Month: February 2018

February 28, 2018, by Jessica Summers (Bloomberg) U.S. oil production reached a record high in November as the shale boom puts the nation among the world’s biggest suppliers and upends global markets. Once the world’s largest importer of crude, the U.S. is passing Saudi Arabia and closing in on Russia to become the world’s largest … Read more

February 26, 2018, by Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO (Reuters) – The United States will overtake Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer by 2019 at the latest, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, as the country’s shale oil boom continues to upend global markets. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said at an event in … Read more

February 28, 2018, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) Equities drop The S&P 500 Index finished yesterday’s session 1.3 percent lower, its biggest decline in more than two weeks, after testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Congress was viewed as hawkish by markets. Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 1.1 percent, while Japan’s … Read more

February 27, 2018 by Javier Blas and Grant Smith (Bloomberg)  The head of OPEC plans to dine with U.S. shale company executives on Monday in Houston, the second consecutive year that the secretary general has met with some of the cartel’s top rivals. “One of the lessons learned from this oil-price cycle is that as … Read more

February 26, 2018 by Bailey Schulz (Bloomberg)  Oil demand will remain strong through at least 2020, pushing spot costs for crude above futures pricing. That’s the message from Francisco Blanch, Bank of America’s head of commodities and derivative research. Electric vehicles won’t start biting into oil demand until at least 2020,  he said in a Bloomberg … Read more

February 27, 2018 by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg)  Bond market awaits Powell testimony, Comcast enters battle for Sky, and stock rally comes to a halt. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today. Fed up Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee at … Read more

February 26, 2018, by Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) – More than $200 billion of investment in liquefied natural gas is needed to meet a boom in demand by 2030, Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s top LNG trader, said on Monday. The LNG market is set to continue its rapid expansion into 2020 as facilities approved … Read more

February 26, 2018 by Kevin Crowley and Ryan Collins (Bloomberg)  The world’s hottest oil field, the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, isn’t without its risks. Drillers are pumping billions of dollars into the region, plumbing reserves that rival Saudi Arabia’s biggest field. And with production expected to almost double by 2022, the … Read more

February 26, 2018, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) Stocks rise The recovery in global stocks endures, with markets taking their cue from Friday’s strong U.S. performance. Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.8 percent, while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.8 percent higher with telecoms and drugmakers leading the gains. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index … Read more

February 26, 2018, by Valerie  Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Cleaning up the tens of thousands oil and gas wells on U.S. federal land after they stop producing could cost over $6 billion, and taxpayers may need to pitch in, according to an analysis of state and federal data commissioned by a conservation watchdog group. The … Read more

February 25, 2018 by Milana Vinn and Laura Blewitt (Bloomberg)  Every day, dozens of oil tankers — some as long as five football fields — set sail for ports around the world carrying millions of barrels of crude and a piece of paper that generations of sea captains have held as dear as their cargo. … Read more

February 23, 2018 by Jessica Summers (Bloomberg)  Crude rose for a second week as American supplies drain and a key Libya oil field was shut. News of a production halt at Libya’s 70,000 barrel-a-day El-Feel field helped cap a weekly drop of more than 3 percent, after a report Thursday showed storage tanks at the … Read more

February 23, 2018 Reuters (Reuters) – U.S. energy companies added one oil rig this week, the fifth weekly increase in a row, as oil prices hovered at two-week highs. Drillers added one oil rig in the week to Feb. 23, bringing the total count up to 799, the highest level since April 2015, General Electric Co’s … Read more

February 23, 2018 by Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg)  Flexible working hours and maternity leave are all well and good, but what women really want is a fair chance to climb the corporate ladder. So says Vicki Hollub, and she would know: In her 35-year career she moved up the ranks at Occidental Petroleum Corp. to become … Read more

February 23, 2018, by Joanna Ossinger (Bloomberg) Mnuchin isn’t worried Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin brushed aside signs that investors are nervous about the prospect of rising prices and growing public debt in an interview with Bloomberg. “There are a lot of ways to have the economy grow,” he said Thursday. “You can have wage inflation and not necessarily have … Read more

February 22, 2018, by Ernest Scheider HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. oil production has topped 10 million barrels per day, approaching a record set in 1970, but many investors in the companies driving the shale oil revolution are still waiting for their payday. Shale producers have raised and spent billions of dollars to produce more oil … Read more

Natural Gas Weekly Update Report – February 22, 2018 Two liquefied natural gas storage tanks are removed from service at the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Terminal Cheniere Energy, operator of the Sabine Pass Liquefaction terminal in Louisiana, does not expect the removal of two storage tanks from service to affect the export levels of liquefied natural … Read more

February 22, 2018, by Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has called a meeting early next week with key senators and Cabinet officials to discuss potential changes to biofuels policy, which is coming under increasing pressure after a Pennsylvania refiner blamed the regulation for its bankruptcy, according to four sources familiar … Read more

February 22, 2018, by Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil that reached islands in southern Japan earlier this month is highly likely to have come from the sunken Iranian tanker Sanchi, the Japan Coast Guard said on Thursday. Samples of oily matter that washed up on Feb. 8 on the shores of the Okinoerabu and … Read more

February 22, 2018, by Serene Cheong (Bloomberg) Even Saudi Arabia wants in on the U.S. oil boom. The kingdom’s state oil firm considered the possibility of sending American crude to Asia in February via a U.S. unit before determining it wasn’t economically viable, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. It also asked potential … Read more

February 22, 2018, by Joanna Ossinger (Bloomberg) Quarles won’t quarrel with this economy Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles delivered an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy and endorsed a “gradual” path for raising interest rates in his first public speech on monetary policy since joining the central bank in October. “The U.S. economy appears to be performing very well … Read more

February 20, 2018, by Charlotte Greenfield and Colin Packham WELLINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) – The final version of a landmark deal aimed at cutting trade barriers in some of the Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing economies was released on Wednesday, signaling the pact was a step closer to reality even without its star member the United States. More than 20 … Read more

February 21, 2018, by Rakteem Katakey and Heesu Lee (Bloomberg) Oil dropped as U.S. stockpiles were forecast to have expanded for a fourth week, raising questions about OPEC’s success in draining a global oversupply. Crude in New York lost as much as 1.4 percent. Inventories in America rose by 3 million barrels last week, according … Read more

February 21, 2018, by Tracy Alloway (Bloomberg) No Mr. Bond, I expect you to dieT he benchmark 10-year Treasury yield continues to flirt with the 3 percent mark, which may or may not be a line in the sand for investors. Debt prices fell after yesterday’s auction saw the Treasury sell $179 billion of fresh debt at yields not seen … Read more

February 20, 2018 by Meenal Vamburkar and Milana Vinn (Bloomberg) Crude in New York rose to a two-week high amid signs of expanding worldwide demand for the growing abundance of U.S. oil. The U.S. benchmark settled 0.4 percent higher on Tuesday in New York. American crude exports have increased in four of the past five weeks, … Read more

February 19, 2018 Reuters  Oil markets were split on Tuesday, with U.S. crude was pushed up by reduced flows from Canada while international Brent prices eased. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $62.16 a barrel at 0153 GMT, up 48 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last settlement. Traders said the higher WTI … Read more

February 20, 2018 by Grant Smith (Bloomberg)  For decades, Saudi Arabia was the voice of moderation within OPEC, pushing back against the urging of members like Venezuela and Iran for higher oil prices. That role seems to be shifting. Thanks to OPEC-led production cuts, crude prices are double their level two years ago and bloated … Read more

February 20, 2018, by Tracy Alloway (Bloomberg) Parsing markets As the dust settles on the selloff that roiled markets two weeks ago, analysts and investors are thinking about what comes next. Morgan Stanley reckons the slide in stocks was just a taste of the future. A former Tudor Investment Corp. trader who’s been betting on ructions in fixed income thinks … Read more

February 18 by Julian Lee (Bloomberg Gadfly)  There is no doubt that the output cuts made by OPEC and its friends, aided by a collapse in production from group member and historic quota cheat Venezuela, have drained a lot of excess oil out of the supply chain. Tankers floating full of crude off the coasts … Read more

February 16, 2018, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) Still gaining The strengthening recovery across U.S. equities — the S&P 500 Index capped its best five-day run since 2011 yesterday — continues to set the tone for global benchmarks. Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7 percent in a fairly quiet session as the Chinese New Year holiday began, while … Read more

February 16, 2018 Reuters LONDON/TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Oil prices gained on Friday as the dollar slipped to a three-year low and global stocks headed for their biggest weekly gain in six years. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up 6 cents at $61.40 a barrel by 1110 GMT, after touching a … Read more

February 16, 2018 by Grant Smith (Bloomberg)  After a year of production cuts, OPEC and Russia are finally near their goal of shrinking the world’s swollen oil inventories. So why are they planning to change their target? The answer lies somewhere between the murky and incomplete nature of oil data and the competing interests within … Read more