Friday 11 August 2017

IEA issues warning despite pre-2016 oil stockpiles

IEA issues warning despite pre-2016 oil stockpiles:

"Oil stockpiles in industrialised nations have fallen below 2016 levels but the rebalancing of supply and demand remains a “stubborn process” despite robust consumption, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.

At the end of the second quarter, commercial inventories — the component of the global total for which there is the most visibility — fell 500,000 barrels a day to just over 3bn barrels as supply cuts from big producer countries took effect.

But the Paris-based body said in its monthly oil market report that even if the same level of drawdowns continued into the first three months of 2018, stockpiles would remain above their five-year average levels."



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Jawboning oil prices

Jawboning oil prices:

"In Monty Python’s Life of Brian, when the People’s Front of Judea learns that Brian has been arrested, John Cleese exclaims: “Right! This calls for immediate discussion!” The effort by leading oil-producing countries to boost crude prices seems to work on similar principles.

Facing concerns that some countries, particularly the UAE and Iraq, were not living up to their commitments to curb output, the joint technical committee of Opec members and their allied non-members convened meetings in Abu Dhabi this week “to identify ways and means of raising levels of conformity”.

The statement after those meetings, co-chaired by Kuwait and Russia, said representatives from the UAE, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Malaysia had met the committee, and “all expressed their full support for the existing monitoring mechanism and their willingness to fully co-operate . . . in the months ahead in order to achieve the goal of reaching full conformity.”"



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Petrofac hires top lawyer as fraud probe continues - The National

Petrofac hires top lawyer as fraud probe continues - The National:

"Petrofac has hired a top litigator to oversee the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) investigation into the Unaoil corruption scandal. Edward Sparrow, a partner at law firm Ashurst with 20 years of running major litigation cases, will be responsible for the company’s management of and response to the investigation. The SFO announced in May that it would investigate allegations that the company used Unaoil to secure consultancy contracts worth $2bn in Kazakhstan between 2002 and 2009."



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Oil Slides Toward $48 as Skepticism Over OPEC-led Cuts Returns - Bloomberg

Oil Slides Toward $48 as Skepticism Over OPEC-led Cuts Returns - Bloomberg:

"Oil investors are back to being skeptical over whether OPEC-led production cuts are draining a global glut fast enough, keeping prices below $49 a barrel and driving crude toward a second weekly loss.

Futures declined as much as 1.1 percent in New York. Neither a pledge by the two biggest producers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to strengthen their commitment to curbs, or shrinking U.S. crude stockpiles is managing to lift prices. The International Energy Agency cut estimates for the amount of crude needed from OPEC this year and next after lowering its historical assessments of consumption in nations including China and India."



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Oil stockpiles falling as supply cuts take hold, says IEA

Oil stockpiles falling as supply cuts take hold, says IEA:

"Commercial oil stockpiles in industrialised nations have fallen below 2016 levels, but the rebalancing of supply and demand still remains a “stubborn process” despite robust consumption, the International Energy Agency said on Friday. In the second quarter global inventories fell by 500,000 barrels a day to just over 3bn barrels, the Paris-based body said in its monthly oil market report, as supply cuts from big producer countries took effect. But the IEA said that if the same level of drawdowns continues into the first three months of 2018, stockpiles will remain above their five year average, implying the goal of the cuts agreement will not have been met."



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