All eyes in the US oil market are currently focused on the small town of Cushing, Oklahoma, located 70 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. Available capacity at one of the world’s largest crude oil storage hubs is filling up fast and that has considerable market implications because Cushing is the delivery point for US benchmark… Keep reading →
With the global oil market in a situation where futures contract prices are higher than prevailing prices – known by traders as contango – there is an incentive to purchase crude now and hold it until oil prices recover. Indeed, the world’s largest trading houses have been chartering tankers and shares of oil tanker companies… Keep reading →
Oil sands producers have been through oil price declines before and some are hoping economies of scale, along with innovation, can reduce costs enough to make it through the current market cycle. “Syncrude forecasts operating costs at C$45.69 ($38.07) per barrel in 2015. Oil sands crude trades at a discount to the West Texas Intermediate… Keep reading →
It appears the largest oil price decline since the 2008 economic and financial crises could be reaching a bottom. Maybe. Luckily we don’t have the displeasure of making oil price forecasts, like our colleague Ed Crooks the US Industry and Energy Editor at the Financial Times: Anyway, benchmark global oil futures prices rebounded today partially… Keep reading →
Benchmark oil prices took a nose dive today, with both WTI and Brent shedding their recent gains. Prompt-month WTI dipped into $75 per barrel territory on a combination of weak economic outlooks and supply/demand fundamentals. The other big news impacting WTI was Saudi Aramco’s price cut to the crude oil grades it exports into the… Keep reading →
Alarmist media reports regarding oil’s foray into bear market territory could easily leave you thinking the oil industry is gasping its last breath. It certainly is not, as companies involved in the global oil complex are accustomed to commodity price volatility and most have experienced similar, if not worse, market corrections. In fact, over the… Keep reading →
While marine transport enables the lion’s share of global trading in bulk commodities today, the business-to-business (B2B) information integration across the value chain of a voyage has yet to evolve. As both the shipping industry and commodity merchants face tighter profitability, they need to look at a holistic approach to improve efficiency and data quality… Keep reading →
The American Petroleum Institute organized a tour of natural gas drilling operations and newly-created educational opportunities in southeastern Pennsylvania Monday. Prolific Marcellus shale development is driving a need for skilled workers in a region struggling with high unemployment rates. “About 6.8 percent of Philadelphians are unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics… Keep reading →
Here’s an interesting look at the continuing trend of big banks unwinding their trading operations amid increased regulatory oversight and proprietary trading prohibitions. Many of the big players have left the space that’s increasingly being filled by new entrants like major trading houses. ‘“Today’s markets are ‘boring,’ said Thomas Thees, a former head of North… Keep reading →
As the situation in Iraq develops, oil market bulls and bears battle over the degree to which the worst sectarian violence since US troop withdrawal will exert upward price pressure. The bear case states the lion’s share of Iraqi oil output and exports originate in the country’s Shiia-controlled south, where it is more difficult for… Keep reading →
