This morning our "Gang of 9" went whale watching. Perfect weather, a great crew and lots of whales & dolphins. PV has become one of our favorite destinations.
I see that you guys are pushing oil prices higher; good work!
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Tuesday March 12, 2019
Oil started off the week with strong gains, largely due to severe disruptions in Venezuela from a widespread blackout. WTI and Brent rose to a two-week high.
Saudi Arabia to keep deep cuts in place through April. Saudi Arabia plans to keep oil production below 10 mb/d in April, extending its deeper-than-required cuts for another month. The move highlights Riyadh’s desire to rapidly drain inventories and boost prices.
Venezuela blackout disrupts oil exports. A widespread electricity blackout in Venezuela disrupted oil operations, impacting both production and exports. Data is opaque at this time, but Venezuela’s oil exports could be headed for a freefall. Energy Aspects estimates output may have temporarily plunged to as low as 500,000 bpd, or half the output level from January.
Citgo and Valero try to return oil shipments to Venezuela. Due to U.S. sanctions, Citgo and Valero (NYSE: VLO) are trying to send back oil cargoes to Venezuela. In total, more than 6 million barrels of oil are in limbo, Reuters reports.
U.S. presses India to stop buying oil from Venezuela. American officials are pressuring India to stop importing oil from Venezuela. “We say you should not be helping this regime. You should be on the side of the Venezuelan people,” Elliott Abrams, Trump’s point man on Venezuela, told Reuters in an interview. The U.S. has sent signals that it is considering “secondary sanctions,” in which it would target foreign banks who do business with Venezuela. A similar approach has been crucial in increasing pressure on countries not to do business with Iran.
Oil and gas sector facing “crisis of confidence. The oil and gas sector is suffering from a “crisis of confidence,” according to Equinor (EQNR) CEO Eldar Sætre. Climate change and society’s lack of trust in the industry on environmental issues poses a long-term threat. "We are collectively not doing enough," Sætre said. He called on others to lower emissions and become more transparent. Equinor, for instance, invests heavily in renewable energy. The Wall Street Journal also reports that BP’s (NYSE: BP) CEO Bob Dudley will voice similar concerns in a speech Tuesday evening.
Libya restarts Sharara. Libya is bringing its largest oil field back online after a three-month hiatus. According to Bloomberg, the return of the Sharara field could help Libya’s output reach a six-year high.
Permian M&A to rise sharply. Analysts expect M&A activity to increase in the Permian, driven by aggressive growth plans on the part of the oil majors, as well as by financial pressure on small- and medium-sized drillers. “The ability of the larger companies to do an accretive acquisition is probably at its highest level since the beginning of the shale revolution,” Michael Roomberg, a fund manager at Miller/Howard Investments Inc., told Bloomberg. “M&A interest is at its highest in nearly a decade.” Meanwhile, Shell is scouring the Permian for deals, where it has lagged far behind Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM).
The View From Puerto Vallarta
The View From Puerto Vallarta
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group
Re: The View From Puerto Vallarta
The U.S. said late Monday that it is pulling its last remaining diplomats from Venezuela, saying their continued presence at the country's embassy in Caracas had become a "constraint" on U.S. policy as the Trump administration aggressively looks to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro.
The announcement came from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a tweet shortly before midnight comes as Venezuela struggles to restore electricity following four days of blackouts around the country.
The U.S. has led an international effort to replace Maduro with opposition leader Juan Guaido, who vows to hold a new presidential election. Guaido is backed by some 50 countries, while Maduro maintains support from countries such as China, Russia and Cuba.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/venez ... 0502qh3sfi
The announcement came from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a tweet shortly before midnight comes as Venezuela struggles to restore electricity following four days of blackouts around the country.
The U.S. has led an international effort to replace Maduro with opposition leader Juan Guaido, who vows to hold a new presidential election. Guaido is backed by some 50 countries, while Maduro maintains support from countries such as China, Russia and Cuba.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/venez ... 0502qh3sfi
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group