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Tag: Oil

  • Oil price rises to $71 a barrel

    Oil hit a five-month high above 71 dollars a barrel on Tuesday, supported by concern that violence in Libya could further tighten supply already squeezed by OPEC cuts and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.

    International benchmark Brent futures hit their strongest level since last November at 71.34 dollars per barrel, before easing to 70.99 dollars per barrel by 0700 GMT.

    U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures also hit a November 2018 high, at 64.77 dollars per barrel, before easing to 64.42 dollars per barrel.

    Oil markets have tightened this year as the United States imposed sanctions on oil exporters Iran and Venezuela while the producer club of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been withholding supply to prop up prices.

    Brent and WTI futures have risen by 40 per cent and 30 per cent respectively since the start of the year.

    Goldman Sachs, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company, said an oil supply deficit had opened up early this year.

    “We expect the drivers of this deficit to persist through 2Q19” due to a shock and awe implementation of the OPEC cuts,” the U.S. bank said in a note.

    Goldman said it expected Brent to average 72.50 dollars per barrel during the second quarter, up from a previous forecast of 65 dollars per barrel.

    Prices have been further lifted this week by escalating violence in Libya, a significant supplier of oil to Europe, which produced around 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in March.

    Eastern forces on Monday were advancing on the Libyan capital Tripoli in the latest of a cycle of warfare since Muammar Gaddafi’s fall in 2011, with a warplane attacking the city’s functioning airport.

    Yet despite generally bullish oil markets, concerns that an economic slowdown this year will hit fuel consumption have been preventing crude prices from rising even higher, traders said.

    And while fears of a global recession ebbed following strong U.S. jobs figures and improved Chinese manufacturing data late last week, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said there was still a “significant slowing in growth globally” in 2019.

    The bank said it expected Brent and WTI to average 70 dollars per barrel and 59 dollars per barrel respectively in 2019, and 65 dollars per barrel and 60 dollars per barrel in 2020.

    Goldman Sachs also said oil prices “will decline gradually from this summer as shale and OPEC production increases.”

    Russia, not an OPEC-member but a reluctant participant in the supply cuts, signaled on Monday it wanted to raise output when it would meet with OPEC in June because of falling stockpiles.

    In the United States, crude oil production has risen by more than 2 million bpd since early 2018, to a record 12.2 million bpd, with many analysts expecting output to exceed 13 million bpd soon.

  • Oil exploration in North won’t stop – NNPC GMD

    Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said oil exploration in northern Nigeria will continue till it is found.

    He said this will enable the NNPC to do a massive appraisal of the discovery of gas reserves made in 1999 in the region.

    Dr. Baru who was in Kaduna for the 40th edition of the Kaduna International Trade Fair said the corporation was working on the Kolmani River 2 with optimism and high expectation.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari had personally urged the corporation to go back to exploration on the Kolmani River 2 Well and drilling has been going on smoothly and that as of Thursday morning, the corporation had dug 10,075 ft deep with a target to reach 14,270 ft exploration.

    “The main purpose of this well is to start some massive appraisal of the discovery that was made way back in 1999 of some gas reserves in Kolmani River 1 and so far the drilling has been going on smoothly to enable exploration.

    “Well, we will do the needful; if we need to probe any particular section, we will take our time to do it; our target date is to see that by the end of May, we complete exploration on that particular well and move to Kolmani River 3 which site is almost ready for the rigs to move there and from there we move to other locations,” he said.

    Earlier the GMD in his speech at the fair said it provides an opportunity for stakeholders and long-term exhibitors like NNPC to take stock of their participation through the years with a view to consolidating on areas of strength while working on avenues for improvements.

    Dr. Baru said the loss of agriculture to crude oil exploitation had retarded local industries that feed on agricultural produce as feedstock, prominent among which he said are the textiles industry as well as tanneries in the North.

    On product availability, the NNPC GMD said as a supplier of last resort, the corporation would continue to ensure that the nation is wet with “white products” that enable local business movements of goods and services are guaranteed.

  • Oil prices dip to $65

    Oil prices sank on Monday by about three per cent after United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump told the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) prices were on the high side.

    WTI Crude was down 2.58 per cent at $55.78, and Brent Crude was trading down 2.39 per cent at $65.64.

    But foremost investment bank, Goldman Sachs, said Brent crude oil prices could reach between $70 and $75 a barrel in the near term, with an upside potential of exceeding the $67.50 a barrel forecast.

    Nigeria’s budget 2019 has $60 per barrel as benchmark.

    As the oil market continues to tighten significantly, sustained rise in Africa’s largest oil producer is good as it will make cash available to fund the heavy capital component of the budget easy.

    A member of OPEC, President Muhammadu Buhari had said the country would offer to cut daily production to guarantee good price.

    The outlook for the oil market through the end of June this year is modestly bullish, Reuters quoted the bank as saying in a research note yesterday.

    Yet, Goldman Sachs sees a possible Brent Crude jump into the $70s as fleeting, because United States (U.S.) oil exports and a possible easing of OPEC’s production cuts in the second half of the year could cap the bullish sentiment.

    “The oil market will likely continue to tighten significantly this March and April,” Bloomberg quoted Goldman’s note as saying.

    OPEC’s cuts and possible acceleration of Venezuela’s supply disruptions will support oil prices in the coming months, Goldman Sachs said.

    “While prices could easily trade in a $70-$75 a barrel trading range, we believe such an environment would likely prove fleeting,” said Goldman’s analysts, who kept their end-of-the-year Brent Crude forecast at $60 a barrel.

    Last week, oil prices hit fresh highs this year, driven by optimism that the U.S. and China will forge a trade deal and that OPEC’s resolve to rebalance the market will outweigh soaring U.S. oil production.

    At the beginning of this week, oil prices fell somewhat after President Trump, once again, asked OPEC not to take too much crude off the markets.

    Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs said that it expected Brent Crude prices to hit $67.50 a barrel in the second quarter of the year as ‘shock and awe’ production cuts by OPEC and increased supply disruptions couple with healthy demand and seasonal inventory declines to drive prices higher.

  • Oil prices soar as Saudi Arabia cuts U.S. supply

    Oil prices soar as Saudi Arabia cuts U.S. supply

    Oil prices rose for a third day on Thursday pushed up by lower imports into the United States amid OPEC efforts to tighten the market as well as Venezuela struggles to keep up its crude exports after Washington imposed sanctions on the nation.

    U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $54.47 per barrel at 0758 GMT, up 24 cents or 0.4 per cent from their last settlement.

    International Brent crude oil futures were up 36 cents or 0.6 per cent at $62.01 per barrel.

    The price rise came after a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday showed a drop in Saudi crude supply to the United States.

    “Crude oil prices were stronger after signs emerged that OPEC cuts are impacting trade.

    EIA’s weekly report showed that U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia fell by more than half from the previous week to 442,000 barrels per day (bpd).

    “This is the second lowest level in weekly data going back to 2010,” ANZ bank said.

    Saudi Arabia is the de-facto leader of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which together with some non-OPEC producers including Russia announced supply cuts late last year aimed at tightening the market and propping up prices.

    U.S. sanctions imposed on state-oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) this week is also causing some supply disruptions.

    Venezuela’s oil inventories have started to build up at the country’s ports and terminals as PDVSA is finding it cannot export crude at its usual rate due to U.S. sanctions imposed earlier this week.

    As of Wednesday, Venezuela had 25 tankers with nearly 18 million barrels of crude – representing about two weeks of the country’s production – either waiting to load or expecting authorisation to set sail, shipping data showed.

    Matt Stanley, a broker with Starfuels in Dubai, said the combination of U.S. sanctions against oil producers Venezuela and Iran, the OPEC-led supply cuts as well as hopes that the trade dispute between the United States and China could soon be resolved meant oil prices would likely rise further.

    “There are just too many factors that can only cause the price to go one way and that is up,” Stanley said.

    Despite this, oil remains in ample supply not least because of soaring U.S. crude oil production which jumped by more than two million bpd last year to a record 11.9 million bpd.

    This shows the high U.S. commercial crude oil stockpiles which rose by 919,000 barrels in the week to Jan. 25, to 445.94 million barrels, EIA data showed.

    Stockpiles are 6.6 per cent higher than a year ago.

  • Nigeria lost $2.8 billion to ‘oil-related crimes’ in 2018 – UN

    The United Nations says Nigeria lost an estimated 2.8 billion dollars in revenues in 2018, mainly due to oil-related crimes.

    This is according to a new ‘Report by the Secretary-General on the activities of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS)’ on Monday in New York.

    The report, which covered from July 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018, said “Maritime crime and piracy off the coast of West Africa continued to pose a threat to peace, security and development in the region.

    “Oil-related crimes resulted in the loss of nearly 2.8 billion dollars in revenues last year in Nigeria, according to government figures.

    “Between January 1 and November 23, there were 82 reported incidents of maritime crime and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.’’

    The report also noted that compared to the situation reflected in the previous report, there was an increase in drug trafficking throughout West Africa and the Sahel.

    “In Benin, the Gambia and Nigeria, more than 50 kilogrammes of cocaine were seized between July and October by joint airport interdiction task forces.

    “During the same period, joint airport interdiction task forces seized more than six kilogrammes of methamphetamines, eight kilogramme of heroin (double the amount in the first half of 2018) and 2.6 tonnes of cannabis.

    “Drug production across the region was also reportedly on the rise, with more than 100 kilogrammes of ephedrine and phenacetin seized by competent authorities,’’ the report said.

    During the reporting period, it said that conflicts between farmers and herders resulted in loss of lives, destruction of livelihoods and property, population displacements and human rights violations and abuses.

    The report said outbreaks of violence were recorded in many states across Nigeria, although with more frequency in the Middle Belt region, as well as Adamawa and Taraba.

    It said the spike in conflict between farmers and herders was closely linked with demographic pressures, desertification and the attendant loss of grazing reserves and transhumance routes, which had been exacerbated by climate change.

    Others were challenges in the implementation of effective land management and climate change adaptation policies, and limited enforcement of existing pastoral laws.

    Political and economic interests, the erosion of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, and weapons proliferation, were other factors attributed to the increased cases of herders-farmers conflict.

  • Nigeria’s oil production ups by 9%, hits 2.09m barrels daily – NNPC

    Nigeria’s oil production ups by 9%, hits 2.09m barrels daily – NNPC

    Nigeria’s crude oil daily production is up by 9 per cent to about 2.09 million barrels.

    Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Dr. Maikanti Baru said this maintained a line of consistent year-on-year improvement.

    Dr. Baru, in a comprehensive end-of-year-message to the NNPC staff, listed Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Duke Oil, NIDAS and Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL) among the re-engineered companies.

    In the statement signed by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, Baru singled out NPDC, the corporation’s Upstream flagship company, as the major contributor to the industry’s success in 2018.

    Baru said the average production from NPDC’s operated assets alone grew from an average of 108,000 of oil per day (bod) in 2017 to 165,000bod in 2018, describing the feat as the strongest production growth within the oil industry in recent times, even as he noted that it was worth being celebrated.

    The GMD said NPDC’s equity production share, which stands at 172,000bod, representing about 8 per cent of national daily production, was no less impressive, adding that the desired results are outcomes of initiatives his Management team emplaced, among which, he noted, are the Asset Management Tea (AMT) structure, Strategic Financing, Units Autonomy and security architecture framework.

    Of the Industry milestones in the outgone year, Baru described the 200,000bop addition which the Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO), completed and sailed away to location in August, last year, added to nation’s daily production, even as he disclosed that the project achieved First Oil at 11.20pm on 29th December, 2018.

    The NNPC GMD said $1.7billion was saved with corporation’s Joint Venture (JV) partners over a five-year tenor repayment plan, saying already the corporation has defrayed $1.5billion of the arrears.

    Baru promised that NNPC would stick to the Repayment Agreement with the JV Partners while transiting to self-funding IJV modes with the corporation’s partners. He said tiding up Cash Call issues had led to increased commitment and enthusiasm to invest in the industry even as it has also boosted NNPC’s credit profile internationally.

    Baru concluded the achievements of NNPC in the Upstream sector by listing other milestones achieved by his team to include: reduction in contracting cycle for Upstream Operations to nine months from an average of 24, even as the corporation targets a six months cycle; lowering of production cost from $27/barrel to $22/barrel; and improving on the security situation in the Niger Delta through constructive engagement and dialogue with stakeholders.

    In the frontier basins, NNPC has intensified exploration in the Benue Trough, with the expected spudding of Kolmani River Well 2 on 19thJanuary.

    Activities will resume in the Chad Basin as soon as there is a greenlight on the security situation in the enclave.

    In the Midstream, the NNPC GMD stated, Nigeria achieved an average national daily gas production of 7.90bscf, translating to 3 per cent above the 2017 average daily gas production of 7.67bscf.

    He said of the 7.90bscf produced in 2018, an average of 3.32bscfd (42%) was supplied to the export market, 2.5bscfd (32%) for Reinjection/Fuel Gas, 1.3bscfd (16%) was supplied to the domestic market and about 783mmscfd (10%) was flared.

    The GMD stated that out of the 1.3bscfd supplied to the domestic market, an average of 71mmscfd went to the Power Sector; 470mmscfd was supplied to the Industries and the balance of 69mmscf delivered to the West African Market through the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).

    Baru said NNPC would bridge the medium-term domestic gas supply deficit by 2020 through the corporation’s Seven Critical Gas Development Projects (&CGDPS), adding that a reputable Project Management consulting firm is collaborating with an NNPC team to achieve accelerated implementation of the projects.

    He lauded the contribution of the corporation’s Downstream outfit, NNPC retail, saying it played a significant role in ensuring continuous supply of petroleum products to Nigerians through its Mega, Affiliates and Leased stations.

    Baru flaunted the company’s sale of 1.2 billion litres of petroleum products in 2018 as against 1.1 billion litres in 2017, representing a seven per cent increase.

    He said the feat was achieved through an addition of 40 new Affiliate and Leased stations, which he said, brought the company’s network to 618 stations nationwide.

    “We are currently planning for a better performance and achievement in 2019, especially with the continuous innovations and creativity in the downstream sector and the performance bond signed by all the relevant heads of our operating units.

    “Continuous improvement as one of the principles of world class organisations is going to remain our key word in 2019. Last year was empirically better than 2017, we believe, plan and strive to achieve a better performance this year, by God’s grace,” Baru concluded in his end-of-year statement.

     

  • $1.1b Malabu oil bribes: Swiss to reveal Nigerian beneficiaries

    $1.1b Malabu oil bribes: Swiss to reveal Nigerian beneficiaries

    Materials in a suitcase seized nearly three years ago by Swiss authorities may unlock the identities of the Nigerian recipients of the $1.1billion in corrupt payments by Shell and ENI over the purchase of OPL 245 from Malabu Oil.

    A Geneva prosecutor is now reviewing the materials and will decide what can be shared with Italian authorities, where some trials have begun in the monumental bribery scandal.

    The prosecutor received the green light after Switzerland’s top court, the Federal Tribunal, rejected an appeal by Nigerian defendant Emeka Obi to prevent his bag from being unsealed.

    The Lausanne court’s Nov. 8 ruling, published online, said that the confiscated material – including documents, an external hard drive, British and African passports, and USB keys – could have “potential pertinence” in the criminal investigation and the sealing could be lifted without violating Swiss law.

    “The Geneva prosecutor now has access to all the material in conformity with the Federal Tribunal ruling,” it said in a reply to Reuters.

    He will select the material to be handed over, it said. Under Swiss law, privileged information cannot be shared in international judicial assistance in criminal matters and the prosecutor’s choice of documents can be appealed.

    Obi’s Geneva lawyers Paul Gully-Hart and Charles Goumaz told Reuters that they were cooperating with the prosecutor’s office.

    “With respect to the ongoing proceedings in Switzerland, regarding the suitcase of our client, we can confirm that no decision has yet been taken in respect of the transmission of any of its contents to the Italian authorities,” they said in a statement.

    “Our client has maintained his innocence in regards to the various allegations made by the Milan prosecutors and is confident that the final evaluation of the contents of his bag will confirm this.

    “Our position remains, as it has always been from the beginning, that the only material that should even be considered for transmission to the Italians must be strictly limited to non-protected material that is directly related to our client’s involvement in the OPL 245 transaction,” they added.

    An Italian judge said on Monday Eni and Shell were fully aware their 2011 purchase of a Nigerian oilfield would result in corrupt payments to Nigerian politicians and officials.

    Eni and Shell bought the OPL 245 offshore field for about $1.3 billion in a deal that spawned one of the industry’s largest corruption scandals. It is alleged that about $1.1 billion of the total was siphoned to agents and middlemen.

    The Milan judge made the comment in her written reasons for the September conviction of Obi and Italian Gianluca Di Nardo, both middlemen in the OPL 245 deal, for corruption. The pair were jailed for four years.

    Obi and Di Nardo have been tried separately from Eni and Shell, which also face corruption allegations over the same deal in a hearing that is expected to drag on for months.

    Eni has denied any wrongdoing. Shell said on Monday that neither Obi nor Di Nardo had worked for Shell, and that there was no basis to convict it or any of its former staff of alleged offences related to the deal.

    Obi brought the Swiss case to keep the contents of the bag seized in Geneva in April 2016 from being shared with foreign authorities.

    Its confiscation led the Geneva prosecutor to open a criminal case for suspected corruption of foreign officials and money-laundering. Days later Italian authorities requested judicial assistance, arguing that the suitcase and its contents had been deliberately stashed in Geneva, the Swiss ruling said.

    Italy’s proceedings targeted 13 defendants and two companies suspected of corruption activities from 2009 and 2014 linked to acquiring prospecting rights in Africa, it said.

  • Oversupply: OPEC reduces Nigeria’s oil production quota to 1.68mbpd

    Oversupply: OPEC reduces Nigeria’s oil production quota to 1.68mbpd

    …effective from January

    Nigeria is expected to cut its crude oil production by 3.04 per cent to 1.685 million barrels per day for the first half of next year, as part of efforts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce oversupply.

    OPEC and 10 non-OPEC countries agreed earlier this month to cut oil production by 1.2 million bpd effective from January for an initial period of six months to shore up what many expect to be weakening market fundamentals ahead.

    Nigeria, which was exempted from the previous cuts since January 2017, was asked to join the deal during the OPEC meeting on December 7 in Vienna.

    With a reference level of 1.738 million bpd, Nigeria’s oil production is to be cut by 53,000 barrels to arrive at the new quota of 1.685 million bpd, according to a breakdown of member quotas under OPEC’s supply accord obtained by S&P Global Platts on Thursday.

    OPEC kingpin, Saudi Arabia, has pledged to lower its crude oil output to 10.311 million bpd -a 322,000 bpd cut from its October level, the document prepared by OPEC’s secretariat showed.

    The document showed that OPEC would shoulder 812,000 bpd of those cuts, while the non-OPEC participants would cut 383,000 bpd.

    Iraq, OPEC’s second highest producer, will cut 141,000 bpd to reach an output level of 4.512 million bpd and the UAE will cut 96,000 bpd to average 3.072 million bpd.

    Iran, Libya and Venezuela are exempted from the cuts.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, said on December 7, that it was very difficult for Nigeria to reduce its crude oil production.

    Kachikwu, who spoke on ‘Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe’ ahead of the OPEC meeting in Vienna, stated that there was a need for an extension of production cuts to stabilise the global oil market.

    Asked if Nigeria would be able to reduce production, he said, “It is very difficult to do that but where we are now, everybody must be seen to contribute. Obviously, the smaller it is, the more amenable we are to participate; the larger it is, the more we will struggle to participate.

    “We have got exemption three times understandably. This time round, I think there is a decision that everybody should be seen to chip in.”

    The 2019 budget proposal presented on Wednesday to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari proposed an oil production of 2.3 million barrels per day.

    “Production of 2.3 million bpd projection for 2019 may not be realistic owing to OPEC’s plan to cut production in order to shore up prices,” the Chairman, Petroleum and Technology Association of Nigeria, Mr Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, told our correspondent on Thursday.

    According to him, the benchmark price of $60 per barrel used for the budget is not smart, based on all the uncertainties and volatility surrounding the price of oil.

     

  • FG retains $60 benchmark as oil dips to $58

    Indications emerged that the Federal Government retained the $60 benchmark per barrel despite the fluctuating prices of oil.

    Brent declined 2.01 per cent to $58.41 a barrel on Tuesday on the back of global equity sell-offs and continued concerns that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)/non-OPEC cuts may not be enough to rebalance an oversupplied market

    But a source within the Presidency said there was nothing to worry over the slide, saying it was marginal.

    “We will still retain the benchmark at $60 per barrel because industry experts have said the oil price fluctuations are temporary. There is no cause for alarm at all,” the source said.

    The plunge was amid fears of slowing global economic growth.

    Oil price was down 51 cents (or nearly one per cent), at $59.77 per barrel after it earlier rose as high as $61.21 on Monday.

    WTI Crude was down below the $50 handle, having dropped 2.27 per cent to $49.00.

    The N8.73 trillion Budget 2019 proposal, billed for presentation today by President Muhammadu Buhari to the joint session of the National Assembly, was prepared on an oil price benchmark of $60 per barrel.

    The government is proposing $56.5 per barrel for 2020 and $56.5 for 2021. Oil production is estimated at 2.3 million barrels per day (mbpd), 2.44 mbpd and 2.62mbpd for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

    The exchange rate is projected at N305 to $1 for the three years, while inflation remained almost constant at 9.98 for 2019, 9.43 for 2020 and 9.58 for 2021 as against 11.78 for 2018.

    The oil benchmark for this year’s budget was initially put at $45 but later raised to $51 per barrel by the National Assembly.

    Crude oil production was bench-marked at 2.3 million pbpd and exchange rate of N305 to one dollar.

    The oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the same period was projected at N11,163.5 billion, N10,769.3 billion and N10,183.4 billion and the non-oil GDP for the next three years (2019, 2020 and 2021) was projected at N128,489.3 billion, N143,921.2 billion and N161,017 billion.

    The total GDP for the period under review was put at N139, 652.7 billion, N154, 690.6 billion and N171,200.5 billion with the GDP growth rate at 3.0 for 2019, 3.6 (2020) and 3.9 (2012).

     

  • U.S. oil edges up after 3% drop on big stock build

    Oil inched up on Thursday amid ongoing tensions over the death of a prominent Saudi journalist, with prices steadying after a big drop overnight due to a jump in U.S. crude stockpiles.
    U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up 12 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $69.87 a barrel by 04:13 GMT, after falling 3 per cent in the previous session to settle below $70 for the first time in a month.
    Front-month London Brent crude for December delivery was up 13 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $80.18, having ended down 1.7 per cent.
    U.S. crude stocks rose 6.5 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, the fourth straight weekly build and almost triple what analysts had forecast.
    “The impact of the inventory-jump weighed on the market and oil seems bearish,” said Kaname Gokon, a trader in Japan.
    “The United States may have to go ahead with sanctions on Saudi Arabia, which could push prices higher, but Russia and other producers are set to increase supplies.”
    Inventories rose sharply even as U.S. crude production slipped 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.9 million bpd last week due to the effects of offshore facilities closing temporarily for Hurricane Michael.
    U.S. lawmakers pointed the finger at the Saudi leadership over the disappearance of prominent Saudi critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, suggesting sanctions could be possible.
    Saudi Arabia denies that it had any role in Khashoggi’s disappearance.
    Western pressure mounted on Riyadh to provide answers, but comments by President Donald Trump suggested the White House may not take additional action against the Saudis, particularly after Saudi Arabia said it will conduct an investigation.
    Investors worry Saudi Arabia could use oil supply to retaliate against critics.
    Saudi Arabia has assured OPEC that it is “committed, capable and willing” to ensure there will be no shortage in the oil market, OPEC’s secretary-general said on Wednesday.
    Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will struggle to resume oil production from jointly operated fields that produced some 500,000 bpd any time soon due to operational differences and souring political ties, sources said on Wednesday.
    Signs that Iranian oil exports have been falling more steeply than some in the market expected amid looming U.S. sanctions have underpinned the oil market.