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By : Alex Lawler (Reuters) - OPEC and non-OPEC producers led by Russia agreed on Thursday to extend oil output cuts until the end of 2018 as they try to finish clearing a global glut of crude while signaling a possible early exit from the deal if the market overheats. Russia, which this year reduced production significantly with OPEC for the first time, has been pushing for a clear message on how to exit the cuts so the market doesn't flip into a deficit too soon, prices don't rally too fast and rival U.S.  shale firms don't boost output further. Russia needs much lower oil prices to balance its budget than OPEC's leader Saudi Arabia, which is preparing a stock market listing for national energy champion Aramco next year and would hence benefit from pricier crude. The producers' current deal, under which they are cutting supply by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in an effort to boost oil prices, expires in March. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al

Tom DiCristopher Oil producers are unlikely to extend a deal to cap their output by nine months, a move that could result in a sharp pullback in prices, Citi Research analysts warned on Tuesday. Citi made the call just two days before  OPEC  and other oil exporters led by Russia are due to deliver the closely watched decision in Vienna, Austria. Analysts say current oil prices  reflect the market's expectation the deal will be extended through the end of next year. "Our expectation is that something short of a nine-month extension is delivered, likely either a shorter extension or a deferral of the decision until" the first quarter of 2018, when the deal is set to expire, Citi analysts wrote in a research note on Tuesday. If Citi's call is correct, it expects traders to liquidate their crude positions, leading to a sell-off likely to exceed the $3 per barrel swing in May when OPEC's last meeting disappointed the market. U.S. crude performance since

By : Holly Ellyatt Oil traders eagerly anticipating an extension of the current OPEC-led production cut could be left sorely disappointed this week, according market analysts including RBC Capital Market's Helima Croft. OPEC oil ministers will be in Vienna Thursday and there is widespread expectation that members will decide to extend oil output cuts beyond a deadline of March 2018, a move that has helped to stabilize prices. However, there is some anxiety that the biggest non-OPEC producer that also signed up to the output cut, Russia, could pull out of an extension, sending markets sharply lower. Croft, the global head of commodity strategy at RBC, told CNBC that Russia — or specifically Russian President Vladimir Putin — was the wildcard that could disappoint markets. "We still think the most likely outcome is to extend through 2018 because that was a Putin plan," Croft said Tuesday. " It was Vladimir Putin who raised the issue of a full-year extension i

By : Ellen R Wald With OPEC members generally in agreement to extend last year’s  oil  production cut deal beyond its March 2018 expiration date, the focus is now on OPEC’s non-OPEC partners—specifically Russia. Last November, when the deal was first struck, Russia’s cooperation played a key role in obtaining the initial OPEC consensus that was needed to initiate the production cuts. In fact, the OPEC deal probably would not have materialized if  Russia had not committed to cut 300,000 bpd. All told, non-OPEC producing countries contribute a total of 558,000 bpd in cuts, and without the non-OPEC participation it may have been impossible to convince some OPEC countries to participate. This past  October , Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters he supported extending the cuts through the end of 2018. However, Russian oil production is not exactly centrally controlled and cuts require the nominal consent of Russian oil companies. Russian oil minister Alexander Novak equiv

OPEC and Russia have crafted the outline of a deal to extend their oil production cuts to the end of next year, although both sides are still hammering out crucial details, according to people involved in the conversations. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and several non-OPEC nations led by Russia will meet next week in Vienna to discuss prolonging their output curbs. Moscow had been hesitating over the need for an extension now because the current deal doesn’t expire until the end of March. After days of talks, Moscow and Riyadh now agree they should announce an additional period of cuts at the Nov. 30 meeting, the people said, asking not to be named because the conversations are private. Russia wants the extension deal to include new language that would link the size of the curbs to the health of the oil market, they said. “The goal to re-balance the market hasn’t been met in full yet, so everyone is in favor of extensions to reach final goals, Russia also

REUTERS Oil prices rose on Wednesday, with U.S. light crude hitting highs not seen since June 2015 after disruptions to a major pipeline dented Canadian deliveries to the United States, where crude inventories were also reported to be falling. U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels in the week through Nov. 17, a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed. Analysts expected a decrease of 1.5 million barrels. Gasoline stocks were unchanged, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 737,000-barrel gain. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 269,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 1.2 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures  finished Wednesday's session up $1.19, or 2.1 percent, to $58.02 a barrel, the highest closing level since June 30, 2015. The contract touched a session high of $58.09, an intraday high going back to July

By : Sam Meredith The  world's largest oil exporter  could be poised to back out of a widely anticipated extension to global supply cuts, Chris Weafer, senior partner at Macro-Advisory, said Friday. OPEC  members are reportedly forming a consensus with other allied crude exporters to extend their production deal by nine months. That would prolong the agreement among OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing nations to keep 1.8 million barrels a day off the market through the whole of next year. Nonetheless, Weafer said that while at first glance  Russia  backing out of a production deal looking to clear a global supply overhang seemed to be a "crazy position to take," the context of Russia's changing industrial priorities meant it actually made "perfect sense." Weafer said if oil stays in the $60 to $65 a barrel range, Moscow's support for a deal extension beyond March next year would be "very unlikely." Weafer said that Russia still m

REUTERS Oil rose on Tuesday, supported by expectations of an extension next week to OPEC output cuts, but prices remained under pressure from signs of higher output in the United States. "Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a deteriorating macroeconomic picture in Venezuela will remain supportive of oil prices in the run-up to the November OPEC meeting," said Abhishek Kumar, Senior Energy Analyst at Interfax Energys Global Gas Analytics in London. "However, persistently high oil production in the United States will be the predominant bearish factor limiting gains in oil prices," Kumar noted. U.S. light crude  finished Tuesday's session up 41 cents at $56.83, recouping most the losses it posted on Monday.  Brent crude oil  was up 27 cents at $62.49 a barrel by 2:25 p.m. ET. Analysts said Brent was expected to fluctuate in a narrow range, from $61 to $63, as the market awaited the outcome of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countri

by  Alanna Petroff      @AlannaPetroff There's a new buzz powering public buses in London. British startup bio-bean has partnered with  Shell   ( RDSB )  and Argent Energy to create a coffee-based biofuel that will be used in London's diesel buses.  The company has produced 6,000 liters of coffee oil for the pilot project with London's transportation authority -- enough to help power the equivalent of one city bus for a year.  "It's a great example of what can be done when we start to reimagine waste as an untapped resource," bio-bean founder Arthur Kay said in a statement.  The startup collects used coffee grounds from cafes, restaurants and factories, and transports them to its recycling facility. There, the grounds are dried before coffee oil is extracted.  The coffee oil is then blended with other fuels to create B20 biofuel, which can be used in diesel buses without modification.  "Spent coffee grounds are highly calorific and contai

Ahead of next week's OPEC meeting in Vienna, strategists are closely watching swings in crude oil prices, which are faltering after weeks of gains. Despite political tensions involving oil superpower Saudi Arabia and OPEC's promises to cut production, crude  prices could come down by year-end, one strategist says. Here's why. • "Tensions in Saudi Arabia are still flaring following the actions by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," Chantico Global CEO Gina Sanchez said Monday on CNBC's " Trading Nation ," referring to a vast political shakeup in the kingdom earlier this month that initially boosted oil prices. • It is unlikely, however, that this will be an "actual geopolitical event," Sanchez said, and oil prices should continue settling. • Sanchez set her year-end price target for crude oil at $52.60 per barrel, though she is expecting swings in volatility along the way, along with "occasional spikes" as regional tension

 Omar Saleh said technology disruptions over the past three years had been a "wake-up call" for all oil and gas firms On Tuesday, Baker Hughes GE CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said continuous disruption in the oil and gas industry should be viewed positively Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to have the biggest technological impact on the oil and gas industry over the coming years, according to Microsoft 's oil and gas director for the Middle East and Africa. Speaking at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition Conference (ADIPEC) on Wednesday, Omar Saleh said technology disruptions over the past three years had been a "wake-up call" for all oil and gas firms. He said AI would be of "massive importance" over the next to five to 10 years, before adding that of any technology, AI would also have the most impact on the oil and gas sector overall. The U.S. shale revolution paved the way for a three-year oil price downturn that sent crude s

"It has clearly been driven by oversupply but this won't necessarily last that long amid a burgeoning demand for LNG," Oil Search CEO Peter Botten said American shale drillers upended the energy industry after years of booming production — and the U.S. wants to sell even more of its excess gas abroad A global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply glut may soon be offset by a rapid uptick in demand, Oil Search CEO Peter Botten said Wednesday.   "The market has fundamentally changed in the past few years," Botten said at the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition Conference (ADIPEC).   "It has clearly been driven by oversupply but this won't necessarily last that long amid a burgeoning demand for LNG." American shale drillers upended the energy industry after years of booming production — and the U.S. wants to sell even more of its excess gas abroad.   On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the U.S

Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects, said that there were a number of geopolitical issues that could affect the oil price Sen's comments come amid an improving outlook for oil prices following the sharp declines seen since 2014 due to a glut in supply and lackluster demand The analyst said that $60 to $65 per barrel range for oil was the "new range for Brent." Iran-Saudi Arabia tensions, a potential debt default in Venezuela and a territorial dispute in Iraq — those are just some of the reasons that geopolitics matters to the price of oil right now, according to the chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects. Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Amrita Sen said that there were a number of issues that could affect the oil price, with a particular concern being the lack of "inventory buffer" — a cushion of oil supply — if production was to fall from major oil producers for economic or political reasons. "Even if there is