IEA Sees Oil Oversupply Almost Gone in Second Half on Shale Drop… Global oil markets will “move close to balance” in the second half of the year as lower prices take their toll on production outside OPEC, the International Energy Agency said. [Bloomberg]
Oil Rises Early Thursday. Brent rose above $44 per barrel on Thursday after the IEA report. The agency trimmed its forecast for demand growth but said a fall in oil output in the United States was speeding up. [CNBC]
All Eyes On Doha As Oil Producers Brace For Meet… As low oil prices continue to crimp government budgets and squeeze energy companies, the world’s top oil-exporting nations are facing an incredible amount of pressure to ease the global supply glut… [Oilpro]
…& Qatar’s Oil-Freeze Letter To Norway Reveals Doha Deal Logic. The preliminary agreement by Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar to freeze output has already put a floor under crude prices and a deal this weekend to include other producers would extend the recovery, according to Qatar’s Energy Ministry. [Bloomberg]
Obama To Issue New Oil, Gas Drilling Regulations Today… Sources familiar with the rule-making said the Department of Interior will release the final version of its well control regulations, requiring more stringent procedures for offshore drilling equipment. Interior is estimating the cost of the new regulations at about $1 billion over 10 years… [Washington Times, Oilpro]
The API Is Worried. API has said that Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) Well Control Rule may have unintended negative consequencesfor safety and affect future offshore energy projects. [Offshore Energy Today, Oilpro]
Global Oil Glut Leaves Supertankers In A Huge Jam. It may be the world’s biggest traffic jam. As ports struggle to cope with a global oil glut, huge queues of supertankers have formed in some of the world’s busiest sea lanes, where some 200 million barrels of crude lies waiting to be loaded or delivered. [Reuters, Oilpro]
Another O&G Bankruptcy. Energy XXI has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.“Energy XXI will eliminate more than $2.8 billion in debt from its balance sheet, substantially deleverage its capital structure and position the company for long-term success,” it said. [Energy XXI]
Why Oil Could Rise To $70 This Year. Crude oil has broken through a significant hurdle, one that may signal that low prices are officially behind us. The WTI contract’s ability to surpass its 200-day moving average on Tuesday for the first time since July 2014 is a meaningful sign, according to Amherst Pierpont strategist Robert Sinche. [CNBC, Oilpro]
Lessons To Be Learned From LNG ‘Arms Race.’ The unprecedented $200 billion build-out of liquefied natural gas capacity that has turned Australia into a gas exporting powerhouse provides valuable lessons on the need for better industry collaboration and a less blinkered view on competition, according to Deloitte. [Smh.com.au, Oilpro]