Drilling activity up: the U.S. adds ten more rigs this week – more rigs drilling in the Barnett today than a year ago The rig count in the U.S. continued to climb for a third-straight week this week, according to information released from Baker Hughes Industries (ticker: BHI). Ten more rigs joined the total number of active rigs this week
Niger Delta Avengers bomb Shell and Eni pipelines A militant group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers continues to attack oil and gas infrastructure in Nigeria in a bid to undermine the current presidential administration. On Friday, the group bombed two pipelines, one owned by Royal Dutch Shell (ticker: RDSA) and the other owned by Eni (ticker: E), according to
From Reuters Oil prices hit six-month highs on Monday on worries about global supply outages and as long-time bear Goldman Sachs sounded more positive on the market, although a stockpile build at the U.S. storage hub for crude futures pared gains. Expectations of resumption in oil exports from a Libyan port, a ramp up in Nigerian crude production by
Wildfires burning out of control in Fort McMurray Fort McMurray, the heart of much of Canada’s heavy oil sands production, has been evacuated due to a wildfire burning out of control in and around the city. The evacuations have forced the oil sands operations in the surrounding area to lower production as works and their families flee to safety. Operators
Sees Global Glut Shrinking in 2016 Looking toward a receding global oil oversupply, the World Bank has raised its 2016 price target for oil to $41, up from $37. In its latest Commodity Markets Outlook report, the organization cites the effects of lower production from U.S. shale and disruptions in Iraq and Nigeria. The report, published quarterly, looks at global supply and demand
Oil prices start the day down as Kuwaiti workers end strike Oil workers in Kuwait ended a three-day strike today that lent support to oil prices earlier this week following the failure of a mixed group of OPEC and non-OPEC producers to come to an agreement on a production freeze Sunday. The strike saw production in OPEC’s fourth-largest producer fall
Freeze agreement falls apart without Iran Discussion between key OPEC and non-OPEC producers about freezing production at January levels has pushed oil prices up from below $30 per barrel to more than $40 ahead of yesterday’s fruitless meeting in Doha, Qatar. Back in January, U.S. crude oil benchmark WTI fell to a 2016 low of $26.55 per barrel while international
Intervale Capital’s Managing Partner Charles Cherington isn’t putting too much faith in the recent oil price rally. After five straight weeks of oil price gains, Cherington told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday, March 21 (when WTI was ~$40 per barrel) that he believed prices would go lower. Here’s why: Cherington said there’s a 17:1 ratio of underlying derivatives to the
$80 Oil + $4 NatGas + 1,300 Rigs Working After the news of the past few weeks, it felt like we were getting really close to the day when investors and oil industry spouses might be ready to throw in the towel. Then EnerCom’s 14th west coast investor conference unearthed something in the shadow of the Transamerica Building. By blending together a batch of
Production overhang beginning to slow, but “sustainable price recovery more likely a 2017 event”: Wells Fargo Oil prices continued their gains today as a report from the IEA indicated that prices may have finally bottomed out, and are beginning to recover. In the agency’s March Oil Market Report (OMR), the IEA noted that oil supplies decreased by 180 MBOPD in
WTI crude oil prices hold above $29 per barrel, while production remains steady Crude oil prices shot up over 12% last Friday, moving prices up from a 12-year low last week. Comments from The UAE’s Oil Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei about OPEC being ready for production cuts excited trading, with many hoping OPEC might reprise its role as a
OPEC member Nigeria looking to fund power, transport and road infrastructure projects with cheap money Nigeria, an OPEC member and Africa’s largest economy, is looking to international institutions in order to fund its record-setting 2016 budget. With approximately 35% of GDP, 75% of government revenue and 90% of export earnings coming from oil, the continued low price of crude oil
