Oil Dips On Buzzard Restart, Iraq; US Crude Tests Below $50
NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Monday, with U.S. crude briefly falling below $50 per barrel, on news of the impending restart of Britain's Buzzard oilfield and Iraq's wish to be exempted from OPEC production cuts.
Buzzard, the North Sea field that contributes to the Forties crude stream and which pumps about 180,000 barrels per day (bpd), will restart on Tuesday or Wednesday, from a month-long planned maintenance, an industry source said.
Iraq's oil minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) wanted to be exempt from output curbs as it needed more money to fight Islamic State militants.
OPEC hopes to remove about 700,000 bpd from an estimated global supply of 1.0-1.5 million bpd. Details of how much each member should cut have been left to its meeting in Vienna on Nov. 30.
Brent, the international benchmark for crude, settled down 32 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $51.46 a barrel. Its session low was $50.50.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 33 cents, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $50.52.
WTI slid below $50 for the first time since Oct. 18, hitting a session low of $49.62, as some players locked in profits from oil's climb of more than $5 a barrel, or about 13 percent, over the past month.
"We're seeing some length exiting the market," said Pete Donovan, broker at New York's Liquidity Energy.
In Forties crude, which influences pricing for Brent, differentials were at their weakest in two weeks pending the restart of the Buzzard field.
"Obviously, it means increased supply for Brent versus what had been the status quo," said David Thompson, executive vice-president at commodities-focused broker Powerhouse in Washington.
A Reuters poll showed that U.S. crude inventories were also forecast to have risen last week by a likely 800,000 barrels, after a fall of more than 5 million barrels in the week to Oct. 14.
Still, losses in oil were limited by higher equity prices on Wall Street and by data from energy monitoring firm Genscape showing a weekly draw of about 1.0 million barrels of crude at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for WTI.
The Seaway Crude Pipeline system, a 850,000-bpd system which moves crude from Cushing to Gulf coast refineries, was, meanwhile, set to reopen on Monday after being shut since Sunday.
Prices also pared losses toward the settlement as bulls gained more control.
12
View Full Article
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- Weatherford CEO's Rebound Plan Relies On Getting Smaller
- Iran Says Oil Market Is Too Tight For US Zero Exports Target
- China's Squeezed 'Teapots' Eye Petchem Path To Riches
- Baker Hughes: US Drillers Add Oil Rigs For Second Week In Three
- Venezuela Hands China More Oil Presence, But No Mention Of New Funds
- ExxonMobil Racks Up Discoveries in Guyana Block Eyed by Chevron
- Oil Market Sentiment Has Improved Significantly
- EU, US Eye Collaboration on Nuclear Materials
- EU Electricity Export to Ukraine Up 94 Percent in Two Years
- China Coal Output Falls for First Time since Government Ordered More
- USA Driving Activity to Increase to All-Time Highs
- BP Pulse Buys One of Europe's Largest Truck Stops
- UK CCUS Plans Outdated: Think Tank
- TC Energy to Sell Prince Rupert Gas Pipeline Project to First Nation
- I Squared Eyes Full Ownership of Europe Gas Storage Firm
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- EIA Drops 2024 Henry Hub Gas Price Forecast
- EIA and Standard Chartered Offer Up Latest Oil Price Predictions
- Red Sea Region Sees Another Watershed Incident
- Chevron Oil Project in Kazakhstan to Cost $48.5B
- OPEC Voices Encouragement after IEA Affirms Support for Oil Security
- Biden Govt Bares Strategy for Freight Charging, Hydrogen Fueling Infra
- Ukraine Hits Third Russian Refinery In Escalating Drone Strikes
- Rystad Looks at the Buzz Around White Hydrogen
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Is Peak Oil Demand Close?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Reveal Latest Oil Price Forecasts
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Rystad Forecasts Net Production of Top Permian Producers in 2024
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension