CRUDE OIL/PART 2 - International In Scope
10/29 16:13 - World Oil Down With No Cuts From OPEC Ministers
LONDON, Oct 29 - World oil prices fell away on Thursday as an informal meeting of OPEC oil ministers in Cape Town provided no sign of new action to pep up a depressed market.
World benchmark Brent blend closed down 14 cents at $13.05, still languishing well below this year's $13.80 a barrel average and some $6 under the average price seen in 1997.
An informal meeting of most of the 11 oil ministers of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries disappointed any lingering hopes that producers would again cut production to stir a price revival.
OPEC Secretary-General Rilwanu Lukman said the ministers merely exchanged views on the market and discussed options for their next scheduled meeting, due to be held on November 25 in Vienna.
The meeting, held on the fringe of an annual meeting of oil ministers from oil consuming and producing countries, was attended by OPEC heavyweights, including Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and Venezuela's Erwin Arrieta.
Saudi Arabia's al-Naimi had earlier warned not to expect any news and to wait until the November 25 meeting for any further action on oil output cuts.
"This is not an OPEC meeting. Let's wait until next month," he said, effectively pouring cold water on any chance of deeper cuts to oil supply being made in Cape Town.
Earlier this year Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and non-OPEC oil producer Mexico clinched two agreements calling for oil output cuts of 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in an effort to boost persistently low oil prices.
The producer deals aimed to cut about four percent from world production. OPEC pledged to cut 2.6 million bpd, joined by a further 500,000 bpd of cuts committed from non-OPEC oil producers.
As compliance among the notoriously fickle OPEC producers has neared 90 percent in the fourth quarter, prices have rebounded by about $1 a barrel.
But prices remain only about half the level of a year ago and over the past month have fallen back as stock building ahead of the winter failed to kick in.
A huge stock build in the United States last week dampened a tentative week long rally and winter heating oil stocks have ballooned to well above year ago levels.
OPEC President Obaid bin Saif al-Nasseri said on Thursday that he was content with the supply reductions already agreed this year.
Algeria, Kuwait and Libya have called for deeper cuts but have so far not found support from the three architects of the original deals.
10/29 16:06 NYMEX Crude Ends Bit Lower, Lacking Inspiration
NEW YORK, Oct 29 - Crude oil futures ended slightly lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) Thursday, failing to draw inspiration from anodyne comments by OPEC oil ministers, and with the diminishing threat to production from Hurricane Mitch in the Caribbean.
December crude settled a nickle lower at $14.24, while in the refined products sector November heating oil and gasoline futures, which expire on Friday, ended the day 0.47 lower at 38.36 cents a gallon and 0.14 higher at 44.90 cents, respectively.
10/29 17:01 US Foreign Crude - Colombia Offers Vasconia Tender
NEW YORK, Oct 29 - Colombia's state-owned oil company Ecopetrol on Thursday issued a call for bids for a 500,000-barrel boat of Vasconia crude. One trader predicted bids will come in around $2.60/2.65 under December West Texas Intermediate, FOB Covenas. However, the last done for Vasconia was minus $2.80 from WTI, and other trades said they expected little change.
The dates of the loading of the Vasconia will be Nov. 25-29. The bid deadline was Thursday.
Ecopetrol is also looking for bids for three Cusiana cargoes. One is offered Nov. 30-Dec. 1; one Dec. 3-7, and another Dec. 4-8. A trader said he expected the bids to come in around $1.55 to $1.50 under January West Texas Intermediate. Bid deadline is Friday.
Chile's national oil company ENAP has put out a tender to buy almost a million barrels of crude oil. Deadline for the offers was Thursday. Delivery is seen in Chile around Dec. 15.
ENAP put out a buy tender for 960,000 barrels for Dec. 15-19 delivery. They want crude with a gravity of 25 API and a sulfur content of 2% or less.
Western African grades continued to strengthen on Thursday. Bonny Light was done for Nov. 13-14 at Dated Brent plus 10 cents. Escravos for Nov. 17-18 was done at Dated Brent plus five cents. Qau Iboe for Nov. 16-17 was done at Dated Brent plus 10 cents.
"This makes a lot of sense for the West Africans to be getting stronger," said one trader. "There is a need for it in Asia with the Australian crude out of the market."
He referred to Gippsland crude -- production of which has been on hiatus since a Sept. 25 explosion. The crude is expected to gradually resume production by mid-November.
The 230,000-bpd Bass Strait field, which produces light Gippsland crude, has been shut down since late September after a plant explosion, forcing refiners to cover their needs with spot supplies of other grades.
"For October and November, the heavy Asian crudes were stronger on the back of Bass Strait, because refiners had no choice but to take whatever was available," a trader with a major oil company told Reuters in Singapore.
The shut-in of about a third of Nigeria's oil output by armed ethnic Ijaw youths demanding amenities and more access to power entered its 24th day on Thursday with oil company officials unsure when it will end.
In Brussels, the European Union showed that it would ease sanctions against Nigeria on Friday.
"There is a common (EU) position to ease diplomatic and sporting sanctions but to retain the military embargo," one EU diplomat told Reuters.
Another EU diplomat said the new position, which diplomats said was expected to be adopted by written procedure ahead of a 1400 GMT Friday deadline, maintained a ban on military cooperation and an embargo on arms sales.
The EU provides only humanitarian aid to Nigeria. It suspended development aid when it imposed wide-ranging sanctions against Nigeria in 1995 after the execution of nine minority activists, including author Ken Saro-Wiwa.
Shell <RD.AS><SHEL.L> has extended force majeure on lifting of Forcados crude, delaying loadings from Nov. 12 by five more days, trading sources confirmed on Thursday. Production feeding the Forcados terminal has been severely disrupted by the protests of Ijaw militants.
Shell had issued loading dates for four cargoes between Nov. 12-20 just a few days ago, but the disruptions mean that it will now not be able to meet these commitments.
10/29 17:26 North Sea December Brent Up 12 Cents In U.S.
NEW YORK, Oct 29 - North Sea Brent gained a healthy 12 cents late Thursday in the United States aftermarket, traders said.
December Brent was valued at about $13.17 a barrel, up from its close at $13.05 earlier Thursday on the International Petroleum Exchange.
Four full boats of 500,000 barrels of crude were done on Thursday at $13.18 per barrel. One full cargo was done at $13.17 and another at $13.16.
Three partials of 200,000 barrels per cargo were done. Two were fixed at $13.16 per barrel and the third at $13.15 per barrel. A 150,000-barrel cargo was done at $13.15 per barrel.
Brent December-January spread trades were reported at minus 16 cents three times. And a December-January deal for Dubai was done at plus 10 cents.
10/29 17:28 U.S. Spot Prod-NYH Jet Fuel Takes Off On Spec Talk
NEW YORK, Oct 29 - New York Harbor jet fuel differentials rose half cent on market talk of contaminated jet pipeline supplies from the Gulf Coast, traders said.
Jet fuel on the refining row was a shade firmer but most traders denied any talk of contaminated supplies. "It's just been very quiet," said one.
Prompt New York Harbor conventional and reformulated gasoline cash differentials held their firm tone amid shortcovering, which also boosted the prompt NYMEX contract. November gasoline ended 0.14 cent per gallon higher at 44.90 cents, while December gasoline closed 0.05 cent lower at 43.93 cents.
The rest of the oil futures ended weaker, partly as Hurricane Mitch was weakened to tropical storm.
December crude settled a nickle lower at $14.24, November heating oil 0.47 cent lower at 38.36 cents a gallon and December down 0.46 cent at 39.47 cents.
Hurricane Mitch continued to weaken and was meandering along the northeast coast of Honduras this morning, forecaster Accu-Weather Inc.said. The storm is likely to move into the southern Gulf of Mexico by early next week, it said.
NEW YORK HARBOR
Harbor jet fuel shot up on market talk of off-spec material in pipeline supplies from the Gulf Coast.
New York prompt 54-grade jet fuel gained 0.50 cent to 6.00/6.25 over the screen on the market talk.
The Colonial Pipeline was selling 50,000 barrels of surplus heating oil from Linden, New Jersey, which some traders said may have added to confusion on talk of off-spec material.
Harbor gasoline differentials held their 0.50 cent gain from Wednesday afternoon as traders said a market player was sitting on a large amount of barrels into the expiration date, while further out cash gasoline stayed bearish, traders said.
Prompt M4 gasoline by October 30 held strong, pegged at 0.20 cent under to 0.10 over the screen, as barge traders got caught short as they expected a build in Tuesday's API numbers, traders said. Differentials for regular M4 cash gasoline by November 8, however, stayed weak at 0.70/0.50 cent under the December screen. Gasoline looked more bearish for later-month barrels.
Providing bearish sentiment for later barrels was the full return of Sun Co.'s crude distillation unit and reformer at the Philadelphia refinery early this week.
Low sulphur diesel was steady pegged at 1.25/1.50 cents over the screen, and traded at 1.30 over the screen.
Heating oil kept Tuesday's gains as players looked to take advantage of the steep NYMEX contango, traders said.
Prompt heat was slightly stronger at 0.40/0.20 under the December screen and traded at 0.25 cent under. By late afternoon, NYMEX December heat futures were running a 1.11 cents a gallon firmer than November heat futures.
Regular reformulated gasoline, the A4 Grade, gained 0.30 point gains on market tightness, and was pegged at 0.55/0.80 cents over the NYMEX. The premium D2 reformulated gasoline was pegged at 3.50/3.75 over the December screen.
GULF COAST
Low sulphur diesel differentials pared some of its previous day's scheduling losses while heating oil was unchanged despite its deadline on Wednesday, trader said.
Prompt back 31 cycle of low sulphur diesel traded at 0.50 cent under the print, but levels edged back down to 0.80/0.60 cents, compared to the front 31 which lost 0.75 cents to trade at a 1.00 cent discount ahead of its scheduling deadline on Wednesday.
Front 31 cycle of heating oil which schedules late Thursday, and back 33 cycle both traded at 2.40 cents below the print, steady interday.
Jet fuel was slightly firmer on its differentials, the 54-grade trading up from 1.50 to 1.75 cents on the premium, and 55-grade heard at 2.25 cents.
Gasoline differentials were largely unchanged amid the lack of news with some rumors still flying around on a reformer shutdown at Amoco's Texas City plant.
"They bought a lot of gasoline on Monday and Tuesday but haven't been buying since, so it is not a major problem," said a Gulf trader.
Prompt back 31 cycle of regular M4 traded steady at a 4.25/4.00 cents discount and the anys at 4.60 to 4.35 cents.
Premium V4 conventional gasoline schedules Thursday, with levels pegged 0.25-0.50 cent lower at a 1.00/0.75 cents discount to the print.
MIDCONTINENT
Remaining October gasoline barrels in the Group traded lower as sellers became aggressive in selling the prompt barrels, traders said.
"Any one with any October got beat up,' said a trader.
October regular gasoline in the Group traded up to o.75 cent lower at 3.75 cents under the print, ratable November at 3.35 cents.
Low sulphur in the Group however was supported amid low pipeline inventory levels and healthy agricultural demand, pegged at 3.70/4.00 cents premium, after trading at 3.60-3.65 cents on Wednesday. November however was pegged at 2.25 cents premium.
Trade in Chicago was slow but November regular gasoline slipped up to half a cent down to 3.50/3.25 cents under, premium gasoline steady at a 3.25 cent regrade, jet fuel at 4.50 cents premium and low sulphur trading at a 1.20 premium.
10/29 17:30 US Crude Outlook -Hurricane, OPEC To Provide Boost
NEW YORK, Oct 27 - U.S. crude prices look set for a rally over the coming days, sparked by a powerful hurricane and signs that the recent flood of imports may soon slow to a trickle, traders said on Tuesday.
Expectations that crude prices would spend the next several days climbing higher came hard on the heels of an 18-cent burst on Monday, which took December West Texas Intermediate/Cushing prices above $14.25 a barrel.
U.S. crude traders said further gains should be around the corner, even though few anticipate OPEC ministers meeting later this week on the sidelines of a conference in Cape Town, South Africa, to reach another agreement on production cuts.
Indeed, Mexican Energy Minister Luis Tellez on Monday threw cold water on any lingering hopes of another production cut when he said that discussion would focus on compliance rather than new supply sacrifices.
But Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah offered a different view on Tuesday, vowing to support another round of production cuts.
OPEC producers have reached two production-cutting accords already this year, helping pull prices off 12-year lows of under $11.60 a barrel in June. U.S. crude prices eventually climbed to over $16.00 a barrel in late September.
But the gains were also due to a series of storms that pounded the U.S. Gulf of Mexico during the month, and with the fiercest hurricane of the season now swirling in the Caribbean, crude traders are keeping a close watch on potential supply disruptions.
"If this storm tracks north, the races will be on," one trader said.
In advance of Hurricane Mitch, which has sustained gusts of 180 mph, Mexico's state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said it had brought 80 percent of its offshore workers in the Campeche Sound back to shore on Monday.
U.S. sour crude prices received an immediate boost, and look set to remain supported until the storm's threat to supply passes. West Texas Sour/Midland prices have jumped by about 10 cents a barrel over the last several days, hitting a discount of $1.55 to WTI/Cushing.
Sweet crude has also made gains as stronger Dated Brent prices in Europe have closed down the arbitrage to bring North Sea crudes into the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Light Louisiana Sweet/St. James, the crude which competes most directly with North Sea Brent, found offers at no better than 10 cents under the benchmark on Tuesday.
"It's a combination of Dated Brent tightening, so the arbitrage is shutting down, and a certain amount of concern over West African supply," one trader said, in describing the jump in LLS differentials.
In Nigeria, violence has caused regular disruptions to oil supply over recent weeks as youths continue to protest against the government and oil companies.
Still, most U.S. traders claim that November and December crude shipments from the West African nation to the U.S. Gulf Coast haven't yet been significantly cut. Nigeria's Forcados is being discussed around 10 cents over Dated Brent, while Bonny Light and Qua Ibo are being valued at 10 to 15 cents over the international benchmark.
U.S. traders will also spend the next several days sorting out Colombia's latest Cusiana tenders, which were due to be awarded last week.
Several traders said Monday that state-oil company Ecopetrol didn't award the two tenders, each for about 1.1 million barrels.
For the moment, they added that Cusiana is being notionally assessed at $1.50 a barrel under WTI/Cushing.
10/29 17:35 U.S. Cash Crude Burdened By Foreign Supply
NEW YORK, Oct 29 - U.S. cash crude prices slithered lower, burdened by weaker futures and signs that another wave of European cargoes could be pointed toward the Gulf Coast, traders said Thursday.
New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) December crude futures settled five cents lower Thursday at $14.24, recovering from a session low of $14.05 a barrel. Given a slight exchange-for-physical premium in the cash crude market, traders were quoting benchmark West Texas Intermediate/Cushing between $14.25 and $14.30 a barrel.
The losses came as leading oil minsters prepared to meet on the sidelines of an energy conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
Beyond the producer gathering, traders continue to keep tabs on Hurricane Mitch, which was losing steam Thursday but could still pose a threat to Mexican production and exports.
State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos has already shut in 830,000 barrels per day of production, and two key ports have been closed ahead of the storm.
But while the hurricane helped support West Texas Sour/Midland differentials early in the week, the market now appears to be handing back some of its gains. WTS/Midland changed hands at $1.56 a barrel under WTI/Cushing Thursday, about a dime below levels seen two days ago.
Light Louisiana Sweet/St. James has also come under pressure as North Sea Brent prices have fallen far enough to open the arbitrage to bring incremental imports across the Atlantic to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
"If it (the arbitrage) was any wider, you could drive a truck through it," one cash crude trader said Thursday.
LLS/St. James traded down to minus 25, 30 and 33 cents a barrel, compared to deals at just 10 cents below the benchmark earlier in the week.
Heavy Louisiana Sweet/Empire followed a similar course, dropping to 60 cents below the benchmark.
Otherwise, cash crude trade was at a near standstill early Thursday amid a week heavy with industry events. Cash crude traders put West Texas Intermediate/Midland around -30/-25 cents, while calling Eugene Island was talked at $1.15/$1.05 under WTI/Cushing.
WTI/Cushing postings plus was placed in a range between $2.38 and $2.40 a barrel.
10/29 21:04 U.S West Coast ANS Crude Diffs Steady In Thin Talk
LOS ANGELES, Oct 29 - U.S. West Coast crude oil differentials were steady Thursday while absolute prices eased with lower NYMEX futures.
Trade was quiet a day after an Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude cargo sold.
A December-delivery cargo sold at a discount of $1.37 a barrel under December West Texas Intermediate/Cushing.
The cargo was slated to arrive at an independent refiner's Hawaii plant in mid-December, traders said.
With the discount flat, pure ANS prices fell with a lower price for NYMEX oil, which settled five cents a barrel lower in daytime trade.
The notional price for West Coast ANS fell to $12.89/13.06 a barrel from $12.85/13.02.
A big ANS seller acknowledged doing the deal but declined to make another offer.
Buyers said the deal signaled cheaper ANS for December. They then claimed adequate production was discouraging them from buying ANS.
At least three buyers were looking to push the December ANS differential as wide as $1.50 under WTI.
West Coast spot crude markets were idle for other grades.
10/29 21:21 ACCESS U.S Crude Futures Fall After Supplies Rise
LOS ANGELES, Oct 29 - U.S. December crude oil futures prices were flat in thin after-hours trade Thursday.
Trade turned quiet on the final day of ACCESS trade for the week.
By 1820 PDT, December crude oil traded at $14.24 a barrel on ACCESS, flat from its NYMEX close where it finished five cents a barrel lower.
December crude volume was a light 325 lots for all months and 297 lots for December on ACCESS.
Gasoline and heating oil prices moved in opposite directions in the overnight market.
November unleaded gasoline traded 44.80 cent a gallon on ACCESS, down 0.10 cent with 25 lots exchanged for all months and 13 in November.
November heating oil traded 40 lots total, with 12 changing hands in November. The contract price rose 0.09 cent a gallon to 38.45 cents on ACCESS. |
