Global Oil and Gas News

Brent oil rises towards $118, U.S. debt looms

July 28, 2011
Brent oil rose toward $118 on Thursday as a storm heading toward the Gulf of Mexico raised the threat of supply disruption and wary traders waited to see whether the United States could break a political deadlock over its debt limit.

Brent gained 31 cents to $117.74 a barrel by 1350 GMT (9:50 a.m. EDT).

U.S. crude was up 17 cents to $97.57. The front-month contract hit a seven-session low of $96.51 earlier after data on Wednesday showed a rise in U.S. inventories.

“The first storms of the Atlantic hurricane season have hit the headlines, reminding the market of potential supply disruptions from an expected active hurricane season,” said Natalie Robertson, an analyst at ANZ.

Traders said the market was range-bound and volumes were subdued by protracted uncertainty over the health of the world’s biggest economy and top oil user.

A vote on a bill to cut the U.S. deficit — a necessary step before the debt ceiling can be raised to avoid a potentially catastrophic U.S. default — was expected to be nail-bitingly close on Thursday.

“We are now starting to see markets beginning to seize up in light of the dangerous game of chicken being played by the politicians in Washington,” Edward Meir of MF Global wrote in a daily note.

Read more: Reuters.com

Glencore, Hin Leong buy almost 7 mln bbls of gas oil in July

July 28, 2011
* Glencore also buys at least 9 mln bbls of gas oil swaps
* Physical cargoes could be headed to China, Indonesia- trade (Adds background, comments)

SINGAPORE, July 28 (Reuters) – Glencore , the world’s largest diversified commodities trader, and Singapore oil company Hin Leong have purchased almost seven million barrels of gas oil in the spot market since the beginning of July, Reuters data showed on Thursday. Glencore has picked up at least 3.75 million barrels of the 0.5 percent sulphur gas oil, while Hin Leong has bought around three million barrels of the same high-sulphur grade. The volume of gas oil purchased by both trading company’s could fill up at least three supertankers, traders said.

Glencore and Hin Leong did not respond immediately to a request for comment. “The size of their purchase is comparable to some of our oil storage terminals in Singapore,” said a derivatives trader with a Wall Street bank.

“This is not small. It’s a big, big play especially with regional demand not looking very hot at the moment.”

The Asian gas oil market has been depressed by high inventories and weaker than expected demand from China and Vietnam, traders said.

Read more: Reuters.com

British Gas owner Centrica attacked over £1.3bn profits

July 28, 2011
Centrica seems to benefit whether energy costs are high or low, says Consumer Focus

The row over household energy prices was ignited again on Thursdaywhen Centrica, the parent group of British Gas, unveiled operating profits of £1.3bn in the first half of the year.

These “adjusted” profits, achieved on revenues of £11.5bn, were 19% lower than 2010 – but they were enough for Centrica to unveil a 12% increase in the dividend payment for shareholders, to 4.29p per share.

The company said that the residential arm of British Gas recorded a 54% slump in operating profits and argued that business would have been driven into loss in the second half of the year without the recently announced 18% increase in gas prices and 16% rise in electricity bills to some of the company’s 9 million UK consumers.

Nick Luff, Centrica’s finance director, said that domestic energy prices were largely driven up by rising wholesale costs, while the group needed profits to invest in the future.

He said: “We made operating profits of £1.3bn but we also invested £1.3bn and if we are not going to invest in future oil and gas projects then the country will only see even higher energy prices.”

Read more: Guardian.co.uk

A big shale play in California

July 27, 2011
California stands poised for a crude rejuvenation of sorts, as development of the Monterey

Shale play holds a key to reversing the state’s decades-old trend of declining production.

Call it a “California revolution,” as does Phil McPherson, a senior research analyst with Global Hunter Securities.

Bakken and Eagle Ford, the all-stars of the U.S. shale crude plays, draw the headlines — and the investment dollars — but it is the Monterey that could hold the greatest potential.

In the Energy Information Administration’s recently released “Review of Emerging Resources,” the federal agency pegs the Monterey play at 15.42 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil, compared to the Bakken’s 3.59 billion and the Eagle Ford’s 3.35 billion.

The Monterey shale overlaps much of California’s traditional crude producing regions. It generally runs in two swaths: a roughly 50-mile wide ribbon running length of the San Joaquin Valley and coastal hills, and a Pacific Coast strip of similiar width between Santa Barbara and Orange County.

Add to the mix an improved regulatory climate with faster permitting, an uptick in rig counts, and increased interest from independents, and California’s oil fields have become “a great place for investors to look,” McPherson said. “Their day in the sun is about to come.”

Read more: PeakOil.com

ROC trims FY spend, still on Malaysia hunt

July 27, 2011

ROC Oil Company has trimmed its full year exploration and capital spend as it continues to seek new projects in Malaysia.

Sydney-based ROC said it expected to spend between $US90 million and $US100 million ($82.5 million to $91.7 million) this calendar year, compared to its previous guidance of less than $US120 million.

The reduction was mainly due to the revised timing of capital expenditure on its Beibu Gulf joint venture in China and savings as a result of African asset sales.

ROC also stuck to its full year oil production guidance of between 7,000 and 8,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from oil fields in China, Western Australia, the North Sea and Mauritania.

It has been for several months focused on expanding in China, entering Malaysia, and selling its African assets and stake in the troubled Basker-Manta-Gummy project offshore Victoria.

Read more: TheAustralian.com.au

Oil falls as U.S. debt crisis drags on; stocks gain unexpectedly

July 27, 2011
* Unexpected increase in crude stocks weighs on U.S. oil

* Rising demand, reduced output put floor on crude -analyst

* Brent oil neutral in $115-$120/bbl range -technicals

By Manash Goswami

SINGAPORE, July 27 (Reuters) – Oil fell on Wednesday as a stalemate in the United States over raising the debt ceiling dragged on, with analysts saying the wrangling had already damaged the economy.

Lawmakers have one week left to hash out a deficit-cutting plan without which Republicans in Congress have said they will not raise the legal $14.3 trillion debt limit. That uncertainty helped drive gold to an all-time high for the sixth time in two weeks on Wednesday, while stock markets and base metals fell.

Brent LCOc1 slipped 4 cents to $118.24 a barrel by 0238 GMT, after settling 34 cents higher on Tuesday. U.S. oil CLc1 slumped 33 cents to $99.25, as an industry report showed crude stocks in the country rose unexpectedly.

“The debt saga in the U.S. is weighing on both the futures contracts, and prices will remain rangebound till the time this issue is resolved,” said Victor Shum, an analyst at Purvin & Gertz. “Weighing on U.S. prices in particular is the increase in crude stocks.”

Shum expects U.S. oil to trade between $95 and $100 and Brent between $115 and $120 till the time the debt ceiling issue is resolved in the world’s biggest consumer.

Both the benchmarks are technically neutral, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Brent will be within $115-$120 per barrel, and is due for a fierce move, while U.S. oil is expected to be within $97.96-$100.62 per barrel, and needs to move out of the range before its next move can be evaluated.

U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly last week, as refinery operations fell, weekly data from oil industry group American Petroleum Institute showed. Crude stocks rose by 4 million barrels confounding analysts expectations for a 1.7 million-barrel draw in a Reuters poll.

Read more: Reuters.com