Brent Oil Hits Highest Price This Year on Fresh Supply Threats
Global oil benchmark Brent on Tuesday rose above $89 a barrel for the first time since October, albeit briefly, as oil supplies faced fresh threats from Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities and escalating conflict in the Middle East.Brent futures for June delivery were up $1.35, or 1.5%, at $88.76 a barrel by 11:40 a.m. EDT (1540 GMT) after touching a peak of $89.08.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May rose $1.27, or about 1.5%, to $84.98 after touching a peak of $85.46…
Russian, Kazakh Crude Oil Exports Hit by SPM Repairs
Russian and Kazakh oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) Black Sea terminal face at least one month's disruption each once repairs begin on two of its three single point moorins (SPMs), CPC confirmed on Tuesday.Oil exports via the two SPMs have been suspended due to equipment damaged by bad winter weather, CPC said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report on Saturday.CPC added that a planned inspection of the third SPM at the Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal would require it to be temporarily shut for a matter of hours.
Less Kazakh Crude, Pipeline Impacts Black Sea Liftings
Crude oil and refined oil product shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi fell 22.7 percent in 2014 from a year earlier, a senior official at the terminal said on Monday. Bad weather in Kazakhstan, where the oil is produced, lower-than-expected output from the Kashagan oilfield at the beginning of the year and re-routing part of oil shipments to the Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline contributed to the decline, said the official, who declined to be identified. The Batumi terminal, operated by Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas , shipped 4.355 million tonnes of oil and oil products last year, down from 5.634 million tonnes in 2013. Shipments in December were 441,675 tonnes, down from 457,033 tonnes in December 2013, but up from 423,940 tonnes in November.
Batumi Oil Liftings Down 25 pct YTD
Crude oil and refined product shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi were down 24.6 percent in the first 10 months of the year from a year earlier, a senior official at the terminal said on Monday. Bad weather in Kazakhstan, where the oil is produced, and lower-than-expected output from the Kashagan oilfield at the beginning of the year contributed to the decline, said the official, who declined to be identified. The Batumi terminal, operated by Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas , shipped 3.490 million tonnes of oil and oil products during the 10 months, down from 4.631 million tonnes in the same period of 2013. Shipments in October were 266,791 tonnes, down from 612,751 in October 2013 and from 403,435 in September this year.
Kashagan Consortium: Oil Production Not Expected in 2014
A consortium developing Kazakhstan's huge Kashagan oilfield said on Monday it did not expect to produce oil in the offshore field this year due to leaking pipelines. "The current assessment, based on the results of an investigation, is that both the oil and the gas pipelines might have to be fully replaced," the consortium also said. The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) consortium includes Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell , China's CNPC, Japan's Inpex and Kazakh state-run KazMunaiGas.
Kashagan Output May Not Start Till 2016
Output at Kazakhstan's huge Kashagan oilfield may not start until 2016, the Financial Times said on Sunday, citing Kazakhstan's minister for economy and budget planning. Erbolat Dossayev told the FT he hoped production could be restarted late next year. "But if not, we will wait until 2016," the FT cited him as saying in an interview. Production at the offshore deposit, the world's biggest oil find in 35 years, started in September but was halted in early October after the detection of gas leaks in the $50 billion project's pipeline network. Earlier this month French major Total said no oil production was to be expected from Kashagan this year and it was not likely to yield much next year either.
