Oil Glut News

The volume of crude stored on oil tanker vessels is currently estimated to around 200 million barrels and may be close to a peak, tanker group Frontline said in its first quarter results presentation on Wednesday."We are likely to see an unwind of floating storage in 2H 2020," it added.Even with output cuts from top producing nations, decreased oil demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic has created a major oil glut and a sharp uptick in floating oil storage on board tankers at sea.Hugo De Stoop, chief executive of rival shipping group Euronav, recenty said floating storage was "more likely to increase than to decrease"."At the moment we continue to be in a world that is oversupplied with oil and the oil has to go somewhere and the land storage is full," he told Reuters.

Leading tanker operator Euronav posted record high first-quarter results on Thursday and expects strong demand for oil storage at sea to continue in 2020, driving its shares up 8.5%.The world is still struggling with an oil glut due to a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus even after top oil producing countries have cut output. The glut has prompted a scramble to find storage options on land and sea.Hugo De Stoop, chief executive of Belgian group Euronav, said floating storage…

Oil traders are hiring expensive U.S. vessels, normally only used for domestic shipments, to store gasoline or ship fuel overseas, five shipping sources said, in a sign of the energy industry's desperation for places to park petroleum amid a 30% drop in worldwide demand.Billions of people worldwide are living under confinement rules due to the coronavirus pandemic, destroying demand for gasoline and other fuels and creating a supply glut. Storage tanks onshore and floating storage in tankers on the water are rapidly filling, leaving fewer options for traders looking to sock away oil.Several shippers said they have started to book Jones Act (JA) vessels for foreign voyages or to store refined products.

An increased number of oil tankers sit at anchor near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as the volume of oil products held in floating storage around the globe has skyrocketed in the past month amid what analysts are saying is the biggest oil glut in history.There were 27 tanker vessels off the coast of Southern California Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, who is monitoring the situation to help manage the surge.Oil traders are struggling to find enough…

Traders are storing an estimated record 160 million barrels of oil on ships - double the level from two weeks ago as they seek to tackle a glut of stocks created by a slide in global demand from the coronavirus, shipping sources say.Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed a record cut in output from May of 9.7 million barrels per day, or almost 10% of global supply, to help support prices and curb oversupply.At…

Oil traders are storing as much as 80 million barrels of oil on tankers at sea, with further ships being sought as land storage sites fill up fast due to a global glut of stocks, shipping industry sources say.Traders rushed for storage after global oil demand collapsed by a third due to the coronavirus outbreak, and as top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia have refused to curb output so far, creating what is believed to be the biggest oil glut in history.The last time floating storage reached similar levels was in 2009…

After a frantic week that sent crude oil freight rates to record highs amid a bookings bonanza to ship Saudi oil to the world, rates are now easing as charterers balk at the nosebleed charges and await Saudi volume plans for April, shipping sources said."Sentiment remained softer today," said one ship broker while pointing to another day of limited chartering activity.At least nine very large crude oil carrier (VLCC) provisional charters failed this week along with another five for Suezmax tankers…

The shipping industry will this year scrap the largest number of oil tankers in over half-a-decade, driven by weak earnings, firm prices for scrap steel and the need to prepare fleets for strict new environmental regulations.The surge in scrapping underscores how the sector is grappling with one of its worst-ever crises, hit hard after rates for transporting oil plunged to multi-year lows in the wake of excess tanker supply and tepid demand as OPEC production cuts bite."The tanker markets are definitely in a trough at the moment…

U.S. President Donald Trump accused OPEC on Friday of "artificially" boosting oil prices, drawing rebukes from some of the world's top energy exporters."Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea. Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!" Trump wrote on Twitter.It was unclear what triggered the tweet, Trump's first mention of OPEC on social media during his term.U.S. oil prices are near a three-year high…

Anadarko Petroleum Corp on Tuesday beat analysts' estimate for quarterly profit, helped by improved crude oil prices and lower costs. Crude prices are recovering from the lows hit in 2016 after a global crude oil glut. The company cut its 2018 capital investment outlook to a range of$4.1 billion to $4.5 billion, from $4.2 billion to $4.6 billion it previously forecast. Total full-year sales volume outlook was cut to a range of 238-248 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) from 245-255 MMBOE.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, won a decades-long battle on Wednesday to open part of an Arctic wildlife reserve in her state to oil and gas drilling, but Democratic senators and conservationists vow the war has only begun. The tax bill passed by Congress contains language pushed by Murkowski and supported by President Donald Trump to hold two lease sales in the 1.5 million-acre (600,000-hectare) 1002 area on the northern coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR.

Glencore looks set to cement its position as the world's second-largest oil trader as it tries to offset low volatility and tight margins with record volumes this year, its global head of oil, Alex Beard, told Reuters. The London-listed commodities trader and miner will shift around 6 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and refined product this year, up 25 percent from last year. The figure represents around 6 percent of global supply and only rival Vitol trades more oil, at some 7 million bpd. Most merchants are being forced to ramp up volumes to protect profits in an environment of low volatility. "We don’t set targets in terms of volumes," Beard told the annual Reuters Global Commodities Summit.

After the first OPEC oil production cut in eight years took effect in January, oil traders from Houston to Singapore started emptying millions of barrels of crude from storage tanks. Investors hailed the drawdowns as the beginning of the end of a two-year supply glut - raising hopes for steadily rising per-barrel prices. It hasn't worked out that way. Now, many of those same storage tanks are filling back up or draining more slowly than investors and oil firms had expected, according…

U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a 14th week in the last 15, extending a nine-month recovery as drillers take advantage of crude prices that have held mostly over $50 a barrel since OPEC agreed to cut supplies in late November. Drillers added eight oil rigs in the week to Feb. 10, bringing the total count up to 591, the most since October 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. During the same week a year ago, there were 439 active oil rigs. Since crude prices first topped $50 a barrel in May after recovering from 13-year lows last February, drillers have added a total of 275 oil rigs in 33 of the past 37 weeks, the biggest recovery in rigs since a global oil glut crushed the market over two years starting in mid 2014.

The U.S. oil rig count ended 2016 just below year-ago levels as drillers added rigs this week as part of the biggest recovery since a global oil glut crushed the market over two years. Drillers added two oil rigs in the week to Dec. 30, bringing the total count up to 525, the most since December 2015 and 11 shy of the 536 rigs seen at the end of 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. Since crude prices recovered from 13-year lows in February to around $50 a barrel in May…

After a year of tumultuous political and policy upheaval, both oil and tanker markets are undergoing a process of rebalancing. The fourth quarter of 2016 is capping what has been a mixed 12 months for the tanker markets. The agreement by OPEC members and non-members alike to cut production in an attempt to reduce oversupply will be a core determinant of conditions in 2017. The latest MSI Quarterly Tanker Market analysis finds that despite the cuts having a limited negative near-term impact, there are reasons to be positive on prospects for the longer-term.

U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for an eighth week in a row, extending a seven-month drilling recovery as crude prices remained near a 17-month high. Drillers added 13 oil rigs in the week to Dec. 23, bringing the total count up to 523, the most since December 2015, but still below the 538 rigs seen a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. Since crude prices recovered from 13-year lows in February to around $50 a barrel in May, drillers have added a total of 207 oil rigs in 27 of the past 30 weeks, the biggest recovery in rigs since a global oil glut crushed the market over two years. The Baker Hughes oil rig count plunged from a record 1,609 in October 2014 to a six-year low of 316 in May as U.S.

U.S. energy companies this week added oil rigs for a seventh week in a row, extending a seven-month drilling recovery as crude prices held near a 17-month high. Drillers added 12 oil rigs in the week to Dec. 16, bringing the total count to 510, the highest since January, but still below 541 rigs a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. Since crude prices briefly recovered from 13-year lows to around $50 a barrel in May, drillers have added oil rigs in 26 of the past 29 weeks for a total of 194, the biggest recovery in rigs since a global oil glut crushed the market over two years. Almost two-thirds of the rigs added since May…

U.S. energy companies this week added the most oil rigs since July 2015, extending the seven-month drilling recovery as crude prices rose to a near 17-month high. Drillers added 21 oil rigs in the week to Dec. 9, bringing the total count up to 498, the most since January, but still below the 524 rigs seen a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. Since crude prices briefly recovered from 13-year lows to around $50 a barrel in May, drillers have added a total of 182 oil rigs in 25 of the past 28 weeks…

Oil prices were up as much as 2 percent on Wednesday after a third surprise weekly drop in U.S. crude stockpiles helped assuage fears over a global oil glut. Oil was also supported by an industry strike in Norway that threatened to cut North Sea crude output and a weaker dollar ahead of a Federal Reserve policy announcement at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), where the central bank was expected to keep U.S. interest rates unchanged. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories fell 6.2 million barrels last week, versus a 3.4 million-barrel drop forecast in a Reuters poll. Crude stocks in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, have fallen since 14.5 million barrels were drawn in the week to Sept.

U.S. oil drilling has seen its best quarter since crude prices tumbled two years ago mainly due to small operators returning to the well pad, but analysts say the continued recovery in the rig count depends on whether OPEC's output reduction plan can bring the market back to $50 a barrel. Since May, drillers have added 100 oil rigs with the rig count rising to 416 rigs last week, that included the most additions in a quarter since the first quarter of 2014, according to oil service firm Baker Hughes Inc. The number of rigs had plunged from a record high of 1,609 in October 2014 to a low of 316 in May after crude prices collapsed in the biggest price rout in a generation, in part due to U.S. shale producers adding to a global oil glut.

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States rose again this week, extending its second-best streak of no cuts into a 17th straight week, with analysts expecting more additions as crude prices hold over $50 a barrel. Drillers added 11 oil rigs in the week to Oct. 21, bringing the total count up to 443, the most since February, but still below the 594 rigs seen a year ago, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc on Friday. That 17-week streak of not cutting rigs matched a stretch in 2010, making it the second-longest run since 1987, following 19 weeks in 2011. The Baker Hughes oil rig count plunged from a record of 1…

U.S. oil drillers increased rigs this week for a 21th week in the last 24, as energy firms follow through on plans to add rigs made months ago when crude was still trading over the key $50 a barrel level analysts said should lead to more drilling. Drillers added two oil rigs in the week to Nov. 11, bringing the total count up to 452, the most since February, but still below the 574 rigs seen a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. Since crude topped $50 a barrel in May, June and October, drillers have added 136 oil rigs, its biggest recovery in over two years since prices collapsed due to a global oil glut. The Baker Hughes oil rig count plunged from a record 1,609 in October 2014 to a six-year low of 316 in May as U.S.