Oil & Gas Prices - April 18

Post Reply
dan_s
Posts: 34463
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:22 am

Oil & Gas Prices - April 18

Post by dan_s »

Opening Prices:
> WTI is down $0.32 to $80.51/bbl, and Brent is down $0.36 to $84.40/bbl.
> Natural gas is down -0.3c to $2.272/MMBtu. (As of 07:46 AM CDT)

AEGIS Notes
Oil

Oil trades lower for a second day despite China’s strong economic data
> May ‘23 WTI fell 32c this morning to trade around $80.51/Bbl
>China’s economy expanded by 4.5% in the first quarter, surpassing expectations
> However, oil prices continue to face downward pressure from the strengthening U.S. dollar
> Kurdish oil exports (0.45 MMBbl/d) remained halted since March 25 as Iraq negotiates with Turkey
> Meanwhile, Russia’s crude exports bounced back above 3 MMBbl/d last week, despite Moscow saying it had lowered output

China’s refinery throughput hits a record high (BBG)
> China's oil refineries processed a record 14.97 MMBbl/d of crude in March 2023, an 8.8% YoY increase, the highest daily volume on record
> China, the world's largest crude importer, is expected to drive the majority of crude demand growth in 2023
> Refiners met the higher demand for gasoline and jet fuel by increasing production, but processing rates may decrease in April and May due to seasonal maintenance
> However, the summer travel season could lead to a substantial rise in fuel demand < Gasoline and diesel inventories are below normal in the U.S.

Natural Gas

Natural gas prices are trading slightly lower, around $2.27, after posting a 16c gain yesterday
> Weather forecast changes are mixed, with the Northeast forecast warming by 10.6 °F over the two-week period and the South Central cooling by 12.7 °F
> Pipeline nominations indicate LNG feedgas is at 14.5 Bcf/d, close to the record high of 14.8 Bcf/d
> Total LNG on water for at least 20 days is at the highest level since last year

Rio Grande LNG faces setback (BBG)
FERC has suspended the environmental review schedule for the carbon capture and sequestration system of NextDecade’s planned Rio Grande export facility
NextDecade said in a statement that the suspension would not impede their progress in developing the planned carbon capture project
FERC was expected to issue the environmental assessment by May 5; however, due to insufficient information provided, the assessment will take additional time

Federal court rules that California city cannot enforce natural gas ban (Reuters)
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Berkely’s 2019 ban on new natural gas hookups violates the US Energy Policy Conservation Act
This is the first federal court ruling on gas bans, with New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and about a dozen other municipalities instituting or proposing bans
At least 20 states have so far enacted preemptive legislation to stop bans on natural gas appliances or connections
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Post Reply