Oil and Gas Prices - Feb 27

[dan_s]

Trading Economics:

WTI Oil
WTI crude oil futures rose over $70 per barrel on Thursday, recovering slightly from a two-month low of $68.62 in the previous session, as supply concerns resurfaced.
> US President Trump announced he was reversing a license granted by Biden that allowed Chevron to operate in Venezuela, which could tighten global oil supply. Chevron exports about 240,000 barrels per day from Venezuela, and halting its operations will reduce the country's oil output.
> Additionally, EIA data showed a surprise build in US fuel inventories, with gasoline and distillate stocks increasing while crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly.
> Trump also stated that his administration would rapidly fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), criticizing Biden's use of it to lower gasoline prices.
> Meanwhile, attention remains on Trump's peace talks with Russia and Ukraine, with the Ukrainian president set to visit Washington to sign a rare earth mineral deal on Friday.
No mention of Team Trump's sanctions on Iran meant to reduce their exports to zero.

Natural Gas
US natural gas futures rose to $4/MMBtu on Thursday, supported by record gas flows to LNG export plants and slightly cooler weather forecasts.
> LNG feedgas averaged 15.6 bcfd in February, up from 14.6 bcfd in January, driven by increased flows to Venture Global's Plaquemines plant, which hit a record 1.8 bcfd.
> Meanwhile, the EIA reported a 261 bcf gas storage withdrawal for the week ending February 21—below analysts' forecasts of 266 bcf but well above the five-year average of 141 bcf—due to last week’s extreme cold.
> Gas production in the Lower 48 states rebounded to 105.2 bcfd by February 27 after falling to 100.5 bcfd on February 19 due to freeze-offs. Still, output remains near the record 104.6 bcfd set in December 2023.
> Looking ahead, meteorologists expect warmer-than-normal weather across the Lower 48 through March 14, which may limit further price gains.
The front month NYMEX contract is now APR25. MAY25 through MAR26 contracts are all above $4.00 with the JAN26 contract trading at $5.14 at the time of this post.