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Four sources familiar with OPEC+ discussions have told Reuters that additional production cuts were being discussed among options for Sunday's session. Three out of four sources said cuts could amount to 1 million bpd on top of existing cuts of 2 million bpd and voluntary cuts of 1.6 million bpd, announced in a surprise move in April and which took effect in May. If approved, the new cut would take the total volume of reductions to 4.66 million bpd, or around 4.5% of global demand. Typically, production cuts take effect the month after they are agreed but ministers could also agree a later implementation. Three OPEC+ sources also said the group will address the issue of baselines for 2023 and 2024, from which each member performs cuts.

Persons: Prince Abdulaziz, Sunday's, Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Maha El Dahan, Julia Payne, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Hugh Lawson, Emelia Organizations: OPEC, Organization of, Petroleum, Reuters, Brent, Saudi Arabia's Energy, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, Nigeria, Angola, OPEC, Russia, West, UAE, Ukraine, China, India

Three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Friday cuts were being discussed among options for Sunday's session, when OPEC+ ministers gather at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) in Vienna. The sources said cuts could amount to 1 million bpd on top of existing cuts of 2 million bpd and voluntary cuts of 1.6 million bpd, announced in a surprise move in April and which took effect in May. If approved, this would take the total volume of reductions to 4.66 million bpd, or around 4.5% of global demand. The International Energy Agency expects global oil demand to rise further in the second half of 2023, potentially boosting oil prices. "There is simply too much supply," the JPMorgan analysts said in a note, noting extra cuts could amount to around 1 million bpd.

Persons: Leonhard, Russia's Novak, Hayan Abdel, Ghani, Suhail Al Mazroui, Prince Abdulaziz, Alexander Novak, Novak, Edward Moya, OANDA, Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Maha El Dahan, Julia Payne, Dmitry Zhdannikov, David Holmes Organizations: Austrian, REUTERS, LONDON, OPEC, Organization of, Petroleum, Reuters, UAE's Energy, Brent, Saudi Arabia's Energy, International Energy Agency, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, Saudi, OPEC, Russia, Ukraine, China, India, Russian

Three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Friday that cuts were being discussed among options for Sunday's session. The three sources said cuts could amount to 1 million bpd on top of existing cuts of 2 million bpd and voluntary cuts of 1.6 million bpd, announced in a surprise move in April and which took effect in May. If approved, this would take the total volume of reductions to 4.66 million bpd, or around 4.5% of global demand. Typically production cuts take effect the month after they are agreed, but ministers could also agree a later implementation. Two OPEC sources said the ministers could also discuss new production baselines from which each member performs cuts.

Persons: Leonhard, Hayan Abdel, Ghani, Suhail Al Mazroui, Prince Abdulaziz, Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Maha El Dahan, Julia Payne, Dmitry Zhdannikov, David Holmes, Frances Kerry, Christina Fincher Organizations: Austrian, REUTERS, OPEC, Organization of, Petroleum, Reuters, UAE's Energy, Brent, Saudi Arabia's Energy, International Energy Agency, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, Saudi, OPEC, VIENNA, Russia, Ukraine, China, India, West, Nigeria, Angola, UAE

☆ OPEC denies media access to Reuters, Bloomberg, WSJ for weekend policy meets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Leonhard FoegerVIENNA, June 2 (Reuters) - OPEC has denied media access to reporters from Reuters, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal to report on oil policy meetings in Vienna this weekend, reporters, Bloomberg and people familiar with the matter said on Friday. OPEC staff declined on Friday to give media accreditation to Reuters journalists to cover the event. The staff handling media accreditation at one of Vienna's luxury hotels said they could not issue accreditation without an invite. A Bloomberg spokesperson confirmed on Friday the company has not been given accreditation to cover the OPEC meeting. Reporters from the three outlets, many of whom have been covering OPEC meetings for years, did not receive invitations from OPEC ahead of the meeting.

Persons: Leonhard Foeger VIENNA, Platts, Alex Lawler, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Ahmad Ghaddar, Julia Payne, Maha El, Simon Webb, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Organization of, Petroleum, REUTERS, OPEC, Reuters, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, of, Thomson Reuters Corp, Thomson, Street, Argus Locations: Vienna, Austria, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, Russia

Three OPEC+ sources said cuts were being discussed among options for Sunday, when OPEC+ ministers gather at 2 p.m. in Vienna (1200 GMT). The sources said cuts could amount to 1 million bpd on top of existing cuts of 2 million bpd and voluntary cuts of 1.6 million bpd that was announced in a surprise move in April. Earlier, two OPEC+ sources said they did not expect the group to agree further cuts. "We will never hesitate to take any decision to achieve more balance and stability (on) the global oil market," Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said on arriving in Vienna. The International Energy Agency expects global oil demand to rise further in the second half of 2023, potentially boosting oil prices.

Persons: JP Morgan, Hayan Abdel, Ghani, Prince Abdulaziz, Alexander Novak, Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Maha El Dahan, Julia Payne, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Kirsten Donovan, Barbara Lewis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: OPEC, Reuters, Organization of, Petroleum, Brent, Saudi Arabia's Energy, International Energy Agency, JP, Rapidan Energy Group, Thomson Locations: Saudi, VIENNA, Russia, OPEC, Vienna, Russian

Two OPEC+ sources said they did not expect the group to agree further output cuts on Sunday, when OPEC+ ministers gather at 2 p.m. in Vienna (1200 GMT). Before then, OPEC ministers will meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday. As the economic outlook worsened, several members of OPEC+ in April pledged voluntary cuts starting from May, adding to a 2 million barrels per day (bpd) reduction agreed last year. A fourth source said the idea of formalising the voluntary cuts as an OPEC+ decision was being looked at. Last week, Prince Abdulaziz told investors he said were shorting the oil price to "watch out", which many market watchers interpreted as a warning of additional supply cuts.

Persons: Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Prince Abdulaziz, Alexander Novak, Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Maha El, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: OPEC, Organization of, Petroleum, Saudi Energy, United, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, OPEC, Russia, Vienna, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Russian

LONDON/DUBAI, June 1 (Reuters) - OPEC and its allies are unlikely to deepen supply cuts at their ministerial meeting on Sunday despite a fall in oil prices toward $70 per barrel, four sources from the alliance told Reuters. It brought total output cuts to 3.66 million bpd, or about 4% of global consumption. In March 2020, it abandoned production quotas altogether, launching a Saudi-Russian price war at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that sent oil prices 25% lower. It quickly re-established quotas with its biggest output cut to date of about 10 million bpd, agreed in April, 2020. OPEC has said it expects oil demand growth to reach 2.33 million bpd this year as non-OPEC supplies grow by 1.4 million bpd.

Persons: Brent, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Alexander Novak, Goldman Sachs, Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Rowena Edwards, Maha El, Simon Webb, Barbara Lewis Organizations: LONDON, OPEC, Reuters, Organization of, Petroleum, West, Brent, Saudi Energy, Saudi, HSBC, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Russia, West African, Nigeria, Angola, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, Vienna, Russian, China, 2H23, OPEC, London, Maha El Dahan, Dubai, Moscow

☆ Explainer: Why is OPEC+ cutting oil output?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A global recession could lead to lower oil prices. Oil prices have also come under pressure from concerns about the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations and fears of a debt default in the world's biggest oil consumer. Surprise production cutsPUNISHING SPECULATORSThe cut will also punish oil short sellers or those who bet on oil price declines. The United States, which released most stocks, said it would buy back some oil in 2023, but later ruled it out. OPEC observers also say the group needs nominal oil prices to be higher because of money printing by the West in recent years has lowered the value of the U.S. dollar.

Persons: Brent, Alexander Novak, PVM Oil's Tamas Varga, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen, Joe Biden's, Ahmad Ghaddar, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Barbara Lewis Organizations: OPEC, Saudi Energy, Standard Chartered, International Energy Agency, West, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Russia, Vienna, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, Russian, Brent, Washington, Ukraine, United States, U.S

☆ Oil mixed as recession fears are tempered by U.S. inventories
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Ahmad Ghaddar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. crude oil stocks fell by about 6.1 million barrels in the week ended April 21, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute (API) figures on Tuesday. Analysts had expected crude inventories to fall by about 1.5 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels last week while distillate inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels, the sources said. U.S. crude oil stockpiles have been falling since the middle of March as refineries have increased runs to produce more gasoline ahead of the peak summer demand period that starts in May. This has pushed WTI futures prices into backwardation, when prompt futures are higher than later-dated futures, reflecting the higher refinery demand.

☆ OPEC+ cuts partly due to reshaping of global oil flows, IEA says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Ahmad Ghaddar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - European Union and G7 restrictions on Russian oil exports led to a global shift in oil flows, with Asian refiners soaking up discounted Russian crude, in part explaining the recent OPEC+ decision to curtail output further, the West's energy watchdog said on Friday. "The rapid upheaval in global crude trade flows, may in part explain the recent decision by OPEC+ to cut production," the IEA said. Unlike Asian refiners, which benefited from heavy discounts on Russian crude, European refiners have not been given any price incentive to process Middle East crudes, the IEA said. Bottlenecks and logistical constraints which prevent some European refiners from handling very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and a rise in Middle East crude differentials to the region partly explain why Europeans shunned Middle Eastern medium sour. Higher energy costs for reducing sulphur content in crude to produce cleaner fuels, a process known as hydrotreating, was another reason, the IEA said.

☆ Oil rises 2% on lower-than-expected US inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Prices rose about 2% on Tuesday. The CPI rose 6% year-on-year in February. Markets shrugged off a small build in U.S. crude oil stocks, attributing it in part to a congressionally mandated release of oil from the U.S. emergency reserve and lower exports at the start of the month. Meanwhile, the global oil market could see tightness in the second half of 2023, which would push oil prices higher, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. In a negative for oil demand, the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday trimmed its 2023 global growth outlook, citing the impact of higher interest rates.

☆ Energy trader Gunvor posts record $2.36 bln net profit in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ahmad Ghaddar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Gunvor Group Ltd FollowLONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - Gunvor Group posted a record net profit of $2.36 billion in 2022 with a strong performance across all trading desks, the energy trader said in a statement on Wednesday. Gunvor's rivals also had a bumper year amid high price volatility and as Russia's war in Ukraine reshaped global commodity flows, with Vitol and Mercuria previously posting record net profits of $15 billion and $2.98 billion, respectively. Gunvor said its trading volumes fell to 165 million tonnes in 2022 from 240 million tonnes the previous year, due primarily to reduced trading in natural gas, but expected volumes to rebound in the coming year. "The performance was broad-based across all geographies and all desks, including refining and shipping," Gunvor said. Last month, CEO Torbjorn Tornqvist told Reuters that it was considering whether to book a provision in the 2022 year.

☆ Analysis: OPEC+ in driver's seat as oil supply growth lags demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. shale oil drillers over the last two decades helped to turn the United States into the world's largest producer. OPEC has this year been lowering its U.S. shale oil output forecast, having also done so in 2022. OPEC trims shale forecastsAn OPEC+ source, asked if OPEC+ is in the driver's seat when it comes to the oil market now, said: "We are not in the passenger seat". LACK OF INVESTMENTOPEC sources have cited a lack of sufficient investment to increase supply as likely to support prices this year. Demand growth is expected to exceed non-OPEC supply growthThe International Energy Agency, which represents 31 countries including top consumer the United States, also expects demand growth to exceed supply growth, although to a smaller extent than OPEC.

"The new cuts are underpinning that the OPEC+ group is intact and that Russia is still an integral and important part of the group," SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop said. Higher prices will likely spell more income for Moscow to fund its expensive war in Ukraine, upsetting Saudi-U.S. relations further, Schieldrop said. "The U.S. administration may also argue that higher oil prices will counter its efforts to put out the inflation fire," he added. [1/2] An OPEC flag is seen on the day of OPEC+ meeting in Vienna in Vienna, Austria October 5, 2022. "Producing countries apparently want to see oil prices rise to $90-$100/bbl, but higher oil prices also mean higher risk of economic downturn and sluggish demand," he added.

☆ OPEC oil output falls on Angola, Iraq outages - Reuters survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has pumped 28.90 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, the survey found, down 70,000 bpd from February. OPEC+ lowered its output target by 2 million bpd, of which about 1.27 million bpd was to come from the 10 participating OPEC countries. With the declines in Angola and Iraq this month, compliance with the agreement increased to 173% of pledged cuts, according to the survey, against 169% in February. ANGOLA, IRAQThe largest drop of 100,000 bpd was in Angola due to a small export programme and field maintenance on the Dalia stream. Among countries with higher output, Nigerian production again posted OPEC's biggest increase in March, the survey found, bringing the country closer to a target to lift output to 1.6 million bpd this quarter.

West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude futures fell 70 cents, or 1%, to $69.26 a barrel. Brent futures rose 2.8% in the week while U.S. crude futures rose 3.8%. The dollar rose 0.6% against other currencies, which also pressured oil, making crude more expensive to holders of other currencies. Goldman Sachs said commodities demand was surging in the world's biggest oil importer, with oil demand topping 16 million bpd. That means Russia aims to produce 9.7 million bpd between March and June, according to Novak, a much smaller output cut than Moscow previously indicated.

Oil prices hit 15-month lows on Monday in response to the banking crisis that followed the collapse of two U.S. lenders and resulted in Credit Suisse being rescued by Switzerland's biggest bank UBS (UBSG.S). Falling oil prices are a problem for most of the group's members because their economies rely heavily on oil revenue. A third delegate said the recent slump in oil prices was related to speculation in the financial market, not market fundamentals. In its most recent monthly report, OPEC upgraded its forecast for Chinese oil demand growth this year but maintained its projection for global demand growth at 2.32 million bpd. Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Maha El Dahan and Alex Lawler Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ French strikes continue to block refinery shipments and LNG terminals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Forrest Crellin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Eric GaillardPARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - Shipments of refined products from French refinery and depots were blocked on Monday by a 13th day of strike action, though some refineries operated with a reduced flow. The cost of keeping LR2 vessels floating outside ports is leading many traders to avoid shipments into France, traders said. Strikes also continued through the weekend and into Monday at ExxonMobil (XOM.N) subsidiary Esso's Fos refinery, blocking deliveries, CGT union representative Germinal Lancelin said. At French liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, the strike was extended until March 27 at the three terminals operated by Engie (ENGIE.PA) subsidiary Elengy, a union representative said. Another vote will be held later this week, possibly on Wednesday, on whether to take further strike action, the representative added.

The outages have in recent days led to growing concern that French and regional supplies of fuels, in particular diesel, could tighten in the coming weeks. Reuters GraphicsThe profit margin for refining crude oil into diesel has jumped by nearly 40% over the past month. The Ekofisk North Sea crude grade, produced at a field in Norway where TotalEnergies has equity, relies on France for two-thirds of its export stream, Rauball said. Meanwhile, prices for crude grades from Nigeria, one of France's top suppliers, have dropped by around $1/bbl in the past two weeks, traders said. "It's a buyer's market, with WTI and Azeri crude offered way down to sell," a trader of West African crude said.

☆ Oil extends losses as rate hike concerns spur sell-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Ahmad Ghaddar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped $1.11, or 1.4%, to $76.47 a barrel. "[We] expect the continued recovery in civil aviation demand in China and neighboring countries, a stabilisation in industrial activity and slower non-OPEC+ supply growth to drive the oil market balance into a deficit later this year," the bank added. Data from the API showed U.S. crude inventories fell by about 3.8 million barrels in the week ended March 3, according to market sources. The drawdown defied forecasts for a 400,000 barrel rise in crude stocks from nine analysts polled by Reuters. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories rose by about 1.8 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by about 1.9 million barrels, according to the sources.

☆ Oil rises on China growth hopes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ahmad Ghaddar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Brent crude futures for April , due to expire on Tuesday, were up by 87 cents, or 1.1%, to $83.32 per barrel by 1059 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.18, or 1.6%, to $76.89 a barrel. JPMorgan's oil analysts maintained their 2023 average price forecast on Brent crude futures at $90 per barrel. The market will be looking to the latest U.S. oil stocks data due from the American Petroleum Institute industry group on Tuesday and the government's Energy Information Administration on Wednesday for further demand indicators. Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, were expected to have decreased by about 500,000 barrels last week.

Companies Bp Azerbaijan FollowBp Plc FollowLONDON/BAKU, Feb 8 (Reuters) - BP Azerbaijan has declared force majeure on loadings of Azeri crude from the Turkish port of Ceyhan, after a series of earthquakes on Monday, the company said on Wednesday. The notice was issued to oil shippers following a temporary suspension of loading operations from the Ceyhan Marine Terminal (CMT), BP Azerbaijan spokeswoman Tamam Bayatly told Reuters by email. BP Azerbaijan operates the Azerbaijan and Georgia sections of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Azerbaijan uses the Turkish port of Ceyhan as its main crude export hub, with a flow of about 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Iraqi crude pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan oil export hub resumed flows on Tuesday evening and a tanker docked to load Iraqi crude at Ceyhan earlier in the day.

Brent crude futures were up $2.70, or 3.3%, to $83.69 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $3.03, or 4.1%, to $77.14 per barrel. The U.S. dollar index fell after the data, raising oil prices. The BTC terminal, which exports Azeri crude oil to international markets, will be closed through Wednesday. Iraqi crude oil loadings from storage in Ceyhan were ready for resumption on Tuesday, but bad weather was preventing vessels from berthing, a trade source said. Iraq's crude oil pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan port was still halted, the Kurdistan Regional Government's energy ministry said.

The U.S. dollar index fell after the data, raising oil prices. Forecasted stronger demand in China also lifted crude prices on Tuesday. The BTC terminal, which exports Azeri crude oil to international markets, will be closed on Feb. 6-8. Iraqi crude oil loadings from storage in Ceyhan were ready for resumption on Tuesday, but bad weather was preventing vessels from berthing, a trade source with direct knowledge said. Iraq's crude oil pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan port was still halted, the Kurdistan Regional Government's energy ministry said.

REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo/File PhotoNEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose about 2% on Thursday on expectations that global demand will strengthen as top oil importer China reopens its economy and on positive U.S. economic data. Brent futures rose $1.35, or 1.6%, to settle at $87.47 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 86 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $81.01. "Crude prices got an unexpected boost from a U.S. economy that doesn’t want to break," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at data and analytics firm OANDA. China has been easing stringent COVID-19 restrictions this month, with Beijing reopening borders for the first time in three years. The OPEC+ ministerial panel meeting on Feb. 1 is likely to endorse the oil producer group's current output levels, OPEC+ sources said.

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