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Thread: Saudi Arabia and OPEC are doomed.

  1. #661
    Thanks to the booming shale production, U.S. light oil exports have increased, taking market shares out of the lighter grades that Saudi Arabia and its fellow OPEC members are exporting to Asia.
    Moreover, increased crude oil production in the U.S. has also resulted in higher oil product exports which, combined with higher Chinese refined product exports, have created an oversupply of products in Asia, crashing refining margins earlier in December.

    U.S. light crude oil exports to Asia have also grown and even with China shunning American crude, U.S. sales to OPEC’s key market Asia have held relatively steady since August this year, according to data from Kpler compiled by Bloomberg.


    As OPEC is getting ready for another round of production cuts beginning January, Saudi Arabia for example is hell-bent on keeping its market share in Asia and has recently slashed the January prices of all its grades going to Asia, while it raised the prices for all grades bound for the U.S., Northwest Europe, and the Mediterranean. Saudi Aramco’s deepest cuts in Asian pricing were for the Super Light and Extra Light grades, slashed by US$2 and $1.50 a barrel from December’s prices, respectively. The official selling prices (OSPs) of Arab Light, Medium, and Heavy were also cut, by between $0.40 and $1.00 a barrel.
    The deepest cuts in the lighter grades reflect Saudi Arabia’s effort to keep its market share in Asia as competition from U.S. light oil intensifies, according to analysts.

    In early December, the gasoline refining margin at the Singapore hub, viewed as a benchmark for Asia, slumped to a loss and to the lowest level against Brent prices since November 2011. Loss-making gasoline margins weighed on Asia’s overall refining profits, which hit in early December their lowest since August 2016, despite crumbling crude oil prices, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon, as carried by Reuters.
    China is reportedly raising its fuel export quota for 2019 by 13 percent, which could additionally weigh on product oversupply.
    According to data compiled by Bloomberg, this year average monthly U.S. exports to Asia of light distillates—including gasoline and naphtha—have been nearly triple the export levels over the past two years.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...e-In-Asia.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment



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  3. #662
    Days before OPEC’s production cuts started on January 1, France’s Total had started up oil production from Nigeria’s ultra-deepwater oil field Egina, which is expected to produce 200,000 bpd at peak output.
    The French supermajor began production at the Egina oil field on December 29, Total said on Wednesday. The Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit that was used to develop the ultra-deep Egina oil field is the largest such unit that Total has ever built, according to the French group. Total noted that the plateau production at the ultra-deepwater field would be 200,000 barrels of oil per day, which would account for some 10 percent of Nigeria’s oil production.
    Nigeria, which wasn’t spared from the new OPEC/non-OPEC production cuts this time around, is expected to contribute with up to 40,000 bpd to the 800,000 bpd OPEC had pledged to cut from January, Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu told local news outlet THISDAY last month. The 40,000-bpd figure is some 2.5 percent of Nigeria’s current crude oil production of 1.7 million bpd, the minister said in the first half of December.

    Total is set to begin exports from the new ultra-deep Egina oil field offshore Nigeria as early as in February 2019, at an initial rate of just over 100,000 bpd, Bloomberg reported two weeks ago, quoting a copy of a loading program for the new grade it had seen.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...uts-Begin.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  4. #663
    Iraq’s oil exports jumped in December compared to November, as exports from the southern ports at Basra hit a record high and exports from the northern Kirkuk fields increased after a slow tentative resumption in November following a year-long hiatus.
    In December 2018, Iraq’s oil exports averaged 3.726 million bpd, compared to 3.372 million bpd of exports in November, when exports had reached a seven-month low due to bad weather at the southern ports.
    Iraq’s oil exports from the Basra terminals averaged 3.63 million bpd in December—a record high and up from the average exports of 3.363 million bpd in the previous month, Reuters quoted Iraq’s oil ministry as saying in a statement on Wednesday.
    Exports of the federal government from the oil fields in Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean surged to 99,000 bpd in December from an average 8,716 bpd in November, according to the Iraqi oil ministry.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...-December.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  5. #664
    OPEC’s January production is likely to come in lower than anticipated, a former Saudi Aramco executive said in a statement to CNBC on Thursday.
    The oil cartel agreed last month to shave 800,000 barrels per day off its October production levels, with its non-OPEC allies agreeing to cut 400,000 barrels per day, for a combined 1.2 million barrels per day. But Sadad al Husseini, former executive vice president of Saudi Aramco, told CNBC that OPEC is likely to cut in January about 1 million barrels per day off its October production levels, adding that it is possible that the cartel could cut as much as 1.2 million bpd—that’s in addition to its allies who promised to cut 400,000 bpd.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...Expected.html#
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment



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  7. #665
    The United States received in December the lowest volume of OPEC-derived crude oil in five years, according to market intelligence firm Kpler and data from Refinitive Eikon, cited by Reuters on Thursday.
    1.63 million bpd of oil from OPEC member countries made its way to US shores in December, down from 1.80 million bpd in November and 1.78 million bpd in October. Saudi Arabia shipped 534,000 barrels per day to the United States in December, a near 100,000 bpd drop from November. Algeria’s shipments were also down almost 100,000 bpd, and Nigeria’s shipments to the US dipped by almost 50,000 bpd.
    Iraq, on the other hand, increased crude oil shipments to the United States by 140,000 bpd, and for somewhat of a shock, Venezuela shipped 22,738 barrels per day more to the US in December, although the long-term trend here shows a steady decline in Venezuela’s oil exports to the US, which were around 912,000 bpd in 2012, falling to 618,000 bpd by 2017, according to the Energy Information Administration.
    Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports to the US have also been falling steadily in recent years, from 1.361 million bpd in 2012 to 1.052 million bpd in 2015, and then to 949,000 bpd by 2017.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...-Year-Low.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  8. #666
    Iraq vowed on Thursday to adhere to the production cuts agreed to by OPEC and its allies that went into effect at the start of the year.
    OPEC’s number-two oil producer will hold its production at 4.513 million barrels per day for the next six months, according to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, as cited by S&P Global Platts. If achieved, Iraq would produce 140,000 fewer barrels per day for the next six months than it did in October 2018—the date from which the cuts were calculated.
    The news comes after Kpler and Refinitive Eikon data on Thursday showed that Iraq increased its oil exports to the United States in December by 140,000 barrels per day.


    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...tion-Cuts.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  9. #667
    A fledgling U.S. company set up last year will help Venezuela turn around its falling oil production that has led to the country’s oil exports falling to the lowest in almost 30 years, Bloomberg reports, citing contractual documents.
    According to the documents, Erepla Services LLC will provide the drilling rigs and crews necessary to increase crude oil production at the Tia Juana, Rosa Mediano, and Ayacucho 5 fields over a period of 25 years. In exchange, the U.S. company will buy all the oil produced at these fields and resell it, giving Venezuela’s PDVSA 50.1 percent of the proceeds and keeping 49.9 percent.
    "The agreement gives U.S.-based Erepla enhanced managerial participation and an innovative payment structure designed to avoid the shortfalls that have plagued previous projects," an Erepla principal said in a statement, adding that without any U.S. companies taking aprt in Venezuela’s exploitation of crude oil resource would "create an opportunity for Russian and Chinese interests to access the Venezuelan oil reserve – an outcome that would be detrimental to U.S. interests."
    Harry Sargeant III also said the contract has been drafted in accordance with U.S. sanctions against Caracas and that all work under its terms will also be in compliance with the sanctions.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...tion-Drop.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  10. #668
    Libya plans to pump 2.1 million bpd of crude oil by 2021 if the security situation improves, the chairman of the National Oil Corporation, Mustafa Sanalla, said as quoted by Reuters this weekend.
    The ambitious plan would represent a doubling of the current rate of production in the North African country: according to Sanalla, Libya’s output currently stands at 953,000 bpd. That’s less than what the country produced earlier this year, prior to the latest blockade of the largest field, Sharara, which removed more than 300,000 bpd from the total daily average. However, it’s more than what Libya pumped in the summer when violent clashes at its oil terminals crushed oil production by almost half from the 1 million bpd earlier in the year.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...n-2-Years.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  11. #669
    Hoping to drive oil prices back up to $80 per barrel, Saudi Arabia is preparing deeper production cuts this month.
    Saudi Arabia plans on lowering oil exports to 7.1 million barrels per day by the end of the month, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Saudi budget does not breakeven unless Brent crude prices average in the mid-$80s per barrel, vastly higher than today’s spot price. The WSJ reports that Saudi Arabia plans on cutting exports 800,000 bpd below November levels, which appears to be a larger reduction than required as part of the OPEC+ agreement.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-G...On-80-Oil.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  12. #670
    The news that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has placed a US$93-million order with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company for the deepening and widening of its ship channel at the Port of Corpus Christi (PortCC) broke last week in what was still a sluggish news environment. But it is significant news: this is the first step the federal U.S. government has made to support efforts to boost crude oil exports and it is also the first step in a competition dance between the Port of Corpus Christi and commodity major Trafigura.
    Energy analyst David Blackmon noted the significance of the contract in a recent story for Forbes, adding it was part of a bigger port expansion project that would require US$360 million in funding. The port authority’s determination to see this project through despite the bulky price tag was made evident by its willingness to tap the debt market for the first time in its history and cough up US$130 million for the expansion. The rest would have to come from the federal government.
    Why expand? Because U.S. crude oil exports are on the rise and will continue to be on the rise for some time, potentially reaching 4 to 5 million barrels daily. For context, this compares with last year’s all-time high of 2 million bpd, touched briefly in the first half of the year.
    As exports rise it would make sense to cut loading costs by using larger tankers. However, there is only one port in the United States at the moment that can load Very large Crude Carriers, the monsters that can carry up to 2 million barrels of crude. This is the Louisiana offshore oil port and it mostly handles imports, hence the urgent need for more export terminals.
    Corpus Christi can also—partially—handle VLCCs: part of the load can be pumped into them at the port but once it reaches a certain level the VLCC needs to move into the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico and have the rest of the cargo loaded by barges. The U.S. Army Corps’ channel dredging will make it possible for VLCC to use it and load crude at a terminal yet to be built by PortCC.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...l-Exports.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  13. #671
    While even the most likely new pipeline to ship more of Alberta’s crude oil to refining and export markets—Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement—is nearly a year away at the earliest, the province hosting most of Canada’s oil production has been desperately seeking other ways to get more value for its natural resources.
    Alberta is looking to boost the crude-by-rail capacity to transport an additional 120,000 bpd of its oil over the next three years. In the most drastic measure yet, the province mandated an oil production cut of 325,000 bpd for three months starting January 2019, to clear the current glut and lift record-low Canadian heavy oil prices.
    Alberta is also looking to another solution to alleviate the crude oil glut—having a new oil refinery built in the province that would absorb part of the crude and unlock some space on congested pipelines shipping oil out of the province.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...il-Crisis.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  14. #672
    OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that its huge oil reserves, already the second largest in the world behind only Venezuela, are even bigger than previously thought.The energy ministry said proven oil reserves stood at 263.2 billion barrels at the end of last year, up from the figure of 261 billion barrels that has been used for almost three decades.
    The kingdom has another 2.9 billion barrels of crude in a border zone shared with neighbouring Kuwait, bringing total oil reserves to 266.1 billion barrels, the ministry said.
    Natural gas reserves also grew from 302.3 trillion cubic feet (8.56 trillion cubic metres) to 324.4 trillion cubic feet (9.2 trillion cubic metres), the ministry said.
    It said the new figures have been backed by an independent third-party certification by leading consultants DeGolyer and MacNaughton (D&M).

    More at: https://news.yahoo.com/saudi-arabia-...152036588.html


    Sure, I believe it.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment



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  16. #673
    A combination of lower shipping costs and lower domestic demand will boost U.S. crude oil exports to Asia, Reuters reports, citing sources from the commodity trading and shipping industries.
    Freight costs for shipments scheduled to arrive in Asia in late March and April this year are US$0.50 lower per barrel of oil than they were for shipments scheduled to arrive at refineries in December as buyers were in a rush to secure crude ahead of the Iran sanctions that went into effect in early November.
    Since the end of October last year, chartering a Very large Crude Carrier from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port has fallen by some 40 percent to US$5 million, Reuters Eikon data suggests.
    U.S. exports of crude will also enjoy the support of a still sizeable discount of West Texas Intermediate to Brent crude, which is close to US$10 a barrel. WTI is among the most popular U.S. light crude grades with Asian buyers. Other attractive grades include Midland and Eagle Ford in the light crude segment, and Mars and Southern Green Canyon in the heavier segment. “There is the potential for Q2 U.S. crude exports to Asia to be higher year-on-year if the WTI/Brent spread remains in the range it has in recent months and with the lower freight rates,” Reuters quoted a Genscape oil analyst, David Arno, as saying.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...Rise-Soon.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  17. #674
    Earlier this decade, BP and the Gulf of Mexico was an awkward and uneasy collocation for the UK oil supermajor after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
    Nearly a decade and more than US$60 billion in damages paid later, BP has now turned the corner in its U.S. Gulf of Mexico operations and plans for significant production and project expansion into the next decade.
    BP’s two key pillars of growth are raising production from fields close to existing hubs, and using advanced seismic technology and analytics to better identify the resources at its oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
    In the past few years, BP, like many other major oil companies, has been increasingly using advanced new technologies to search for more oil while cutting costs and time for seismic image analysis.
    BP has created Wolfspar, a seismic source technology that can ‘see’ beneath the salt in the Gulf of Mexico to enable better planning for where to drill for oil. The tech acquires low-frequency seismic signals and could help BP to estimate how much oil there is still left in the Atlantis, Thunder Horse, and Mad Dog developments, BP executives say.
    Thanks to advanced proprietary seismic imaging and reservoir characteristics analysis, BP has now identified an additional 1 billion barrels of oil in place at its Thunder Horse field, and an additional 400 million barrels of oil in place at the Atlantis field, the UK supermajor said this week.
    BP’s proprietary algorithms to enhance seismic imaging allow seismic data that would have previously taken a year to analyze to be processed in only a few weeks, the company says.

    It’s not only BP that is actively pursuing additional oil developments in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Wood Mackenzie, 2019 could be a historic year for the region as exploration activity is expected to increase by 30 percent, ending four consecutive years of steady declines. While Shell and Chevron will lead to way in exploration drilling, the actual growth is expected to come from new entrants--Kosmos Energy, Equinor, Total, Murphy, and Fieldwood, according to the energy consultancy.
    This year could also be the year of a major world-first project to reach a final investment decision (FID), while a Gulf-first project is expected to start up production. If Chevron moves forward with its Anchor project in Green Canyon Block 807, it would be the first ultra-high-pressure project in the world to reach FID, WoodMac said, noting that if the project reaches final approval, it could lead to more than US$10 billion of investment into the region.
    The industry will also be closely watching Shell’s Appomattox development, scheduled to come online this year, marking the first production ever from a Jurassic reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico.
    “If the Jurassic roars to life in 2019, it could give operators greater confidence in the play’s potential,” said William Turner, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-G...-New-Tech.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  18. #675
    OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia will slash its oil exports in January by 10 percent compared to November, its energy minister said Wednesday as producers move to shore up tumbling prices.Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom, the world's top crude supplier, would cut its exports to 7.2 million barrels per day in January, down from 8.0 million bpd in November.
    He also announced a further 100,000 bpd cut in February.


    Falih said Saudi production had fallen to 10.2 million bpd, down from the roughly 11 million bpd it was pumping when oil producers decided to end a production cut deal in May.
    "We are serious about restoring balance to the market," Falih told a press conference in Riyadh held to announce that the kingdom's vast oil reserves are even bigger than previously thought.
    "We are concerned about volatility in the oil market," he said. "We have seen peaks and drops in prices (that are) completely unjustified by the fundamentals."

    More at: https://news.yahoo.com/saudi-slash-o...162701772.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  19. #676
    Saudi Aramco is getting ready to issue a bond in the second quarter of 2019 to help it finance the acquisition of a majority stake in petrochemical giant Sabic, and this debt issue would force Saudi Arabia’s state oil firm to disclose its financials and oil reserves for the first time in decades, Bloomberg reports.
    Aramco’s bond sale will probably be in U.S. dollars, Bloomberg quoted Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih as saying at a presentation of the plan in Riyadh.
    “We will work with our advisers and find the right time to go to market and part of that would be a prospectus that would have appropriate financial statements and disclosures,” al-Falih said, commenting on the plans for the bond sale.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...Bond-Sale.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  20. #677
    Amid a fuel crisis that is spiraling out of control, the notorious Mexico oil hedge this year is worth US$1.23 billion with the average export price of Mexican crude seen at US$55 a barrel, Reuters reports, citing the country’s Finance Ministry. The ministry did not specify exactly how many barrels the hedge covered.
    Last year, Mexico locked in an average export price of US$46 per barrel of crude oil in its annual oil hedge, which is closely watched as the biggest in the world. During the year, the Mexican basket of crude grades hit a high of US$77 a barrel and a low of US$45.18 per barrel, but for most of the year stayed firmly above US$50 a barrel.
    The hedge, or the Hacienda Hedge, is considered the biggest hedging bet on Wall Street as well as perhaps the most secretive. It has also earned Mexico—and a few large investment banks—billions since it was first made in the 1990s.
    “With these actions we protect that budget ... against drops in prices of oil below this level,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement. “As a result of these complementary strategies, a price of $55 per barrel was assured for the Mexican export blend in 2019.”

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...-A-Barrel.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  21. #678
    Saudi Aramco will issue bonds which will probably be in the 10 billion range, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said on Sunday.Khalid al-Falih, speaking at a conference in Abu Dhabi, did not specify the currency of the planned debt issuance but last week he said at an event in Riyadh that the bonds - which would be Aramco's debut in the international debt markets - are likely to be denominated in U.S. dollars.
    The Saudi oil giant will issue the bonds in the second quarter of this year, he said last week.

    https://news.yahoo.com/saudi-aramcos...064554120.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  22. #679
    Saudi Aramco is on track to become a public company in 2021, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said during an oil conference in Abu Dhabi.
    Gulf News quoted the official as saying Aramco was the world’s most important and most valuable oil company. “This bodes well for the company’s bond plans, which will be launched in a few months, ahead of the acquisition of Sabic shares from PIF [Public Investment Fund] and of course the IPO [which is] not too distant in the future.”
    Al-Falih said earlier that Aramco was planning to issue its first international bond, probably worth around US$10 billion, to fund part of the acquisition of a majority stake in petrochemical giant Sabic from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. The 70-percent stake was calculated at between US$50 and US$70 billion.
    Last year, media reported that Aramco was planning a US$40-billion bond sale to fund the acquisition that would expand its presence in petrochemicals, but it dropped this plan. The Wall Street Journal reported in November that the oil major had been concerned about requirements for disclosure as well as the volatility and uncertain outlook for oil prices, according to unnamed sources familiar with the developments.
    The smaller bond Al-Falih talked about in Abu Dhabi, likely to take place in the second quarter of the year, would also require the company to make its accounts public for the first time since its nationalization back in the 1970s. It will also have to divulge details about its reserves and operations.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...c-In-2021.html

    I predict it will still be 2 years away 2 years from now.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  23. #680
    It's a common conundrum for all petrostates worried about the rapid approach of peak oil demand: How does one end such a profound dependence on hydrocarbons? Kuwait, for one, has followed a well-trodden path in its attempts to do so by implementing taxes, introducing new fees and trying to kick-start the private sector. Naturally, most of the plans are bankrolled by the coastal emirate's abundant wealth, which gives it significant margins to play with as it attempts economic reforms on its road to diversification.

    But Kuwait's economy suffers from a high deficit, inefficient workforce and overreliance on public, rather than private, spending for growth. One of the country's biggest problems is the amount it spends on Kuwaitis, a relic from when the comparatively weak royal family sought to buy the acquiescence of its citizens, particularly the area's powerful merchants and political stakeholders, during the transition to an oil-based economy. Kuwait's uniquely vocal parliament — it's the only legislature in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that has the power to unseat ministers — is another holdover from this transition period. This relative degree of democracy slows attempts at reform, however, as lawmakers more beholden to the public have resisted austerity measures in a fashion that would not be possible in neighboring states that have weak or non-existent parliaments. As a result, the Kuwaiti government has had little choice but to place the burden of economic reform on its many foreign workers.

    Kuwait's biggest problem is perhaps its ratio of public spending to gross domestic product. At present, the figure is the highest in the GCC because of high public wages, soaring bills for subsidies and transfers, and elevated levels of support for state-owned enterprises. This spending, coupled with the country's economic losses stemming from its wage payments to nationals who produce little as part of a largely inefficient workforce, creates a massive hole in the country's budget.
    Ultimately, this contributes to Kuwait's significant deficit, which the International Monetary Fund estimates will generate financing needs of up to $100 billion over the next five years, excluding Kuwait's income from investments. Although Kuwait boasts significant resources, including its sovereign wealth fund — the oldest in the Arab world and one of the biggest anywhere — it must repay a large amount of debt in the coming years. And wary of dipping into its rainy day fund, Kuwait is seeking an alternate way of funding its structural reform efforts — a quest that compels it to try and figure out how to spur growth in its private sector.


    In pursuing this goal, the government has rolled up its sleeves on one of its most important reforms, labor nationalization. Colloquially known as "Kuwaitization," the program aims to increase the percentage of Kuwaitis working in the private and the public sectors over an initial five-year period. The government achieved some success during the first year (2017-2018) of the program by terminating the employment of 3,000 foreigners in public sector jobs to ultimately make way for native Kuwaitis. And more measures are on the horizon: The Education Ministry plans to lay off up to 1,000 foreign employees next year, while the government also passed a recent edict that stipulates that only Kuwaitis may drive airport taxis. Parliament has also discussed other proposals such as a new tax on expatriates' salaries before they send home remittances, as well as granting the Public Authority of Manpower more scrutiny over the skill levels of foreign workers, with an eye to terminating the employment of those deemed inadequate. This year, the Kuwaiti government also tightened age restrictions on foreign professors as part of its goal of balancing the need for top-quality professors in higher education with the desire to open lower-level positions for native citizens.
    Given that the goals of Kuwaitization are to employ more nationals in desirable positions, there is little surprise that the program has proven popular with the country's citizens. The government has also pursued the program — or at least its initial phases — with gusto, especially as it is politically far more palatable than imposing austerity measures. On one hand, the government faces few hurdles in attracting more Kuwaitis to the public sector thanks to the positive societal attitude toward working in such jobs. After all, many nationals view government employment as appealing, resulting in large numbers of young Kuwaitis waiting for an opportunity to work for higher wages in the public sector rather than opt for a lower-paying job at a private firm that provides no guarantees of long-term employment.

    But just as in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait's government has often erred on the side of penalizing and forcing the private sector to offer Kuwaitis more opportunities rather than create work itself. In this, Kuwait is letting the burden of its labor market reforms fall on expatriates, rather than on Kuwaitis, who can demand much more from the government. In fact, the downsides to the program have prompted the government to backtrack on some of its targets. For one, Kuwaitis largely lack the skills required for many of the jobs that expatriates hold in the health, education and technical sectors. Kuwait's government is also aware that, in the long term, it is still engaged in a GCC-wide competition to attract the best and brightest foreign workers — which is part of the reason why, in the midst of the move to terminate the employment of outsiders, the government has also moved to provide some perks for expatriates, such as increasing visa durations for the families of non-Kuwaiti workers.

    With just 13,523 citizens currently unemployed, the Kuwaiti government ultimately has some time to figure Kuwaitization out. Nevertheless, the pressure to diversify will continue to deepen. At present, Kuwait's government is taking the path of least resistance, offering Kuwaitis something they want by removing the foreign workers ostensibly standing in their way. An influx of more Kuwaitis into the public sector, however, will eventually put the government on the hook for an even higher public wage bill.

    More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/artic...ms-expatriates
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment



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  25. #681
    Saudi Arabia is planning to generate $11 billion by 2020 by selling key stakes in state-owned assets such as utilities, hospitals and airports, Bloomberg reported Jan. 13.

    More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...set-sales-2020
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  26. #682
    Due to weather and geological conditions in the cold Russian winter, Russia cannot cut its oil production too quickly, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday, reiterating Moscow's commitment to stick to the new OPEC+ deal and to gradually reduce production.
    Russia will try to cut its oil production faster, Novak noted.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...n-Quickly.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  27. #683
    OPEC has decided to hold an extraordinary full ministerial meeting on April 17 in Vienna to discuss the state of the oil market and the production cut deal, while the cartel’s non-OPEC partners will join for a full OPEC+ meeting on the following day, April 18, an OPEC official told S&P Global Platts on Thursday.
    OPEC could still hold its regular full ministerial meeting in June, as it usually does, the official with the organization told Platts.

    Announcing the new OPEC+ production deal, the cartel said in early December that the next OPEC/non-OPEC ministerial meeting would be held in April in Vienna, but no details about the date were revealed.


    It would make sense for OPEC and allies to hold a full meeting in mid-April, considering that they could decide whether or not to extend the production cuts which currently expire in June. The other reason for a mid-April meeting would be that the U.S. waivers for eight Iranian oil customers expire in early May, and the U.S. Administration has not yet given a clear signal whether it would be extending some waivers or push for zero Iranian oil exports.
    Meanwhile, in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report published today, OPEC’s secondary sources—the ones the cartel uses to calculate compliance levels—showed that OPEC’s production declined by 751,000 bpd in December from November. The cartel’s total crude oil production dropped to 31.578 million bpd last month, from 32.328 million bpd in November.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...In-Vienna.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  28. #684
    OPEC published on Friday the long-awaited list of oil production quotas for each country in the OPEC+ deal, as it seeks to shore up market confidence that the cartel and allies will do whatever it takes to rebalance the market.

    According to OPEC’s list, OPEC and non-OPEC will withhold 1.195 million bpd from the market and keep their combined production at 43.874 million bpd between January and June. The reference production level from which the partners will reduce their respective production is October 2018, except for Kuwait, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, whose reference months are September 2018, September 2018, and November 2018, respectively.
    OPEC is cutting a total of 812,000 bpd to a ceiling of 25.937 million bpd, while non-OPEC partners will be reducing production by a combined 383,000 bpd to 17.937 million bpd. OPEC’s de facto leader and biggest producer Saudi Arabia will cut 322,000 bpd from its October baseline of 10.633 million bpd and keep output at 10.311 million bpd. Russia will be taking the lion’s share of the non-OPEC cuts and will reduce production by 230,000 bpd from October’s 11.421 million bpd, to 11.191 million bpd.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...ds-To-Cut.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  29. #685
    Saudi Arabia plans to build an oil refinery that would use Saudi crude, as well as a petrochemical plant in South Africa, as part of US$10 billion investments, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Friday while on a visit to South Africa.
    Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco will lead the construction of the oil refinery in South Africa, al-Falih noted.
    “There have been exchanges of talks by Saudi Aramco teams and they have been supported by the South African energy ministry,” Reuters quoted the Saudi minister as saying after a meeting with South Africa’s Energy Minister Jeff Radebe.
    “The Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia concluded & signed a declaration of intent to cooperate comprehensively in the field of oil & gas,” Radebe tweeted on Friday.
    According to the South African minister, the two countries will finalize in the next few weeks details about the exact locations of the oil refinery and petrochemical plant.
    Al-Falih, for his part, noted that Saudi Arabia was interested in using the African country’s major oil storage facilities. In addition, Saudi Arabia’s utility developer ACWA Power is looking to invest in South Africa’s new renewable energy program.
    In the summer of 2018, during the state visit of South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa to Saudi Arabia, the Saudis pledged to invest US$10 billion in South Africa, predominantly in the energy sector.
    While Ramaphosa was on a visit to Saudi Arabia in July, the outlet Middle East Eye raised questions about the potential involvement of South Africa-made weapons in the conflict in Yemen.
    According to annual reports from South African National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), quoted by Middle East Eye, South Africa supplied arms, ammunition, armored vehicles, and surveillance and military technology to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2016 and 2017. In 2015, the pro-Houthi Al Masirah news channel showed footage of a shot-down drone. The footage clearly indicated a plate worded ‘Made in South Africa Carl Zeiss Optronics Pty Ltd’ on the crashed drone, Zeenat Adam at Middle East Eye wrote in July 2018.

    https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...th-Africa.html


    Investing in the next Zimbabwe is a good idea?
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  30. #686
    The number of drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) in the U.S. shale patch has skyrocketed by roughly 60 percent over the past two years. That leaves a rather large backlog that could add a wave of new supply, even if the pace of drilling begins to slow.
    The backlog of DUCs has continued to swell, essentially uninterrupted, for more than two years. The total number of DUCs hit 8,723 in November 2018, up 287 from a month earlier. That figure is also up sharply from the 5,271 from the same month in 2016, a 60 percent increase. The EIA will release new monthly DUC data on January 22, which will detail figures for December.
    Some level of DUCs is normal, but the ballooning number of uncompleted wells has repeatedly fueled speculation that a sudden rush of new supply might come if companies shift those wells into production. The latest crash in oil prices once again raises this prospect.
    The calculus on completing wells can cut two ways. On the one hand, lower oil prices – despite the recent rebound, prices are still down sharply from a few months ago – can cause some E&Ps to want to hold off on drilling new wells. That may lead them to decide to complete wells they already drilled as a way of keeping production aloft while husbanding scarce resources. Companies that are posting losses may be desperate for revenues, so they may accelerate the rate of completions from their DUC backlog.
    On the flip side, producers don’t exactly want to bring production online in a market that is subdued. “The lower oil price raises some questions about whether you go ahead with completing these wells,” Tom Petrie, head of oil and gas investment bank Petrie Partners, told S&P Global Platts. “Some companies want to get them in a producing mode; others say they won't get an adequate return right now, so they'll wait.”

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...Shale-Oil.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  31. #687
    Iran has struck oil in a hitherto untapped region, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told local media as quoted by Reuters.
    “This is the first time we’ve reached oil in the Abadan region,” Zanganeh said, adding that the grade was very light and sweet, but giving no details regarding the amount of reserves contained in the reservoir.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...ed-Region.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  32. #688
    In a major shift, the United States is set to produce more oil and liquids than Russia and Saudi Arabia combined by 2025.
    In Rystad Energy’s base case oil price scenario, US liquids production is forecast to surpass 24 million barrels per day over the next six years, thereby outpacing the combined output from Russia and Saudi Arabia.



    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...-Combined.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment



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  34. #689
    Baker Hughes reported modest rise in the number of active oil and gas rigs in the United States this week.
    The total number of active oil and gas drilling rigs rose by 9 rigs, according to the report, with the number of active oil rigs increasing by 10 to reach 862 and the number of gas rigs decreasing by 1 to reach 197.
    The oil and gas rig count is now 112 up from this time last year, 103 of which is in oil rigs.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-G...il-Prices.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  35. #690
    Excess supply of gasoline coupled with slow demand has pressured refiners margins, Reuters reports, noting refining margins for the fuel in the United States sank to US$45.70 a barrel yesterday.
    The drop follows the fourth weekly increase in gasoline inventories in the U.S., all of them quite hefty, leading to an all-time high of gasoline supplies, at 259.6 million barrels as of January 18.
    Over the last four weeks, the Energy Information Administration reported gasoline inventory builds reaching a combined 26.6 million barrels.
    However, the United States is not the only large gasoline hub where inventories are rising as demand remains sluggish. According to the Reuters report, inventories in the Netherlands, Japan, and Singapore are also at multi-year highs, with the annual increase in their combined level at 21 million barrels, data from consultants FGE has shown.

    More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-G...e-Margins.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

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