EnergyColumn: Oil prices lose momentum as funds cut positions
John Kemp
2 minute read
File photo: A pump jack stands idle in Dewitt County, Texas January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Anna Driver.
Portfolio managers trimmed their bullish positions in petroleum last week for the second week running, after prices again failed to break through the recent ceiling around $70 per barrel.
Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 35 million barrels in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts in the week to May 18, according to exchange and regulatory data.
Sales were concentrated in Brent (-25 million barrels) and NYMEX and ICE WTI (-16 million), with small-scale buying in U.S. diesel (+2 million) and European gas oil (+4 million), and no change in U.S. gasoline.
EnergyMercuria-backed Tailwind buys BP stake in Shearwater UK oilfield
Reuters
1 minute read
The logo of BP is seen at a petrol station in Kloten, Switzerland October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Tailwind, a private oil producer backed by commodity trader Mercuria, has agreed to buy BP s (BP.L) 27.5% stake in the Shearwater oilfield in the British North Sea, it said on Monday.
BP had previously agreed to sell the stake in Shearwater, as well as the stake in the BP-operated Andrews field, to Premier Oil, but the deal fell through when Chrysaor bought Premier Oil to form Harbour Energy (HBR.L) last year.
Middle EastChevron says to restart Tamar gas field on Israeli orders
Ron Bousso
2 minute read
A Chevron gas station sign is seen in Del Mar, California, April 25, 2013. Chevron will report earnings on April 26. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Israel s energy ministry has instructed Chevron to restart operations at the offshore Tamar natural gas platform, nine days after it was shut due to unrest in the region, the company said.
Production at the Tamar platform, located some 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) off the city of Ashdod along Israel s southern Mediterranean coast, was expected to reach full capacity within 36 hours of its restart, Chevron said in a statement on Friday.
EnergyAs Iran eyes end of oil export sanctions, will former Asia clients buy?
Joori RohYuka Obayashi
3 minute read
A general view of Abadan oil refinery in southwest Iran, is pictured from Iraqi side of Shatt al-Arab in Al-Faw south of Basra, Iraq September 21, 2019. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani
As Iran gears up to resume oil exports once the United States lifts trade sanctions, former key clients in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan say they ll wait for the U.S. green light before investigating terms under which they might buy Iran s oil again.
Iran s president said on Thursday that the United States was ready to lift sanctions, and Indian refiners plus at least one European refiner are already reassessing purchases to make room for Iran s oil in second-half 2021. read more