Oil & Gas Prices - April 22

[dan_s]

Opening Prices:
> WTI is down 52c to $76.91/Bbl, and Brent is down 34c to $80.74/Bbl.
> Natural gas is down 13.3c to $5.542/MMBtu.

AEGIS is having a webinar today at 2PM CT on the topic of "How high could gas prices go, and is it a realistic expectation?"
Send me an email and I will forward the registration link to you: dmsteffens@comcast.net

AEGIS Notes
Crude Oil

Oil prices extended losses on Thursday after the U.S. announced the possibility of releasing crude from its strategic reserve, and Russia offered to ease Europe’s natural gas crisis
> Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that record volumes of gas could potentially be exported to Europe this year as the region faces an energy crunch
> This could mean there would be less of an incentive for consumers to switch to oil

The U.S. raised the prospect of releasing crude oil from the SPR, and said that “all tools are on the table,” (Financial Times)
> U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm did not rule out a crude oil export ban and said, “That’s a tool that we have not used, but it is a tool as well,”
> AEGIS notes that the Biden administration has repeatedly complained about raises gasoline prices

It is “only a matter of time” before OPEC+ accelerates supply increases, especially if oil remains over $80/Bbl, according to Citigroup (Bloomberg)
The group’s decision to stick with an increase of only 400 MBbl/d for the next month was clearly an effort to maximize short-term revenue as demand escalates and inventories drop, the bank said

Natural Gas

The EIA is expected to report a 107-Bcf injection for the week ending October 1, which would be more than the 98-Bcf build in the corresponding week of last year
> Analysts estimates ranged from a build of 101 Bcf to 114 Bcf
> A build within this range would bring total stocks near 3.277 Tcf and the deficit to the five-year average near 218 Bcf
> Over the past several weeks, the supply-demand backdrop has loosened. A 107-Bcf build would be the second-largest of the 2021 injection season
> The current end-of-season storage number has ticked higher over the last month and settled at 3.625 Tcf on ICE (October 6), which represents a 120-Bcf increase over the 30 days

Russia is boosting gas supplies to Europe in response to the energy crunch, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday
> Russian gas sales to Europe may hit a new record this year, he said, and transit via Ukraine is set to exceed volumes agreed to under Gazprom’s contract with Kyiv
> Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that a quick Nord Stream 2 certification would also cool soaring European gas prices

[Fraser921]

>That’s a tool that we have not used, but it is a tool as well,”

They are a tool, all symbolic as we are a net importer today due to Team Biden's lame policies

[dan_s]

Closing Prices:
> WTI prompt month (NOV 21) was up $0.87 on the day, to settle at $78.30/Bbl.
> NG prompt month (NOV 21) was up $0.002 on the day, to settle at $5.677/MMBtu.