The outages start to hurt
The market has at last noticed the mounting supply-side problems, which are now pushing up oil prices
AFTER the failure of the Doha oil-producer meeting in April you might have thought crude prices would plummet. Saudi-Iranian rivalry has for now thwarted any attempt at capping Opec supply. But Brent futures rallied, rising from around $42.77 a barrel on 18 April – the day after the Doha meeting – to just under $49/b on 17 May. WTI has also strengthened, reaching more than $47/b in mid-May, up from around $30/b in January. Futures look certain soon to enjoy a $50 handle. An old market chestnut, seemingly forgotten in the glut, is the reason: unplanned production outages. Together, they have offset some of the effect of rising Opec supplies. Wildfires in Alberta took an estimated 1.2m b/d of
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US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
