Crude oil prices are trending along six month highs, prompting relief and optimism for the weary oil and gas industry. West Texas Intermediate seems to have stabilized around $60 for the time being, but not till after rig counts plunged by approximately 60% and United States production leveled off for the first time since the shale boom began. In the
After 17 straight weeks of builds, Cushing sees a draw on crude inventories Global oversupply has prompted companies to sell production volumes on the future strip prices, pushing their production into storage hubs like Cushing, Oklahoma. Since the beginning of the year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reported massive crude oil inventory builds for 17 straight weeks, with inventory
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) maintained weeks of stabilization before falling below $44/barrel on March 16, 2015 – the lowest since a price of $42.33 on March 11, 2009. WTI exceeded $50/barrel earlier in the month as the falling rig counts and flat production forecasts seemed to assist in pushing up the price, but sky-high inventories and recent
Hofmeister looks for WTI to climb toward $100, while Morse sees one scenario at $20 John Hofmeister, former Shell Oil Company president, was on BNN today predicting the return–sooner than later–of much higher oil prices due to increasing decline rates, particularly from shale wells, increasing capital constraints and the recent dramatic decline in rig count, all factors that point to falling oil production in the U.S.
Falling Rig Count, CapEx Cuts Having Impact Groundhog Day might have been a scare for two out of three groundhogs, but not for the world’s oil bulls. In spite of warnings of a short-lived rally from some banks, oil prices managed to climb nicely on Feb. 2, maintaining about a $5 spread between the key benchmarks, WTI and Brent. Analysts point
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude has taken the oil and gas industry for a wild ride since June. From north of $105, so far we’ve rocketed down the first hill of the rollercoaster and we’re still screaming with our eyes closed. But if you go by the published WTI price forecasts of 32 large banks, crude is
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) exceeded Brent for the first time since July 2013 today, before closing at $48.63 – just $0.14 below its spot price counterpart. In an interview with Bloomberg, John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, said, “Strong refinery utilization here is giving WTI support, while Brent is tied to the oversupplied European market.”
The oil and gas industry wasn’t given much of a respite following the unofficial ending to the holiday season. Oil prices continued their plunge on Monday, January 5, 2015, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent prices closing at $49.78 and $53.12, respectively. The sub-$4.00 differential first appeared in December 2014. The last time the market saw a sub-$4.00 differential
OPEC Cuts Demand Forecast OPEC cut demand forecast for its crude oil to a 12-year low, sending oil prices, energy shares and the overall stock market into a dive on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at a day low of $60.43. On top of the OPEC demand cut, U.S. inventories increased on a day when expectations were for a
CIBC’s Katherine Spector Lays Out a Few Scenarios Head of Commodities Strategy for CIBC World Markets, Katherine Spector, hosted a conference call for CIBC clients on Wednesday morning in advance of both the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday and tomorrow’s much anticipated OPEC meeting and then spoke to Oil&Gas360® after the call in an exclusive interview about oil prices and OPEC.
On Monday, U.S. crude oil, reacting to a less worrisome geopolitical climate in Iraq and Ukraine, fell to its lowest level since January at $92.66 for October delivery. Monday’s “biggest decliners in the S&P 500 were oil drilling and exploration companies, which rely on high oil prices to justify pulling crude oil out of remote parts of the planet. Newfield
Production in the Permian is at an all-time high, but its prices per barrel are a different story. Spot prices at the Permian’s main hub in Midland, Texas, are trending among three-year lows. Its differential on August 25, 2014, was roughly $8 below the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price and approximately $17 below the Brent spot price. The growing differential
