Month: January 2022

Spot prices are climbing rapidly and the futures market has moved into one of the most extreme backwardations in the last three decades, a classic signal the market is expected to become very tight. Front-month Brent futures prices have risen by more than 20% over the last two months as fears about an Omicron-driven slowdown … Read more

Jan 31, 2022 (Bloomberg) Oil markets opened the week higher and were heading for the biggest January gain in at least 30 years as robust demand outpaced fresh supply.The global crude benchmark rose 0.8%, paring earlier gains, but remains on track for a 17% gain this month. West Texas Intermediate futures traded above $87 a barrel. … Read more

Jan 31, 2022 (Bloomberg) Russia’s natural gas production is forecast by the International Energy Agency to rise to a record high this year, even as Europe struggles with its worst energy crisis in decades.The country’s output and exports have been closely scrutinized by traders and European policymakers as gas prices in the region climbed to unprecedented … Read more

Jan 28 (Reuters) – U.S. energy firms added oil and natural gas rigs for a record 18th month in a row after boosting the rig count again this week as oil prices soared to their highest since 2014, prompting more drillers to return to the wellpad. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator … Read more

HOUSTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) – High global natural gas prices are breaking a two-year logjam of new U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects with at least three of the multibillion-dollar proposals likely achieving enough supply contracts to start construction this year, said developers and industry experts. A Louisiana project that received a green light in … Read more

MADRID, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Siemens Gamesa (SGREN.MC), the world’s largest maker of offshore wind turbines, expects current supply chain problems that have hit the global wind power sector to persist for a while, its chief executive said on Friday. “We are battling with raw material price increases, we see a severe crisis at the … Read more

Jan 28, 2022 (Bloomberg) Oil is headed for a sixth straight weekly gain, with prices trading near a seven-year high as crude makes a roaring start to 2022.West Texas Intermediate rose near $87 a barrel, taking its advance this week to more than 2%, while the global Brent benchmark approached $90 as robust demand tightened global … Read more

Jan 27, 2022 (Bloomberg) Brent oil hit a fresh a seven-year high as a robust crude market countered the U.S. Federal Reserve’s indication that it would soon start raising interest rates to quell inflation. Benchmark futures added almost a dollar to trade near $91 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was also the highest since 2014. The … Read more

Jan 27, 2022 Energy transition investment follows familiar patterns in global capital markets. Large, established financial institutions supply hundreds of billions of dollars a year to finance construction of long-lived assets using familiar zero-carbon technologies — i.e., deployment. Smaller institutions (some well-established, others quite new) supply tens of billions to fund company formation and the … Read more

Jan 26, 2022 (Bloomberg) OPEC and its allies are expected by delegates to stick to their plan and ratify another modest production increase next week as they try to satisfy rebounding oil demand.The 23-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will probably rubber-stamp a hike of 400,000 barrels a day for March, officials from about half … Read more

Jan 26, 2022 (Bloomberg) Brent oil climbed toward $89 a barrel after industry estimates showed a draw in U.S. stockpiles and investors tracked tensions over Ukraine.The global crude benchmark rose 0.9% in London. The American Petroleum Institute reported a 875,000-barrel weekly drop in U.S. crude stockpiles, according to people familiar with the data. If confirmed by … Read more

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) – The United States is in talks with major energy-producing countries and companies around the world over a potential diversion of supplies to Europe if Russia invades Ukraine, senior Biden administration officials said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters on a call, the officials did not name the specific countries or companies … Read more

HOUSTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) – The chiefs of major U.S. oil companies Occidental Petroleum Corp and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) offered differing outlooks on the growth of U.S. oil output at a conference on Monday, as the industry rebounds from shutdowns during the first stage of the coronavirus pandemic. Oil prices have surged to seven-year highs in the … Read more

by Irina Slave More from Irina Slav The IEA’s Fatih Birol has been at it again. And when I say “at it”, I mean defending renewables and tirelessly repeating they had absolutely nothing to do with the European energy crisis. It was all Russia’s fault because how dare Gazprom, which obviously has no other clients but … Read more

Jan 24 (Reuters) – Halliburton Co (HAL.N) posted a rise in fourth-quarter adjusted profit on Monday as higher crude oil prices drove up demand for its oilfield services and equipment. U.S. oil prices rose more than 50% last year and have made a strong start to 2022, hovering around $85 a barrel, thanks to the global economic … Read more

(Bloomberg) Three top investment banks are now expecting oil to hit $100 or more during the year, as supplies can barely keep up with a recovery in crude demand. High oil prices have been a thorn in the side of top oil consumers including the U.S. and China. Energy costs have been a major driver … Read more

Jan 24, 2022 (Bloomberg) Russian natural gas flows to Europe could be curtailed for “an indefinite period” if the nation’s new pipeline project to Germany is hit by sanctions as a result of escalating tensions over Ukraine, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.The bank still assumes that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will begin service in the … Read more

Jan 24, 2022 (Bloomberg) Oil in London traded near $88 a barrel as increasing geopolitical risks vied with broadly weaker equities markets.International benchmark Brent crude gained 0.3% after earlier climbing as much as 1.2%. Equities in Europe declined on Monday amid concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s imminent rate liftoff, but oil continues to trade near … Read more

(Bloomberg) The surging omicron variant is complicating the recovery for a world economy that continues to be wracked by supply chain chaos, worker absenteeism and faltering assembly lines. Supermarkets are struggling to stock shelves amid chronic staff shortages. Airlines are grounding flights. Manufacturers are facing disruption and shipping lines remain backed up. At the same time, surging energy prices are adding … Read more

Jan 23, 2022 (Bloomberg) How hard will energy-starved Europe be hit by a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine? It depends on how President Joe Biden reacts.Russia kept sending gas to Europe all through the Cold War, and more recently in the aftermath of its annexation of Crimea. Moscow is unlikely to want to risk damaging its … Read more

LONDON (Reuters) – OPEC+ compliance with oil production cuts rose to about 122% in December, two sources from the producer group told Reuters, indicating that some members continue to struggle to raise their output. The December figure compares with 117% in November. The International Energy Agency said this week that the group missed its production … Read more

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – A potential invasion of Ukraine by neighbouring Russia would be felt across a number of markets, from wheat and energy prices and the region’s sovereign dollar bonds to safe have assets. Below are four charts showing where a potential escalation of tensions could be felt across global markets: 1/SAFE HAVENS … Read more

A drilling rig operates in the Permian Basin oil and natural gas production area in Lea County, New Mexico, U.S., February 10, 2019. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo Jan 21 (Reuters) – U.S. energy firms this week cut oil rigs for the first time in 13 weeks after crude prices fell for six weeks in a row … Read more

by John Kemp Oil prices have risen to their highest for more than seven years, climbing above levels that triggered a U.S.-led release of strategic petroleum reserves last November. Policymakers may be less likely to respond at this time as consumers and businesses have had more time to grow accustomed to prices around current levels. … Read more

Jan 21, 2022 (Bloomberg) Oil dropped alongside other financial assets and commodities as crude’s sizzling rally to a seven-year high ran out of steam. Futures in New York slumped more than 3%, before paring losses to trade near $85 a barrel, as stock markets and raw materials including copper declined. Crude has gained more than 10% so … Read more

January 21, 2022 Goldman Sachs sees big oil companies perform well in 2022, boosted by strong positive consensus earnings revisions, improved ESG credentials and accelerating buybacks The brokerage points to “an era of structurally higher commodity prices on diminishing spare capacity” which will further fuel earnings momentum during 2022 The implementation of the EU Green … Read more

January 21, 2022 U.S. natural gas futures rose more than 3% on Friday on what is expected to be the country’s biggest gas demand day on record with forecasts for more cold weather and higher heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. In addition to boosting gas demand, the cold this week … Read more

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Oil prices will exceed pre-pandemic levels over the next few years but where they will settle remains extremely uncertain, my seventh annual survey of energy market professionals shows. Brent crude is expected to average $80-85 a barrel through the middle of the decade, up from expectations of $70 before the … Read more

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – The transition to clean energy required to prevent temperatures from rising swiftly could shave 2% off global GDP by 2050 but is likely recoverable before the end of the century, a report by natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday. While investments in technologies like solar and wind farms, … Read more

Jan 20, 2022 (Bloomberg) –Oil slipped from the highest close since 2014 after President Joe Biden pledged to continue trying to lower prices and an industry report pointed to a modest increase in U.S. crude stockpiles.Futures in London dipped near $88 a barrel after advancing over the past three sessions. While Biden does have some options to … Read more

OPEC and its allies are increasing oil production but can’t solve all the sector’s issues alone, the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said. The industry needs investment, through the involvement of international oil companies, in order to provide adequate supplies, Suhail Al-Mazrouei said, according to the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency. Failure to provide sufficient … Read more

Jan 19, 2022, (Bloomberg) Oil climbed to the highest since October 2014 as the International Energy Agency said the market looked tighter than previously thought, with demand proving resilient to omicron.The global supply surplus is shrinking and oil demand is on track to hit pre-pandemic levels, according to a report from the IEA. The agency also said there’s … Read more

Global oil markets look tighter than previously thought as demand suffers surprisingly little impact from the latest coronavirus strain while supplies are curbed by disruptions, the International Energy Agency said. The surplus facing world markets this year is shrinking, with oil demand — slightly upgraded from last month — on track to hit pre-pandemic levels … Read more