Oil & Gas Prices - March 26
Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:39 am
Opening Prices:
> WTI is up 146c to $60.02/Bbl, and Brent is up 140c to $63.35/Bbl.
> Natural gas is down 1.0c to $2.560/MMBtu.
AEGIS Notes
Crude Oil
Yemen Houthi rebels claim more attacks on Saudi Aramco oil sites
According to Saudi Arabia’s state-run news agency, a fire broke out at a fuel-storage tank at a depot in the city of Jazan after being hit by a Houthi missile
Attacks from the rebel group have ramped up in recent months, prompting the Kingdom to seek help from the U.S. and other allies
AEGIS notes that while the Houthi-led attacks rarely cause any significant damage, the frequency of the attacks has increased recently
Downed vessel blocking the Suez Canal may take at least a week to remove (Bloomberg)
The canal blockage is currently holding up about 2 MMBbl/d of oil flow, according to Braemar estimates
Rates for oil tankers have also increased since the canal became disrupted, reaching $17,000/day – its highest levels since June 2020
AEGIS notes that the price response to the canal obstruction has been relatively muted thus far as other bearish factors, namely weakening demand, have pressured oil prices this week. The prompt-contract price is slated for a $1.40/Bbl decrease on the week
Natural Gas
Natural gas storage in the U.S. declined more than market expectations in the week ended March 19
Prompt-month and Summer 2021 gas prices rose following the 36 Bcf drop in inventories, despite likely being the last net pull on storage of the heating season
Storage decreased by 36 Bcf to 1.746 Tcf and was more than the 21 Bcf draw expected by Platts. It was also greater than the 26 Bcf draw reported this time last year but still under the five-year average withdrawal of 51 Bcf, according to the EIA
Platts admitted part of their error on its model was due to underestimating the gains in demand as part of the long recovery from February’s deep freeze in the South Central
Tellurian will not sanction its proposed liquefaction project until it has secured sufficient upstream reserves for the 16 million mt/year first phase of the up to 27.6 million mt/year facility, said CEO Octavio Simoes in an interview with Platts
When asked when Tellurian will make a final investment decision on its Driftwood LNG export terminal in Louisiana, Simoes said, “stay tuned”
Tellurian will not move forward with the LNG project until they secure more drilling rights, given it currently only has a small acreage position in the Haynesville
The company is offering 10 million mt/year of Driftwood supply for a 10-year term for the price of the monthly Platts JKM assessment or Dutch TTF Index, minus the cost of shipping
Tellurian hopes eliminating Henry Hub price from the mix will remove one measure of volatility that has so far prevented it and many of its North American competitors from building
> WTI is up 146c to $60.02/Bbl, and Brent is up 140c to $63.35/Bbl.
> Natural gas is down 1.0c to $2.560/MMBtu.
AEGIS Notes
Crude Oil
Yemen Houthi rebels claim more attacks on Saudi Aramco oil sites
According to Saudi Arabia’s state-run news agency, a fire broke out at a fuel-storage tank at a depot in the city of Jazan after being hit by a Houthi missile
Attacks from the rebel group have ramped up in recent months, prompting the Kingdom to seek help from the U.S. and other allies
AEGIS notes that while the Houthi-led attacks rarely cause any significant damage, the frequency of the attacks has increased recently
Downed vessel blocking the Suez Canal may take at least a week to remove (Bloomberg)
The canal blockage is currently holding up about 2 MMBbl/d of oil flow, according to Braemar estimates
Rates for oil tankers have also increased since the canal became disrupted, reaching $17,000/day – its highest levels since June 2020
AEGIS notes that the price response to the canal obstruction has been relatively muted thus far as other bearish factors, namely weakening demand, have pressured oil prices this week. The prompt-contract price is slated for a $1.40/Bbl decrease on the week
Natural Gas
Natural gas storage in the U.S. declined more than market expectations in the week ended March 19
Prompt-month and Summer 2021 gas prices rose following the 36 Bcf drop in inventories, despite likely being the last net pull on storage of the heating season
Storage decreased by 36 Bcf to 1.746 Tcf and was more than the 21 Bcf draw expected by Platts. It was also greater than the 26 Bcf draw reported this time last year but still under the five-year average withdrawal of 51 Bcf, according to the EIA
Platts admitted part of their error on its model was due to underestimating the gains in demand as part of the long recovery from February’s deep freeze in the South Central
Tellurian will not sanction its proposed liquefaction project until it has secured sufficient upstream reserves for the 16 million mt/year first phase of the up to 27.6 million mt/year facility, said CEO Octavio Simoes in an interview with Platts
When asked when Tellurian will make a final investment decision on its Driftwood LNG export terminal in Louisiana, Simoes said, “stay tuned”
Tellurian will not move forward with the LNG project until they secure more drilling rights, given it currently only has a small acreage position in the Haynesville
The company is offering 10 million mt/year of Driftwood supply for a 10-year term for the price of the monthly Platts JKM assessment or Dutch TTF Index, minus the cost of shipping
Tellurian hopes eliminating Henry Hub price from the mix will remove one measure of volatility that has so far prevented it and many of its North American competitors from building