Crude oil inventories in the United States rose this week by 4.906 million barrels for the week ending April 26, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). For the week prior, the API reported a 3.23 million barrel draw in crude inventories. On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose by 0.6 million barrels as of April 26. Inventories are now at 366.3 million barrels—the highest point since last April. Oil... Читать дальше...
After the biggest first quarter for global upstream dealmaking in five years, the industry could see another $150 billion of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the remainder of 2024. With global M&A deal value crossing the $64 billion mark already this year, it represents the strongest first-quarter performance since 2019 and a 145% increase on the first quarter of 2023, fueled primarily by consolidation in the US shale patch. Deals in North America totaled $54 billion in the first quarter of the year... Читать дальше...
Azerbaijan has spent much of the past half-year thumbing its nose at the United States and European Union over Western criticism of Baku’s authoritarian political practices. But it appears the West has at least one weapon in its arsenal capable of getting Azerbaijani leaders’ attention. That tool is money. Or more specifically, the ability to hinder Azerbaijani officials from moving around the world and spending it. Rights advocates in Baku and elsewhere say it is no surprise an Azerbaijani court... Читать дальше...
Uranium stocks moved higher late in the US cash session after a report from Bloomberg, citing "people familiar with the matter," revealed that the Biden administration is considering an executive order to ban Russian imports of enriched uranium after congressional efforts stall. Officials from the White House National Security Council, the Department of Energy, and other top-level officials have discussed reducing reliance on Russian uranium imports. The people said the potential ban could include... Читать дальше...
Profits at ExxonMobil and Chevron have dropped compared to the record-highs of the past two years, but the U.S. supermajors are doubling down on oil production from the two most prolific growth basins, the Permian shale patch and a top-performing block offshore Guyana. Both Exxon and Chevron plan to further boost their footprint and oil production in the U.S. and the South American country. Until a few months ago, the key growth driver was higher drilling activity and improved efficiency in the Permian. Читать дальше...
OPEC’s crude oil production fell in April, according to a new Reuters survey, with news of the fall likely to add support to falling oil prices. According to the survey, the results of which were released on Tuesday, OPEC’s crude oil production fell to 26.49 million barrels per day—that’s a 114,000 bpd drop from the levels OPEC produced in March, according to OPEC’s official March figure. According to revised Reuters figures for March production, the group’s ouput sagged by 99,000 bpd in April. The... Читать дальше...
"You and I are not just driving along any road, we are driving along the great Silk Road," Ertugan, the driver who is taking me east toward the border with China, says with pride. But today instead of camel caravans carrying silk and spices, the route rumbles with trucks hauling sneakers and bed linen. As we near Zharkent, a city in Kazakhstan's southeastern Zhetysu region, we approach a car transporter that has been burned to a husk along with the Chinese electric vehicles it was hauling to market. Читать дальше...
As part of their commitment to compensate for exceeding production quotas, certain OPEC+ members have submitted detailed plans outlining how they intend to implement these compensatory cuts. Both Iraq and Kazakhstan, nations that had surpassed their agreed-upon oil production targets by several hundred thousand barrels per day in the first quarter of the year, have submitted their respective plans to the alliance. Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry confirmed via email that it has finalized its schedule for compensatory cuts. Читать дальше...
WTI crude found resistance at $81 per barrel this morning, countering a sell-off as traders discount geopolitical risk.Despite Strong Production Momentum, US Oil Majors Fail to Impress- ExxonMobil and Chevron reported a combined net profit of $13.7 billion in their Q1 2024 earnings, $8.2 and $5.5 billion respectively, as oil majors saw squeezed natural gas prices and lower refinery margins, marginally offset by higher oil production. - ExxonMobil’s Q1 results have disappointed the market, prompting... Читать дальше...
Tepid demand for diesel and other distillate products such as heating oil has had traders competing for storage tanks on the U.S. East Coast to wait out the current market weakness, Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting data from storage broker The Tank Tiger. Demand for distillate storage at New York Harbor has jumped to around 300,000 barrels in April, compared to no bidder interest in March, according to The Tank Tiger’s data that assesses interest in leasing storage tanks. A warmer winter... Читать дальше...
Via Metal Miner Although the beginning of the year offered mixed signals for the global economy, US markets today continue to experience positivity. Prices for general markets witnessed an uptrend in late February, followed by a continuation in March and a reversal in April. Fueled by buyer sentiment, the S&P 500 index notched its best first quarterly performance since 2019, ending the month of March at all-time highs. Meanwhile, recent economic data defied recessionary fears, with unemployment remaining shockingly low. Читать дальше...
The G7 group of the world’s most industrialized nations is set to announce later on Tuesday a pledge to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2035 but could include some leeway to Germany and Japan, Reuters reports, citing diplomatic sources. The energy, climate, and environment ministers of the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – are meeting between Sunday and Tuesday at a palace near Turin to discuss ways to address climate change.... Читать дальше...
Oil and gas producers in Texas have significantly increased in recent weeks the number of requests to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) to allow flaring on some operations as low natural gas prices and a glut of supply present challenges to the drillers how to get rid of the unwanted gas. RRC, the oil and gas industry regulator of Texas, approved last week as many as 21 requests from producers to be exempt from rules banning or limiting flaring, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The U.S. natural gas benchmark... Читать дальше...
Utility giant Enel, one of Europe’s largest power generators, is set to pay higher interest rates on its sustainability-linked bonds as it has tied the coupons to an emissions reduction target it has missed. Italy-based Enel – which also has large operations in Spain, North America, and South America – has failed to meet its 2023 emission targets. Since it has linked the emissions target to several sustainability-linked bonds, the utility giant now faces higher coupon payments. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]... Читать дальше...
Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE: MPC) reported on Tuesday higher-than-expected earnings and revenues for the first quarter despite lower refining margins and profits compared to the same period last year. Marathon Petroleum’s first-quarter net income came in at $937 million, or $2.58 per diluted share, one of the biggest U.S. refiners said today. The earnings per share were slightly higher than the analyst consensus estimate of $2.54 compiled by The Wall Street Journal. Total revenues of $33.2 billion... Читать дальше...
Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland has received the field development plan for a new North Sea oil and gas field that will be tied back to an existing platform and is expected to cost $572 million (6.3 billion Norwegian crowns). The field operator, OKEA, has submitted the plan for development and operation (PDO) of the oil and gas field Bestla, to be tied back to the Brage platform, which would extend the life of the Brage field, the Norwegian Energy Ministry said on Tuesday. Earlier this month... Читать дальше...
An Alberta First Nation has filed a proposal for Imperial Oil shareholders to make the company disclose the potential impact of the energy transition on its operations and more specifically its obligations regarding the retirement of assets once they stop producing. The proposal aims to force Imperial Oil to report the expected effect of different transition scenarios on the long-term future of its assets and their retirement, including reclamation activities—and their costs. The event that prompted the proposal... Читать дальше...
Brazil’s Petrobras recorded a 4.4% increase in its crude oil production over the first quarter of the year, with the average daily rate at 2.24 million barrels. The company attributed the increased output to ramp-ups at five platforms and the start of commercial extraction from 19 new wells in the Santos and Campos basins, Reuters reported. These brought the average daily oil equivalent production rate to 2.78 million barrels. A little over two-thirds of the total came from the pre-salt zone and... Читать дальше...
Reports on what authors like to call the end of the oil era were a frequent reading some 20 years ago. At the time, the focus was peak supply and the consequent need to find alternatives to the fuel that powers the world. Now, 20 years later, there is once again a surge in reports and analyses predicting the end of the oil era. This time, however, they focus on the death of demand driven by alternative sources of energy. And the world’s biggest oil-producing group has had enough. In an op-ed for... Читать дальше...
Perhaps even more than its targeting of Russian oil exports, the U.S. has been laser-focused on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector as they key area it wants to effectively destroy over the long term. Last week’s suspension of Russia’s flagship Arctic LNG-2 project by lead operator Novatek is the latest of Washington’s trophies in this regard, but it is very unlikely to be the last. As U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt said on 24 April: “[Novatek] has recently... Читать дальше...
Much lower natural gas prices this year compared to 2023 dragged down profits at some of the largest oil and gas companies, which have so far reported a mixed bag of earnings for the first quarter of 2024. U.S. supermajors ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as France's TotalEnergies, all cited lower natural gas prices as a key downward pressure on earnings that couldn't be fully offset by stable crude oil and liquids realizations and refining margins. Exxon reported on Friday underwhelming earnings... Читать дальше...
The pictures didn't necessarily say a thousand words, but they might have gotten at least that many laughs. One showed British Foreign Secretary David Cameron bursting birdlike through the entrance of a traditional Turkmen yurt at a museum in Ashgabat. Another, shared by the British Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, featured Cameron gazing thoughtfully down a concrete irrigation channel in Kyrgyzstan. And from Uzbekistan, there was a snap of Cameron marveling over a giant pot of "plov," the nation's favorite dish. Читать дальше...
