Russia’s Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, expects that cuts in global shale oil production will help stabilize the oil market. He adds that Russia would not cut its own production which is currently standing around 10.7 million barrels per day.
Venezuela started importing light crude last year for the first time in its history. Most of the oil is being used as a diluent to formulate exportable blends.
“Oil’s price collapse is closing down high cost production from Eagle Ford in Texas to Russia and the North Sea, which may result in the loss next year of half a million barrels a day – the biggest decline in 24 years.”
Second-quarter 2015 financial statements from U.S. companies with onshore oil operations suggest continued financial strain for some companies. Some have turned to capital markets financing and have also reduced capital expenditures.
China imported 6.26 million barrels a day of crude in August – up 5.6% from the same month last year, but a 13.4$ drop from July this year. Almost half this growth has either gone into storage or been exported as fuels, it appears. Gasoline demand rose 17% over the first seven months of this year compared to the same period last year, but diesel consumption is weak.
DetailsIranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has said that most OPEC members would like to see crude prices at $70 to $80 a barrel. He considered that this price would be “fair” and added that Iran would boost output at any cost: “It’s our right to return to the level of production we historically had”.
DetailsResearch and analysis company Statistics Norway expects oil prices “to remain low going forward”, before increasing to around $60 in 2018. The company aded that they expected the slump in Norway’s oil and gas sector to level off from 2016.
DetailsHow resilient is Saudi Arabia to a projected deficit of 14-20% of GDP owing to the drop in oil prices? Saudi officials have a wider range of policy instruments in their toolkit than is sometimes perceived in the international media.
DetailsThe North Sea and Nigeria will ship the most crude in more than three years in October, adding to downward pressure on oil prices. Output of North Sea grades will reach the highest since May 2012 in October, and supplies from Nigeria are set to reach a level not seen since August of the same year.
DetailsVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that the price of oil should be a minimum of $70 a barrel in order for the necessary oil investments to be made. He added: “If that’s not the case, take note, investments will fall, and stocks will not be replaced by investment, and in one year we will have a price of $200”.
DetailsWhen the oil price halved last year the cause was obvious: Saudi Arabia’s decision to increase its share of the global oil market by expanding production. But what accounts for the further plunge in oil prices in the last few weeks to lows last seen in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, and how will it affect the world economy?
DetailsIn the first half of 2015 Saudi Arabia exported more than half its crude exports to Asia. The Kingdom increased production and kept its export levels high enabling it to maintain its market share in the countries in question. However, long-term trends in Saudi Arabia’s domestic energy sector and competition from other oil exporting nations may result in a decline in the Kingdom’s global crude oil market share.
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