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Peak Oil Review – 21 Sep 2015

After some intra-week volatility, New York oil prices were unchanged for the week closing at $44.68. Brent, however, suffered a 3.2 percent weekly loss closing at $47.47. Much of the week’s oil-price action came on Friday after the US Federal Reserve announced on Thursday it was postponing any increase in interest rates. While such an announcement would normally support oil prices by lowering the value of the dollar, the oil markets jumped to the conclusion that the US economy must be in worse condition than is apparent and fell 5 percent in sympathy with the equity markets. A third weekly drop in the rig count did little to stem the tide as traders are getting use to the idea that small changes in the oil-rig count no longer have much impact on production.

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Quote – 14 Sep 2015

“On the face of it, the Saudi-led OPEC strategy to defend market share regardless of price appears to be having the intended effect of driving out costly, ‘inefficient’ production.”

International Energy Agency, September Oil Monthly Report

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Peak Oil Review – 14 Sep 2015

Oil traded in a narrow range last week between $44 and $46 per barrel in New York and $48 to $50 a barrel in London. Increases mostly came from news suggesting that better economic times might be ahead in some part of the world, while declines came when concerns about high inventory numbers, oversupply, and the outlook for China took precedence. US natural gas futures have cycled steadily between $2.73 per million BTUs and $2.64 for over a month now with little news to drive prices out of their trading range.

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Quote – 7 Sep 2015

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Chukchi and Beaufort seas hold 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil. “It’s probably fair to say, this [Shell’s drilling effort in the Chukchi sea] is the most scrutinized, analyzed project — oil and gas project — probably anywhere in the world. I’m actually sure of that. We can’t afford to have a problem here.”

Marvin Odum, CEO Shell Oil Co.

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Peak Oil Review – 7 Sep 2015

The three day, nearly 30 percent, price surge which began the week before last continued through last Monday, then slowed as the week progressed with New York crude closing Friday up 1.8 percent and Brent down by 0.9 percent. New York futures settled on Friday at $46.05 and London at $49.61.

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Quote – 31 Aug 2015

“With oil down again [the day they hit $38], $20 per barrel predictions will be amplified. Remember the oil business doesn’t work at these prices.”

Analysts at Tudor Pickering Holt & Co.

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Peak Oil Review – 31 Aug 2015

It was one of the wildest weeks for the oil markets in recent years. On Monday, another plunge in the Chinese stock markets sent New York oil futures below $38 a barrel and London down to $43, a six and one half year low. The markets bounced around on Tuesday and Wednesday and then surged upwards for two days on the news that the US’s GDP was doing better than previously thought and that the Chinese situation was stabilizing. By Friday afternoon New York futures were up 12 percent for the week, the largest one-week gain since February 2009, closing at $45.22 a barrel. London’s Brent gained 10 percent during the week, closing at $50.05.

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Quote – 24 Aug 2015

“As part of our long-term plan to build a more resilient economy, create jobs and deliver secure energy supplies, we continue to back our onshore oil and gas industry and the safe development of shale gas in the U.K.”

British Energy Minister Nick Bourne

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Peak Oil Review – 24 Aug 2015

The great oil price slide of 2014-15 is taking on epic proportions. US futures traded for a while below $40 a barrel on Friday while Brent closed out at $45.46. Last week the financial press struggled to find an historical comparison to what is taking place in the oil markets. Some papers finally settled on the price crash of 1986 which sent oil prices down to $10 a barrel and led to the demise of the Soviet Union as the most apt. The now familiar forces of too much oil in inventories with nobody moving to cut production; China’s exports, manufacturing, yuan, and stock markets continuing to drop with still more problems in sight; and the prospect for increased Iranian exports after the nuclear agreement is ratified; all contributed to the falling prices. Many sense a decisive shift in the oil markets overall appraisal of the situation with those expecting a price rebound at any minute throwing in the towel and acknowledging that those not expecting a substantial price increase until late 2016 or even 2017 are probably right.

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Quote – 17 Aug 2015

“Oil prices have so many moving parts that it’s exquisitely challenging to predict.”

Jan Stuart, Credit Suisse Group AG global energy economist [Commenting on his February forecast that oil would average around $67/barrel at year-end 2015.]

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Peak Oil Review – 17 Aug 2015

Oil prices have now had a 7th consecutive weekly loss with New York futures closing Friday at $42.50 and London at $49.19. Last week Beijing’s devaluation of the yuan joined the 2 million b/d oil glut and an unplanned outage at a major US refinery to send oil prices lower. Traders now are talking about prices falling into the $30s. The week’s new data included: US crude stocks falling a bit, but not as much as expected; new forecasts from the IEA and EIA which predict that the glut will continue and US production will fall until late in 2016 at which time production and oil prices will rise; the monthly report from North Dakota saying that shale oil production continued to rise in June and that its well-head prices are now down to $28 a barrel; and that the US rig count was up slightly the week before last.

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Quote – 10 Aug 2015

“Frack now and pay later.” Business is so tough for oilfield giants Schlumberger and Halliburton that they have come up with a new sales pitch for crude producers halting work in the worst downturn in years. It amounts to this: “frack now and pay later.” The moves by the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 oil services companies show how they are scrambling to book sales of new technologies to customers short of cash after a 60 percent slide in crude to $45 a barrel. In some cases, they are willing to take on the role of traditional lenders, like banks, which have grown reluctant to lend since the price drop that began last summer, or act like producers by taking what are essentially stakes in wells.

Terry Wade and Anna Driver, Reuters

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Peak Oil Review – 10 Aug 2015

Oil prices continue to fall with New York futures closing Friday at $43.87 and London at $48.61, both down 7 percent for the week. There was the now usual mid-week bounce as traders anticipated that US crude inventories would decline. This time they did fall for the third straight week, but record refining simply turned the crude into inventories of oil products leaving the total stockpiles of commercial crude oil and products largely unchanged at the time of year when it usually drops due to heavier summer demand.

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Quote – 3 Aug 2015

“A steady supply of gas from Iran would not be a silver bullet for Pakistan’s energy crisis. Woeful energy sector governance is perhaps an even more debilitating factor than supply, with risks including rampant theft, poor maintenance, and transmission and distribution losses of around 20 percent.”

Oliver Coleman, deputy head of Asia programs at analytical firm Verisk Maplecroft [Note: Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populous nation with roughly 190 million inhabitants]

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Peak Oil Review – 3 Aug 2015

Last week started with the China’s stock markets suffering the biggest one-day loss in eight years. After that it was mostly down hill for the oil markets. There was a bounce after the Wednesday stocks report showed a larger-than-expected, 4.2 million barrel, drop in the US crude inventory, but by the end of the week prices were falling again. At the close Friday New York futures were down to $47.12, the lowest close since March 20th, and London was down to $52.26. The week’s losses left US oil futures down 21 percent during July and Brent down 18 percent, the largest one-month losses since last December. The price drop in July was the largest since the 2008 financial crisis.

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Quote – 27 Jul 2015

“Corruption in Nigeria has virtually developed into a culture where honest people are abused. The amount of money [involved] is mind-boggling but we have started getting documents where some of the senior people in government and former ministers have as much as five accounts and were moving about one million barrels per day on their own. We have started getting those documents.”

Nigeria’s President Buhari

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Peak Oil Review – 27 Jul 2015

The slide in oil prices continued with New York futures closing Friday at $48.14, down 6 percent for the week, and London futures closing at 54.42, down 4.3 percent during the week. This time the decline was aided by an increase of 21 rigs drilling for oil in the US suggesting that US shale oil production will increase or at least decline more slowly. The decision to reactivate these rigs was likely taken a month or more ago when prices seemed to be stabilized around $60 a barrel. In addition to the increase in rigs, the now normal factors of a stronger US dollar, a contracting Chinese economy, increasing inventories, and higher oil output from Saudi Arabia and Iraq contributed to the falling prices. The prospect that more Iranian oil will be coming on the the market before the end of the year also keeps pressure on the market.

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Quote – 20 Jul 2015

“For a brief, brave moment this year there was a sense the worst was over for the oil sector. This week, that feeling evaporated.”

Gregory Meyer, The Financial Times, July 17, 2015

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Peak Oil Review – 20 Jul 2015

While still volatile, oil prices continued to decline last week with New York futures closing at nearly a three-month low of $50.89 – down 3.5 percent for the week and 14 percent this month. In London oil futures followed a similar pattern with Brent also finishing at close to a three-month low of 57.10 – down 3.2 percent for the week and 10 percent this month. This was the third consecutive weekly loss for oil futures.

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Quote – 13 Jul 2015

“The Economist has examined the books of the 62 largest listed exploration and production firms in America whose collective output is mainly from shale. The results suggest many first are more vulnerable than the bullish noises from their bosses suggest. There are three sets of concerns: the juicing-up of the results announced for the first quarter of 2015; high leverage; and the industry’s returns on capital.”

The Economist, July 4th issue

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Peak Oil Review – 13 Jul 2015

Last week US oil prices had their biggest weekly decline since March as concerns about over supply, the Greek debt crisis and China’s stockmarket plunge all came together to force prices down. Most of the decline came on Monday and Tuesday in the wake of the Greek Austerity referendum with New York futures trading below $51 a barrel, down $10 from where they had been in the previous week and London got close to $55 a barrel before a rebound set in. By Sunday night the Greeks reached a deal with the other Eurozone members over a bailout and Beijing “stabilized” its equity markets using draconian measures. New York futures closed out the week at $52.74 and London at $58.57.

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Quote – 6 Jul 2015

“The initial [round of layoffs] was an absolute bloodbath to get rid of all the people who were not core, but if things don’t improve, they’re going to have to start cutting again. If the price of oil – or when the price of oil comes back—the question is whether we are going to have sufficient folks out there to meet the increased demand [for well completion services].”

Bob Gray, a partner in the transactions practice at Mayer Brown LP

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Peak Oil Review – 6 Jul 2015

The gradual down trend in oil prices which began in early May continues with New York futures closing the week at $55.52 and London at $60.32 – down about 13 percent from the spring highs. The Greek crisis; the Iranian nuclear negotiations; reports of near-record oil production by Russia and OPEC resulting in a circa 2 million b/d global surplus; the steep decline in the Chinese equity markets; and the announcement that the US drilling rig count increased last week after 29 consecutive declines all contributed to weak prices. At $55 a barrel, NY futures have now broken out of the $57-62 trading range that has obtained since early May.

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Peak Oil Review – 29 Jun 2015

Crude oil prices were little changed last week, with New York futures trading around $60 a barrel and in London around $63. As has been the case for several weeks, the global oversupply of crude, the Greek debt crisis, and China’s weak economy have kept downward pressure on the markets. Trader hopes that the summer driving season will soon push up the demand for gasoline and expectations of an economic rebound continue to support oil prices. The uncertainties of the Iranian nuclear negotiations cut both ways with an agreement likely leading to a large increase in available crude, while failure of the talks would lead to increased tensions or worse in the Middle East.

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