstream team, led by Fraser McKay, Head of Upstream Analysis, Dr Andrew Latham, Head of Exploration, and Rob Clarke, Director US L48. What do we think global spend will be in 2020? We expect development expenditure of around U.S.$450 billion this year. That’s about 8% above the 2016 low, but flat year-on-year and 40% below the peak of 2014. Is the industry spending enough? That’s the big question on our minds. Companies ...

Oil prices rose to their highest in more than week on Monday after two large crude production bases in Libya began shutting down amid a military blockade, risking reducing crude flows from the OPEC member to a trickle. Brent crude was up 48 cents, or 0.7%, at $65.33 by 1154 GMT, having earlier touched $66 a barrel, the highest since Jan. 9. The West Texas Intermediate contract was up 32 cents, or 0.5%, at $58.86 a barrel, after rising to $59.73, the highest since Jan. 10. Two major oilfields in ...

Oil prices could see prices going up in the short term with a disruption in supply after oil production in Libya was down by 800,000 barrels on Friday, analysts said. Oil markets on Friday saw Brent trading on $64.85 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at $58.54, both down on the week with continued oversupply concerns and weak economic data coming out from China. Geopolitical tensions, however, may take centre stage again this week after oil exports were blocked from ports in Libya along with oil field closures. International peace talks ...

After stirring for 18 months, the US Gulf of Mexico now appears to be springing back to life after years in virtual hibernation, as the region’s production rises and oil companies prepare for future growth even amid uncertain oil prices. Crude output in the US Gulf is at an all-time high, currently around 2 million b/d, and it should roughly level out before rising again in 2021 from new deepwater fields coming online then, analysts say. Mergers and acquisitions have been brisk, operators are drilling more and have sanctioned a ...

Libya’s oil output will be slashed to 72,000 barrels per day (bpd) within a few days if blockades of oil facilities continue, a National Oil Corporation (NOC) spokesperson said. Production had been more than 1.2 million bpd before forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar closed oil ports and fields ahead of an international peace summit on Libya in Berlin, the spokesperson said. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

The phase 1 trade deal with China has been signed at the White House and includes the Chinese promise to ‘strive’ to import $50 billion worth of oil and natural gas from the U.S. this year and next. Although that sounds wonderful, the truth, while positive, is somewhat less beneficial for the industry. First, it must be acknowledged that U.S. oil and gas exports (the later liquified natural gas) have dropped sharply since the trade war began in 2018, as the figure below shows. Revenue had peaked out at something ...

Schlumberger, Halliburton Co and Baker Hughes Co have kicked off the new year by putting units up for sale, as the three largest names in oilfield services seek to reshape their businesses and adjust to falling demand. Oilfield service providers are facing reduced spending by oil and gas producers as investors push for higher shareholder returns rather than more drilling activity. Competition also is forcing service companies to exit less profitable businesses. The trio, which hold about 26% of the global oilfield services market, according to consultancy Spears & Associates, ...

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners including Russia and others are expected to further extend production cut until the end of 2020 from the end of March, 2020, according to a research note by Swiss investment bank UBS AG. Still, OPEC and its partners would have higher production allowance in the second half of 2020, said UBS in the report. Crude oil output from OPEC would dip to 29.6 million barrels per day in 2020, down from 30 million barrels per day in the previous year, ...

Despite the sound bites about a slowing shale revolution, supply growth continues to add to the crude market woes. This time, however, this is a global phenomenon. Geopolitical spikes in the crude markets have, in fact, resulted in a boost to hedging, allowing the US shale producers to maintain higher output at a point in time when many have been predicting shale growth slowdown.Pundits are taking note too. “Global oil markets will remain well supplied this year, with a possible overhang of some 1 million barrels per day (bpd),” good, ...

Australia looks set to reap the benefits of the International Maritime Organization’s global sulfur cap as the country’s heavy sweet crude oil is widely considered one of the best feedstocks for making IMO-compliant marine fuels — and many Asian refiners are willing to pay lofty spot premiums for it. Multiple Australian heavy sweet crude grades have seen their spot price differentials spike to record highs in recent weeks, reflecting the boost in demand for low sulfur fuel oil after the IMO’s sulfur cap on bunker fuels was imposed from January ...

Expect low and lower prices for oil and natural gas during Election 2020. Since long before he was elected, President Trump consistently called for lower oil prices, and he has strived to maintain low oil prices with his Middle East policies. The third rail of energy policy for every elected official in Washington D.C. is that no one is re-elected if prices increase at the pump or the electricity meter. Not Republicans. Not Democrats. This is why there is no national carbon pricing mechanism and no leadership from Washington to ...

The cost of producing electricity from solar energy has in the last two years been lower than that of fossil fuels — and that “permanent change” will limit how high oil prices can climb, according to Citi. That shift is coming at a time when global oil supply is running ahead of demand, which is already weighing down on energy prices, David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, said on Thursday. As evidence of the limited upside in oil prices, Bailin pointed to last year’s drones attack on ...

The LNG spot price for delivery into North Asia is headed for a historic low in the coming months with the possibility of dropping below the $3/MMBtu level, as rising supply outpaces weak winter demand, S&P Global Platts Analytics said in its JKM weekly price forecast on Thursday. Record low LNG spot prices will have major repercussions for the industry, as it will be a stress test for producers with exposure to spot indexation and buyers forced to pay high oil-linked prices due to contracted volumes. “JKM is expected to ...

China’s crude oil throughput rose to a record high in 2019 following the start-up of two mega-refineries, official data showed on Friday, with December posting the highest daily run-rate on record. The total amount of oil processed for the year reached 651.98 million tonnes, or about 13.04 million barrels per day (bpd) according to Reuters calculations, up 7.6% from 2018, National Bureau of Statistics figures showed. Refinery runs in December came in at 58.51 million tonnes, or about 13.78 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 12.07 million bpd a ...