Iraq has lowered the production plateau target of its biggest oil field Rumaila to 1.7 million b/d from 2.1 million b/d owing to complexities associated with the project where BP and PetroChina are lead contractors, the head of BP Iraq told S&P Global Commodity Insights in a recent interview. Rumaila currently produces around 1.4 million b/d, and partners in Rumaila Operating Organization are in talks with the oil ministry over the timeline for reaching the plateau target, Zaid Elyaseri said in a recent interview in Baghdad. “Obviously, there have been ...

The European Union’s best shot at replacing Russian gas imports this year is likely to miss the mark, analysts predict, exerting further pressure on the region’s economy. The EU plans to replace two-thirds of Russian gas imports by the end of the year, as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to wage on. The shift away from the country’s gas supplies became even more urgent after the country’s state-backed Gazprom reduced flows to Europe by 60%, citing a delay to repairs on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that runs to Germany ...

Energy ICE Brent gave up all of its early session gains yesterday to settle almost 1.5% lower. This follows the EIA report, which showed relatively sluggish gasoline demand. The latest data from the EIA, which included 2 weeks of data, showed that US commercial crude oil inventories declined by 2.76MMbbls over the last week (while over the last 2-week period commercial stocks fell by 3.15MMbbls). Taking into account SPR releases, total US crude oil inventories declined by 9.71MMbbls over the week. Crude oil stocks at Cushing fell by 782Mbbs (and ...

Oil prices edged lower in volatile trading on Thursday as the market weighed concerns of global supply and a build in U.S. fuel product inventories. Brent crude futures for September, the more actively traded contract, were down 45 cents, or 0.4%, to $112.00 per barrel at 0711 GMT. The August contract, which expires Thursday, was at $115.15, down $1.11 a barrel, or 1.0%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 57 cents, or 0.5%, to $109.21. “The net drop in crude oil inventories was flattered by SPR releases, while ...

U.S. crude stocks fell in the latest week but fuel inventories rose, the government said on Wednesday, as refiners picked up activity, while industry production hit its highest in more than two years in response to tight worldwide supply and high prices. The U.S. oil industry has been trying to boost output, but inventories keep dwindling, with supplies at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub dropping to the lowest since October 2014, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. Crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week to June 24, far ...

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have starring roles to play in the oil market this summer, as the only producers in the world holding any significant spare output capacity. But much of it is from untested fields, and as the core OPEC members face increasing pressure to tame the oil price rally, ahead of a key trip by US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia in mid-July, their ability to ramp up production will be critical. Under the current supply accord between OPEC and its Russia-led allies, Saudi Arabia’s output ...

Uncertainty in global oil and gas markets could stay for some time to come as spare capacity is very low while demand is still recovering, Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said. “I do believe that we’re going to be facing quite a bit of uncertainty in markets for some time to come,” he told reporters. “Spare capacity is running very, very low,” he said, adding that despite economic and COVID-19 challenges, global oil and gas demand is still recovering. Global oil and gas prices have surged this year ...

More LNG sector investment is needed to respond to the current energy crisis and to aid efforts to phase out Russian gas dependency, G7 leaders have agreed. With global gas prices having reached record highs in 2022, more investments are being approved in the LNG sector — both for new liquefaction facilities, in particular in the US, and for new regasification infrastructure, mostly in Europe. In its final communique following a summit held June 28, the G7 said LNG had a major role to play in cutting dependence on Russia. ...

China said on Wednesday it will subsidise refiners if global oil prices hit above $130 a barrel, reiterating an existing fuel policy that closely tracks international markets but also with a goal to shield consumers from price shocks. The subsidies will be measured based upon the actual sales volume of gasoline and diesel and the handouts will initially last for two months before further announcements if oil prices are consistently above $130, the ministry said. “(The subsidy) is to safeguard stable fuel supplies, ease costs for manufacturers and alleviate burdens ...

Oil producer BP PLC (BP.L) on Wednesday said it will assist U.S. employees with travel expenses for covered health-care services that cannot be obtained near where an employee lives. The company made the decision following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last week overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which eliminated the constitutional right for an abortion in the United States. Source: Reuters (Reporting by  Sabrina Valle; Editing by Leslie Adler)  

Northwest Europe Availability of VLSFO and LSMGO are normal in ARA ports, while HSFO is tight for prompt deliveries, sources say. Recommended lead times for VLSFO and LSMGO are 3-5 days in ARA, but some suppliers can offer LSMGO on prompt dates, sources say. HSFO requires a longer lead time of 5-7 days Independently held gasoil stocks in the ARA increased last week and scaled to their bulkiest level so far in June, while fuel stocks declined slightly. Gasoil stocks increased by 720,000 bbls to 11.33 million bbls in the ...

G7 leaders have agreed to study possible price caps on Russian oil and gas to try to limit Moscow’s ability to fund its invasion of Ukraine, G7 officials said on Tuesday. The officials, who include U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, say the measure will limit the price that Russia receives for energy while allowing Western consumers to continue getting supply. Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about the price cap and challenges it could face. HAS IT BEEN DONE BEFORE? A somewhat similar mechanism was established as ...

A new Black Sea offshore gas platform was officially launched off Romania on Tuesday and plans to extract gas despite risks posed by war in Ukraine, including mines detected in waters nearby. The project by Black Sea Oil & Gas (BSOG), controlled by U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group LP, is Romania’s first offshore Black Sea development in three decades. BSOG said it planned to extract 1 billion cubic metres of gas per year, or roughly 10% of Romania’s consumption. Its platform, 120 kilometres offshore, sits around 45 km from ...

The total world crude oil production increased in 2021 by 0.52 million barrels/day (m b/d) or 0.8 percent, as compared to 2020, for an average of 69.64m b/d, according to the Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB), one of the flagship publications of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). “OPEC crude oil production rose year-on-year by 0.70m b/d, or 2.7 percent, while crude production by non-OPEC countries fell slightly by 0.18 m b/d, or 0.4 percent,” said the 57th edition of the ASB. With an average of 96.92m b/d in ...

Operable atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity, our primary measure of refinery capacity in the United States, totaled 17.9 million barrels per calendar day as of January 1, 2022, down 1% from the beginning of 2021. According to our annual Refinery Capacity Report, 2021 was the second consecutive year of decreasing refinery capacity. We publish two measures of U.S. refinery capacity: barrels per calendar day (b/cd) and barrels per stream day (b/sd). Calendar-day capacity represents the operator’s estimate of the input that a distillation unit can process over a 24-hour period ...