Both benchmarks on Wednesday hit their highest levels since March 8
Browsing: crude oil
But markets were held back by more signs of growing US production and by worries that import demand in China could slow
Customs data showed on Monday that Russian shipments surged nearly a quarter over 2015 to about 1.05 million barrels per day, with Saudi Arabia coming in a close second with 1.02 million bpd, up 0.9 per cent in 2016 versus the previous year
Prices for Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $53.75 per barrel at 0316 GMT, up 11 cents from their last close
Trading volume across markets was expected to remain thin as it usually is in the week between Christmas and the New Year
US crude futures were up 32 cents at $53.62 a barrel, while benchmark Brent crude futures added 26 cents to $55.61
“However, there is considerable uncertainty around the outlook as we await the details and the implementation of the OPEC agreement, which, if carried through, will undoubtedly impact oil markets
Experts such as Barrister Israel Aye, the Managing Partner of Sterling Partnership of Energy, and Akinbode Olufemi, the Deputy Executive Director of Environmental Right Action, have attributed the challenges in the sector to policies and regulations supposedly meant to guide petroleum operations.
A former Financial Officer of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited and CEO of ME Consulting, Victor Eromosele, made a case for the retention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
Global benchmark Brent crude futures rose to the highest level since October 12, up 32 cents at $51.76 a barrel at early trading.
It earlier touched $51.83 a barrel
Kachikwu said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that the export level was negatively affecting the 60 per cent to 40 per cent Joint Venture agreement of the Federal Government
The positive tone of OPEC at the meeting in Vienna assuaged concerns over an intensified battle for market share between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran
Above $50 a barrel, oil was seen by many market players as breaching a psychological barrier that could lead producers, particularly among US shale companies to revive operations scrapped in recent years
Besides, the prices of oil have been helped by supply disruptions from a combination of Nigerian, Venezuelan and other outages
He condemned the incessant attacks on oil installations in the country, saying: “We declined from 2.2 million barrels, which was the focus of the 2016 budget, to 1.4 million barrels as of today
Traders said sentiment in the entire commodity complex had turned more confident in spite of ongoing oversupply, with new cash being put into the market by investors.
“We now see a growing risk of higher OPEC supply,” especially as Saudi Arabia threatened it could hike output following the failed deal.
Oil prices have fallen by as much as 70 per cent since mid-2014 as producers have pumped one to two million barrels of crude every day in excess of demand
“The weak dollar is one important reason,” said Eugen Weinberg of Commerzbank, who added: “Also, the fact that we are above $40 and at multi-month highs is also contributing to the price increase as it is prompting some speculative buying.
The gains build on last week’s rally, when crude rose 6 per cent in one session on the back of a drop in the rig count of US drillers to its lowest since November 2009.
The rise is bolstered as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries floated the idea of a production freeze, boosting brent from about $27 and U.S. crude from around $26.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela, along with non-OPEC member Russia, agreed last month to freeze output at January levels, but Iran has rejected such a deal