Oil & Gas Prices - April 12

[dan_s]

Opening Prices:
> WTI is up $3.74 to $98.03/bbl, and Brent is up $4.01 to $102.49/bbl.
> Natural gas is up 17.4c to $6.817/MMBtu.

AEGIS Notes
Oil

Oil traded higher Tuesday morning as China lifted some restrictions in Shanghai
> Demand concerns surrounding China’s recent Covid-19 outbreak have helped pressure oil prices lower
> The oil market’s structure has weakened in the last couple of weeks as higher physical prices have given way to calmer market conditions (Bloomberg)

Crude exports from Russia are showing signs of stress amid the retracement of European buyers (BBG)
> European oil majors, including Shell and TotalEnergies SE, have said they will stop buying oil from Russia as they loath the war in Ukraine
> There are signs that buyers in Asia are trying to soak up discounted Russian crude
> According to Bloomberg, many crude tankers leaving Russia are executing ship-to-ship transfers to mask barrels headed to Asia

Natural Gas

Natural gas prices are trading higher, yet again, with the prompt-month contract printing around 17.4c higher near $6.817
> The gas-weighted heating degree total for April fell by 8.6 HDDs to a total of 359. The total for April is above average. The April 2021 HDD total was 323 but was 374 in 2020
> Lower-48 dry gas production fell by 1.2 Bcf/d according to pipeline nominations, but this year's push mirrors the timing of last year's production increase heading into summer
> LNG feedgas demand fell by 1.3 Bcf/d to 11 Bcf/d. A 1.26 Bcf/d fall at Cheniere's Sabine Pass LNG facility is to blame for the decrease
> Cheniere moved up its planned Creole Trail maintenance event to 4/12-4/13, which impact around 0.5 Bcf/d. However, the majority of the decrease came from direct feeder pipes such as NGPL, Transco, and KM Louisiana, according to Criterion

FERC amends Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC's certificate order to allow for changes to the construction plans
> The order allows the company to tailor construction plans for 183 waterbody and wetlands crossings along the project route
> The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) must still obtain permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management — all either pending or tied up in court
> Many analysts stated that the approval was very constructive for the project's outlook, and shows that the federal government supports the project
> The agencies, administration's attitude towards energy changed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the increased need for gas, globally < Their "attitude" will change a lot more when Republicans wipe out the Democrats in the midterms. The American people have had enough of the "The Green Bad Deal".

[dan_s]

OilPrice.com:
"After last week’s decline, oil prices have started to pick up again on the back of hopes for Chinese demand rebounding soon and OPEC warnings that it would be impossible to replace 7 million b/d of Russian oil and products exports. Thus, Brent CFDs have moved into contango whilst the ICE Brent futures curve retains its usual backwardated shape, albeit narrower. All this indicates that whilst the IEA SPR release has managed to ease fears of immediate tightness, the structural supply/demand deficit is still on the agenda in oil markets."

[dan_s]

Closing Prices:
> Prompt-Month WTI (May 22) was up $6.31 on the day, to settle at $100.60
> Prompt-Month Henry Hub (May 22) was up $0.037 on the day, to settle at $6.680