OPEC Secretary General, HE Haitham Al Ghais, underlined the importance of enhancing refining capacity globally to meet the growing demand for oil products. The Secretary General delivered these remarks at the 13th Technical Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries participating in the Charter of Cooperation (CoC). Al Ghais praised OPEC Member Countries for their exceptional efforts in expanding their refining capacities by constructing refineries, such as Al Zour Refinery, Kuwait; Dangote Refinery, Nigeria; and Jazan Refinery, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Secretary General also highlighted the importance of the technical ...

Emerging producer Namibia is seeking to calm its natural resources sector, with allies of its energy minister saying his comments about the government potentially taking free equity stakes in oil companies were being misinterpreted. We are making a case that local ownership must start with the state, which holds ownership of our natural resources,” Tom Alweendo, minister of mines and energy, told lawmakers May 29. “The proposed state ownership should take the form where the state owns a minimum equity percentage in all mining companies and petroleum production, for which ...

OPEC and its allies are unlikely to decide on further oil supply cuts at a meeting on Sunday despite a fall in oil prices toward $70 per barrel this week, two sources from the alliance said on Friday although another said the outcome was still unclear. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps around 40% of the world’s crude, meaning its policy decisions can have a major impact on oil prices. Two OPEC+ sources said they did not expect the group ...

Two weeks of market speculation in the wake of threats by Saudi Arabia’s energy minister to leave short-sellers “ouching” will come to a head June 3-4 in Vienna, as OPEC and its allies prepare to hold their first in-person meeting since October to deliberate on oil-production quotas. While Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman’s comments, made at an industry conference in Qatar May 23, left open the interpretation that deeper output cuts could be coming, several delegates have told S&P Global Commodity Insights that a decision has not been made, and the ...

OPEC and its allies are unlikely to decide on further oil supply cuts at a meeting on Sunday despite a fall in oil prices toward $70 per barrel this week, two sources from the alliance said on Friday although another said the outcome was still unclear. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps around 40% of the world’s crude, meaning its policy decisions can have a major impact on oil prices. Two OPEC+ sources said they did not expect the group ...

Climate and environmental considerations are increasingly a key component of investment decision-making. Not just by corporates but by the financial sector, too. So much so that most of the world’s major banks and institutional investors have policies to exit or lessen their exposure to coal. Oil and gas – fossil fuels that release carbon when combusted and, in turn, contributes to climate change – are likely to be the next commodities affected by the financing sector’s focus on “greening” their balance sheets. This paper aims to understand the current sources ...

Mexico’s president took office in late 2018 pledging to boost local output of gasoline while phasing out imports, but so far state refineries have instead set a different course: bumper production of highly-contaminating fuel oil. To make Mexico self-sufficient, leftist resource nationalist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wants the country to wean itself off dependence on foreign gasoline and diesel supplies, mostly from U.S. refiners, and replace them by 2024 with production from state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). The push to increase Pemex’s output, however, has ramped up fuel ...

Russia continues contacts with the members of the OPEC+ organisation of leading oil producers, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, before the group meets on Sunday to make a decision on its production policy. He declined to comment on the possible outcome of the meeting. OPEC and its allies are unlikely to decide on further oil supply cuts at a meeting on Sunday despite a fall in oil prices toward $70 per barrel this week, two sources from the alliance said on Friday although another said the outcome was ...

Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Darren Woods told an energy industry conference on Thursday he aims to double the amount of oil produced from its U.S. shale holdings over a five-year period using new technologies. “We are beginning to see the signs of some very promising new technologies” that will “significantly improve recovery” volumes, Woods said at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference. Exxon currently recovers about 10% of shale resources from its operations. A first wave of new shale technology could come by fracking along much longer lateral well segments, and ...

Mixed signals by major OPEC producers and their main allies have sparked volatility in oil prices ahead of an OPEC+ oil policy meeting set to take place this weekend. Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures ended last week over 1.5% higher, but fell by over 1% at 1047 GMT on Tuesday. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other allies, surprised the market on April 2 with further output cuts that pushed up the price of oil. The group meets on ...

Crude oil production from Argentina’s burgeoning shale patch, Vaca Muerta, could surge in the coming years and top 1 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the decade – but only if takeaway capacity and rig availability do not limit growth. Rystad Energy’s modeling shows that if production is relatively unimpeded, oil output could realistically grow from 291,000 bpd in February 2023 to more than 1 million bpd in the second half of 2030. The forecast growth could lift Vaca Muerta’s profile and position it as a leading ...

Inventories of middle distillates at key trading hub Singapore were little changed as the drop in net gasoil exports offset the rise in net jet fuel/kerosene exports, official data showed. Stockpiles of gasoil and jet fuel/kerosene were at 7.957 million barrels (1.068 million tonnes) in the week ended May 31, compared with 7.829 million barrels from a week earlier, the data from Enterprise Singapore showed. Gasoil net export volumes fell by almost 58% on the week to 94,193 tonnes, with around 40,000 tonnes still heading to the Netherlands despite a ...

Oil prices rose on Friday after a U.S. debt ceiling deal averted a default in the world’s biggest oil consumer, while attention turned to a meeting of OPEC ministers and their allies at the weekend. Brent crude futures rose 77 cents, or 1% to $75.05 a barrel by 0806 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 69 cents, or 1%, at $70.79. Both contracts were headed for their first weekly loss in three weeks. Markets were reassured by a bipartisan deal to suspend the limit on the ...

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other allies, or OPEC+, meet on June 4 to discuss whether additional oil production cuts should be implemented. The group in early April surprised markets with output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day, fuelling a rise in prices. But going into the meeting this weekend, OPEC+ has given mixed signals on whether further cuts are likely, keeping oil prices volatile recently. Here is what analysts expect in terms of the meeting’s outcome: Goldman Sachs: * “We expect the ...

U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week, as imports jumped, while distillate inventories gained and gasoline drew down, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. Crude inventories rose by 4.5 million barrels in the week to May 26, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel drop. “It’s all about imports,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. “Imports were up huge. That contributed basically to the big build.” Net U.S. crude imports rose by 1 million barrels per day ...