Oil prices spike sharply after OPEC fails to deliver by Daniel J. Graeber Washington (UPI) Jun 21, 2018 Crude oil prices were soaring in early Friday trading after OPEC apparently disappointed with the terms of a consensus agreement on production. Ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are meeting in Vienna for a regular meeting. On the agenda is a balanced market with little room for shocks like steady declines from Venezuela, a founding OPEC member, security issues in member-state Libya and the potential loss of Iranian oil barrels. Saudi and Iranian ministers hinted early Friday that a consensus agreement was reached, though the actual communiqué spelling out the terms wasn't yet released as of 9:15 a.m. EDT. Vandana Hari, a market analyst and founder of Vanda Insights, told UPI early Friday that it appears OPEC will agree only on lowering compliance to 100 percent, rather than outlining any specific production figures for the second half of the year. "The deal is still-born," she said. "OPEC has wimped out." Production levels from participating members put compliance at more than 100 percent, though some of that is attributed to Venezuela. The price for Brent crude oil was up 2.8 percent to $75.11 per barrel as of 9:15 a.m. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was up 3.4 percent to $67.75 per barrel. Mismanagement at Venezuela's oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, has left it in a state of paralysis, according to a country profile from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Secondary sources reporting to economists at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Venezuela production averaged 1.39 million barrels of oil per day last month, almost 10 percent lower than the first quarter average. Libyan production, meanwhile, is down considerably after militants stormed oil depots on the coast earlier this week. For Iran, U.S. sanctions that enter into force in November could erase as much as 1 million barrels per day from the market. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Thursday from Vienna that parties to an agreement to limit production in an effort to balance the market could consider an extra 1 million barrels per day. Phil Flynn, the senior market analyst for the PRICE Futures Group in Chicago, said in a daily emailed newsletter that signs could be pointing to a supply deficit of up to 1.8 million barrels per day in the second half of the year without additional input. "This is a major concern because sources of oil coming from the private sector are not replacing global oil production decline rates," he said.
South Sudan foes set to meet after two years Addis Ababa (AFP) June 20, 2018 The two figures at the centre of the civil war that has ravaged South Sudan are scheduled to meet on Wednesday for the first time in nearly two years. Ethiopia, which has helped broker the meeting, says rebel leader Riek Machar, who fled South Sudan in July 2016, is expected to meet face-to-face with the country's president, Salva Kiir. Machar arrived in the Ethiopian capital Wednesday morning for the talks, Menasseh Zindo, a senior official in his Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in Oppositio ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |