Zeetrade News

By  Meredith Taylor Big Oil is due for a disruption. The world’s most important industry has been carrying on without any significant changes in its day to day routine for far too long. But now, the new tech on the block has its sights set on the multi-trillion-dollar oil and gas sector. It’s official: Blockchain technology has infiltrated Big Oil. The  hype behind blockchain  has reached a full-blown frenzy. And for good reason. The technology, which creates secure ledgers for digital transactions and rapidly accelerates the pace at which transactions can be made, has the potential to disrupt every major industry: real estate, shipping, banking and healthcare. Blockchain is truly revolutionary, and Big Oil is finally catching on. In an industry that has used technology to reduce breakeven costs to  all-time lows , create gigantic drilling rigs run by  robots , and even tap reserves located  10 miles below the sea , the oil and gas sector has been slow to jump on the

By  Nick Cunningham Back in 2014, U.S. shale production was growing so fast that it ended up crashing the market. Now, history could be repeating itself. That was the warning from the International Energy Agency, which said in its latest Oil Market Report that a “second wave” of shale supply threatens another downturn. Total global oil supply is expected to grow faster than demand this year, which could lead to another downturn. It’s a conclusion that the IEA tried to emphasize in previous reports, but the message finally seems to be sinking in. The extraordinary run up in benchmark prices in December and January came to a startling end two weeks ago. Part of the reason was because of the broader market turmoil in equities, and part of it was because hedge funds and other money managers had overbought oil futures, exposing the market to a price correction. But as the IEA notes, the real worry is rising oil supply, which means that “the underlying oil market fundamentals in

Oil prices turned positive on Wednesday, as government data showed a smaller-than-expected rise in U.S. crude stockpiles. Futures fell earlier in the session as the stock market slumped on U.S. government data showed a key inflation indicator rose more than expected in January. Ongoing weakness in the U.S. dollar as well as economic growth were somewhat supporting oil markets. Lucy Nicholson | Reuters Oil prices rebound from earlier losses on Wednesday after government data showed U.S. crude stocks rose less than expected and the Saudi energy minister signaled that oil producers will not prematurely end a deal to limit output. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures  ended Wednesday's session up $1.41, or 2.4 percent, at $60.60 a barrel.  Brent crude futures were up $1.68, or 2.7 percent, at $64.40 per barrel by 2:29 p.m. ET. U.S. crude inventories rose 1.8 million barrels last week, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed compared with expectations

OPEC's production cuts have nearly achieved their goal of shrinking global crude stockpiles. But rising U.S. output could delay OPEC's goal of balancing the long-oversupplied oil market, the International Energy Agency warned. The delay is reminiscent of OPEC's failed policy of letting oil prices fall in order to wash out U.S. producers. Tom DiChristopher |  @tdichristopher Big oil-producing nations have nearly achieved their goal of draining a prolonged oil glut after taking some bitter medicine: cutting the crude production that funds their governments. But with victory in sight, U.S. drillers are poised to spoil OPEC's plans for the second time in three years. On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency warned that surging U.S. production could delay OPEC's bid to balance the long-oversupplied oil market. It's another sign that the 14-member cartel will have to adjust to a market whose ups and downs are increasingly influenced by U.S.

Sam Meredith |  @smeredith19 "U.S. producers are enjoying a second wave of growth so extraordinary that in 2018 their increase in liquids production could equal global demand growth," the IEA said in its closely-watched report published Tuesday. In November 2014, the so-called U.S. shale revolution prompted OPEC to announce a new strategy geared towards improving its market share. Market conditions in early 2018 seem to be reminiscent of that first wave of U.S. shale growth, prompting the IEA to warn history could be repeating itself. The relentless rise of  U.S.  shale growth could soon spark another dramatic change of policy from leading oil producers, according to the latest monthly report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). "U.S. producers are enjoying a second wave of growth so extraordinary that in 2018 their increase in liquids production could equal global demand growth," the IEA said in its closely-watched report published Tuesday. &

By  Irina Slav  - Feb 09, 2018, 9:30 AM CST Those analysts who warned that oil prices can’t go on rising forever now have the chance to tell everyone else “I told you so.” Brent and WTI have fallen by  9 percent  since the highs they hit in late January, with the international benchmark slumping to  US$64.42  today in midday Asian trade, and West Texas Intermediate falling to  US$60.61  a barrel. The problem with bubbles is that they are so irresistibly shiny while they expand, but sooner or later every bubble pops. Sometimes the bang can be deafening, which is what happened four years ago. This time it was quite loud, too. Energy analyst Tom Kloza from the Oil Price Information Service warned at the end of January that there is a “tremendous speculative bubble.” He warned that the price is due for a serious correction. Reuters’ John Kemp noted that bullish bets on Brent, WTI, and the four most popular oil product futures are at all-time highs, which also suggests a correction

By  Nick Cunningham Shale executives have gone to great lengths to convince investors that they will  not drill aggressively  now that oil prices have rallied into the $60s. But in a new report released on Tuesday, the EIA essentially said that those assurances are just a lot of hot air. The EIA’s  Short-Term Energy Outlook  predicted that U.S. oil production would top 11 million barrels per day (mb/d) this year. Last month, the agency said that the U.S. wouldn’t hit that threshold until November 2019. The revision from just a few weeks ago is dramatic. In January the EIA estimated that the U.S. would surpass 10 mb/d at some point in February. But recently published data shows that the U.S. actually hit that milestone last November, and now, the agency says the U.S. actually averaged 10.2 mb/d in January. On an annual basis, the U.S. produced 9.3 mb/d last year, a figure that is set to jump to 10.6 mb/d for 2018. Things slow down a bit in 2019, with an average of 11.2 mb/d.