Showing posts with label OPEC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OPEC. Show all posts

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Saudis take 'big hit' as OPEC seals first joint oil cut with Russia since 2001


VIENNA -- OPEC agreed on Wednesday its first oil output cuts since 2008 after Saudi Arabia accepted "a big hit" on its production and dropped its demand on arch-rival Iran to slash output.

Non-OPEC Russia will also join output reductions for the first time in 15 years to help the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries prop up oil prices.

Brent crude jumped over 9 percent to more than $50 a barrel as Riyadh reached a compromise with Iran and after fast-growing producer Iraq also agreed to curtail its booming output.

"OPEC has proved to the sceptics that it is not dead. The move will speed up market rebalancing and erosion of the global oil glut," said OPEC watcher Amrita Sen from consultancy Energy Aspects.

Iran and Russia are effectively fighting two proxy wars against Saudi Arabia, in Yemen and Syria, and many sceptics had said the countries would struggle to find a compromise amid frosty political relations.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said ahead of the meeting that the kingdom was prepared to accept "a big hit" on production to get a deal done.

"I think it is a good day for the oil markets, it is a good day for the industry and ... it should be a good day for the global economy. I think it will be a boost to global economic growth," he told reporters after the decision.

OPEC produces a third of global oil, or around 33.6 million barrels per day, and under the Wednesday deal it would reduce output by around 1.2 million bpd from January 2017.

Saudi Arabia will take the lion's share of cuts by reducing output by almost 0.5 million bpd to 10.06 million bpd. Its Gulf OPEC allies -- the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar -- would cut by a total 0.3 million bpd.

Iraq, which had insisted on higher output quotas to fund its fight against Islamic State militants, unexpectedly agreed to reduce production -- by 0.2 million bpd.

Iran was allowed to boost production slightly from its October level -- a major victory for Tehran, which has long argued it needs to regain market share lost under Western sanctions.

Clashes between Saudi Arabia and Iran dominated many previous OPEC meetings.

"If you get this deal done, it would be huge. You remove a lot of oil from the market and you get the Russian participation," said veteran OPEC watcher and founder of Pira consultancy Gary Ross.

He said oil could rise to $55 per barrel.

Will OPEC comply?

Falih had long insisted OPEC would do an output-limiting deal only if non-OPEC producers contributed.

OPEC president Qatar said non-OPEC producers had agreed to reduce output by a further 0.6 million bpd, of which Russia would contribute some 0.3 million.

Russia, which had long resisted cutting output, pushed its production to new record highs in recent months.

"Russia will gradually cut output in the first half of 2017 by up to 300,000 barrels per day, on a tight schedule as technical capabilities allow,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told a briefing in Moscow.

Novak, who spoke an hour after OPEC announced its deal, did not say from which output levels Russia would cut.

A combined output reduction of 1.8 million bpd by OPEC and non-OPEC represents almost 2 percent of global output and would help the market clear a stocks overhang, which had sent prices crashing from levels as high as $115 a barrel seen in mid-2014.

Non-OPEC Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have said they might also cut.

OPEC suspended Indonesia's membership on Wednesday since the country, a net importer, could not cut output, Qatar said.

The move will not affect OPEC's overall reduction as Indonesia's share of cuts will be redistributed among other members.

Bob McNally, president of Washington-based consultancy Rapidan group, said on Twitter that compliance with cuts would be key: "In deals with Russia, OPEC is like (the late US) President (Ronald) Reagan used to say: 'Trust but verify'."

OPEC will hold talks with non-OPEC producers on December 9. The organization will also have its next meeting on May 25 to monitor the deal and could extend it for six months, Qatar said.

source: interaksyon.com

Friday, October 9, 2015

World oil prices edge higher on OPEC remarks


LONDON - The oil market drifted higher Thursday as investors digested an upbeat demand forecast from the head of the OPEC crude producers' cartel.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November added seven cents to stand at $51.40 per barrel just after midday in London.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November won eight cents to $47.89 per barrel compared with Wednesday's close.

"Oil prices are... recouping some of the losses they suffered yesterday," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

"The optimistic remarks made about oil demand by OPEC Secretary General El-Badri still appear to be having after-effects," he added.

Traders were mulling remarks by Abdalla Salem El-Badri, secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, who stated that demand will rise more than projected this year.

"World oil demand is estimated to increase by 1.5 million barrels per day in 2015, higher than the initial projection," El-Badri said in a statement to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"In 2016, improvement in global economic activities is anticipated to support world oil demand to grow by 1.3 million barrels per day."

Prices had tumbled Wednesday after a US Department of Energy report showed commercial crude stockpiles rose more than expected in the week ending October 2, indicating softer demand in the world's top oil consuming nation.

Stockpiles rose by 3.1 million barrels, more than the market estimate of 2.25 million barrels. That brought inventories to 461.0 million barrels, more than 27 percent higher than a year ago.

US production, which had fallen by 40,000 barrels per day in the previous week, unexpectedly surged by 76,000 barrels per day, dousing hopes of an easing in the global crude oversupply.

Sanjeev Gupta, who heads the Asia Pacific oil and gas practice at professional services firm EY, added that traders were waiting for Thursday's release of minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve for further clues on the health of the US economy.

source: interaksyon.com

Monday, March 9, 2015

Brent drops toward $59 as dollar firms on U.S. jobs data


SINGAPORE - Brent crude fell toward $59 a barrel on Monday as a promising U.S. jobs report pushed the dollar up, offsetting geopolitical tensions and the threat of output cuts in Libya and Iraq.

The dollar hit a more than 11-year high against a basket of currencies after data showed the U.S. unemployment rate fell to the lowest since May 2008 in February, making commodities priced in the greenback costlier for holders of other currencies

Brent eased 43 cents to $59.30 by 0445 GMT, after dropping 75 cents in the previous session. It fell 4.6 percent last week in its biggest decline since the week ended Jan. 9.

U.S. crude was down 27 cents at $49.34. It closed down $1.15 on Friday to complete a third week of declines.

Goldman Sachs  said in a note that oil prices would reverse recent gains on rising global inventories, with U.S. crude expected to drop to around $40 a barrel.

Oil prices rose by almost a third between January and February on the back of Middle East supply disruptions, strong winter demand and high refinery margins.

But the focus is now on the dollar, analysts said.

"The U.S. dollar is continuing to strengthen. In the short-term it's more about the dollar than anything else," said Ben LeBrun, market analyst at Sydney's OptionsXpress.

U.S. economic data to be released on Tuesday could lead to a further strengthening of the U.S. dollar which would be negative for commodities including oil, said LeBrun.

He said geopolitical issues in North Africa and the Middle East "are all playing second fiddle to the U.S. dollar".

Goldman said in its note that "absent further unexpected OPEC disruptions, we expect Brent oil prices and timespreads to reverse their recent strength".

Members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should not cut output to "subsidize" higher-cost shale, OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri has said.

In Libya, up to 10 foreign workers are missing in the latest attack on the country's oil fields by Islamist militants and there is a possibility they have been taken hostage, Czech and Libyan officials said on Saturday.

Brent should trade within a range of $55.36-$63.04 this week, said Singapore's Phillip Futures in a note on Monday.

U.S. crude should trade between $48.45-$55.02 although prices could move sharply upwards if the U.S. refinery strikes end this week, Phillip Futures said.

source: interaksyon.com