Crude Oil Prices

Crude Oil Prices Falls

Crude oil prices fell after reports indicated that a Caribbean tropical storm likely won't induce heavy damages like Hurricane Katrina, which ripped into Gulf of Mexico platforms and refineries a year ago. According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, tropical storm Ernesto weakened as it swept over Haiti and carried sustained winds of about 50 miles per hour, less than a third of Katrina's 170 miles per hour winds that tore oil and gas platforms off their moorings. Crude oil for October delivery fell $1.27, or 1.75 percent, to $71.24 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Paris. Oil reached $73.75 a barrel on August 25, on concern Ernesto would disrupt output at the Gulf of Mexico, source of a quarter of U.S. oil production. ConocoPhillips, BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc evacuated non-essential personnel from sites at the Gulf due to the impending storm. In London, Brent crude oil for October settlement fell $1.04, or 1.4 percent, to $71.68. (Source: Bloomberg)

U.S. Federal Court Bars OPEC From Price Fixing

A U.S. federal court reportedly has granted a one-year injunction barring oil producer group OPEC from fixing prices. Prewitt Enterprises won a civil anti-trust case in an Alabama court, accusing the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of conspiring to fix oil prices through oil supply agreements. OPEC is for the next year "restrained from entering any agreements among themselves or with third parties to raise, lower

OPEC Output Cut May Hit Shipping

According to a report from The Economic Times, the Indian shipping industry is concerned with the steady fall in crude oil prices and is waiting for the outcome of an important upcoming OPEC meeting. Industry officials feel that if Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cuts production further, tanker rates could go into free fall, delivering a body blow to the domestic shipping industry that has half of its fleet in tankers

API: U.S. Oil Stocks Are Down

U.S. oil supply worries found fresh impetus on Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute said that both crude oil and product stocks had fallen again -- hard on the heels of a massive draw earlier this month. U.S. crude stocks are now at their lowest level since March 1976. Crude oil prices were up sharply in after-hours trading after a decidedly bullish API report showed a 2.1 draw for the week ended August 4, despite a rebound in crude oil imports, which rose 1.34 million barrels to 9

Exxon, Shell Lose Nigerian Field Access

Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil lost an auction for Nigeria's most promising oil and gas fields last year to companies controlled by South Korea. In Venezuela, Royal Dutch Shell's bid to develop an offshore gas deposit collapsed when Brazil's state oil company stepped in. The world's biggest publicly traded oil producers are losing reserves to state-run companies willing to pay higher prices for energy needed to fuel growing economies. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, China's Cnooc Ltd

AP Moeller Shares Fly High In '99

Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moeller shares surged 95 percent in 1999, bolstered by a 150 percent rise in crude oil prices and improved freight rates, and analysts predict solid profits in 2000 along with more takeovers. Earnings per share (EPS) for D/S 1912 is expected to climb to 2,762 crowns this year and rise a further 24 percent to 3,424 crowns next year, with D/S Svendborg seen reaching 3,880 crowns in the current fiscal year and 4,917 crowns in 2000.

U.S. Vessels Ready to Transport Fuel to Northeast: AMP

Washington, D.C. – With concerns that refinery closures in the Northeast may cause gas prices to increase further, the American Maritime Partnership (AMP) notified the Administration that American vessels have ample capacity to transport petroleum to the region from the Gulf of Mexico. AMP’s letter comes after a federal analysis omitted key data about the domestic shipping industry’s overall capacity.  

Texaco Reports 1998 Results

Low crude oil and natural gas prices from weak demand and oversupply, along with foreign currency losses in Asian downstream operations caused earnings to drop sharply, Texaco Chairman and CEO Peter I. Bijur reported. Commenting on 1998 results, Bijur pointed to the following: Income before special items declined 50 percent in 1998 to $894 million, and declined 80 percent to $92 million in the fourth quarter. Average crude oil prices hit their lowest levels in more than 20 years

EIA: US stocks remain low

Crude oil prices have dropped recently following the latest weekly oil data report (ending 18 April) from the US. US crude stocks surged by 9 mb last week, according to US government data, while the American Petroleum Institute reported an even bigger gain of 13.1 mb. But the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has warned that despite the big jump in US crude stocks, US inventories of crude and petroleum products

Offshore E&P Spending To Rise 15% in N. America

Offshore oilfield service stocks, to put it mildly, have endured a wild ride for much of 1999. The once high-flying sector actually hit the skids in concert with the late 1997 Asian financial crisis, and resultant plummet in oil prices. Despite a raging rally in oil pricing for much of the year, investors have cautiously approached the stocks. One reason for the caution is purely psychological, as too many investors have been burned too many times on the cyclical stocks