Markets

Oil Rallies on Libya Pipeline Explosion

Published

7 years ago

December 28, 2017

Oil Rallies on Libya Pipeline Explosion

Oil traded above $66 a barrel as crude production in Libya fell below 1 million barrels a day after a pipeline explosion Tuesday.

Futures were little changed in New York after slipping for the first time in more than a week Wednesday. While the halt at the pipeline that carries crude to Libya’s biggest export terminal will keep output below the cap it agreed to last month, it is said to need about a week for repairs. Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report U.S. inventories dropped last week. Government data is also forecast to show stockpiles declined.

Oil is heading for a second yearly advance as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners including Russia extended supply curbs through the end of 2018. The disruption in the North African nation lifted prices to the highest level in more than two years on Tuesday, offsetting the impact from the return of a major U.K. North Sea pipeline after a shutdown.

“Oil’s rally on the pipeline explosion in Libya may be short-lived as it’s been reported that the repair may not take too much time,” Kim Yumi, a Seoul-based market strategist at Kiwoom Securities Co., said by phone. “We will continue to see prices easing and then being elevated again because while falling stockpiles support prices, rising U.S. production will restrain any increase.”

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery was at $59.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 14 cents, at 4:06 p.m. in Seoul. Total volume traded was about 34 percent below the 100-day average. The contract dropped 33 cents to $59.64 Wednesday.

Brent for February settlement, which expires Thursday, added 18 cents to $66.62 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after falling 0.9 percent Wednesday. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $6.85 to WTI. The more-active March contract was 19 cents higher at $66.18.

Libya’s production dropped to 950,000 barrels a day on Wednesday, a person directly involved in the matter said. Output was 1.08 million barrels a day as of Dec. 18, indicating a drop of 12 percent. While loadings at the Es Sider port are said to be down about 50 percent, it was scheduled to ship 13 cargoes this month, each carrying 600,000 barrels of crude, according to a loading plan obtained by Bloomberg.

U.S. crude stockpiles dropped 5.96 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. Gasoline inventories rose by 3.13 million barrels last week, according to the API.

Oil stockpiles probably contracted by 3.75 million barrels last week, according to the median estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey before the release of Energy Information Administration data Thursday.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Crude Oil

Oil Prices Rebound on OPEC+ Output Delay Talks and U.S. Inventory Drop

Published

2 days ago

September 5, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Oil prices made a modest recovery on Thursday on the expectations that OPEC+ may delay planned production increases and the drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, rose by 66 cents, or 0.9% to $73.36 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude appreciated by 64 cents or 0.9% to $69.84 per barrel.

The rebound in oil prices was a result of the American Petroleum Institute (API) report that revealed that the U.S. crude oil inventories had fallen by a surprising 7.431 million barrels last week, against analysts 1 million barrel decline projection.

The decline signals better than projected demand for the commodity in the United States of America and offers some relief for traders on global demand.

John Evans, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates, attributed the rebound in crude oil prices to the API report.

He said, “There is a pause of breath and light reprieve for oil prices.”

Also, discussions within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are fueling speculation about a potential delay in planned output increases.

The group was initially expected to increase production by 180,000 a day in October 2024.

However, concerns over softening demand in China and potential developments in Libya’s oil production have prompted the group to reconsider its strategy.

Despite the recent rebound, analysts caution that lingering uncertainties around global oil demand may continue to weigh on prices in the near term.

Energy

Power Generation Surges to 5,313 MW, But Distribution Issues Persist

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Nigeria’s power generation continues to get better under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

According to the latest statement released by Bolaji Tunji, the media aide to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, power generation surged to a three-year high of 5,313 megawatts (MW).

“The national grid on Monday hit a record high of 5,313MW, a record high in the last three years,” the statement disclosed.

Reacting to this, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, called on power distribution companies to take more energy to prevent grid collapse as the grid’s frequency drops when power is produced and not picked by the Discos.

He added that efforts would be made to encourage industries to purchase bulk energy.

However, a top official of one of the Discos was quoted as saying that the power companies were finding it difficult to pick the extra energy produced by generation companies because they were not happy with the tariff on other bands apart from Band A.

“As it is now, we are operating at a loss. Yes, they supply more power but this problem could be solved with improved tariff for the other bands and more meter penetration to recover the cost,” the Disco official, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, said.

On Saturday, the ministry said power generation that peaked at 5,170MW was ramped down by 1,400MW due to Discos’ energy rejection.

Crude Oil

Again NNPC Raises Petrol Price to N897/litre

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2024

Investors King

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has once again increased the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N855 per litre on Tuesday to N897 on Wednesday.

The increase was after Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of Dangote Refinery, announced the commencement of petrol production at its refinery.

The continuous increase in pump prices has raised concerns among Nigerians despite the initial excitement from the refinery announcement.

According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the 650,000 barrels per day refinery will supply 25 million litres of petrol to the Nigerian market daily this September.

This, NMDPRA said will increase to 30 million litres per day in October.

However, the promise of increased fuel supply has not yet eased the situation on the ground.

Tunde Ayeni, a commercial bus driver at an NNPC station in Ikoyi, said “I have been in the queue since 6 a.m. waiting for them to start selling, but we just realised that the pump price has been changed to N897. This is terrible, and yet they still haven’t started selling the product.”

The price hike comes as NNPC continues to struggle with sustaining regular fuel supply.

On Sunday, the company warned that its ability to maintain steady distribution across the country was under threat due to financial strain.

NNPC cited rising supply costs as the cause of its difficulties in keeping up with demand.