Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from December 2004

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from December 2004

Oil demand heats up again, as supply roars ahead.
December 3, 2004... NEW YORK -- The severe slowdown in global demand in recent months seems to have come to an abrupt end in November as year-on-year oil consumption ratcheted up by a blazing 2.5 million barrels per day, or 3.1%. Preliminary data from EIB sister...

Opec Cairo meeting faces rich and diverse backdrop.
December 6, 2004... LONDON -- Last week's $7 fall in oil prices and yesterday's terrorist attack on a US target in Saudi Arabia have created a testing backdrop for the upcoming Opec meeting in Cairo on Friday. Having pumped at near maximum capacity for the past...

Opec ministers leaning towards cutting crude supply.
December 8, 2004... CAIRO -- Opec appears to be working toward a firm statement about reining in oil supply. In advance of their Cairo meeting on Friday, ministers have been testing market reaction with a variety of positions, ranging from no action at all to a 1...

Opec first targets output discipline to stop price fall.
December 9, 2004... CAIRO -- Opec discord looked to be limited ahead of Friday's ministerial meeting in Cairo. Supply cuts and better production discipline are expected to top the agenda, with work still remaining on the details and tone of the statement. Opec...

Opec cuts oil production in excess of output ceiling.
December 10, 2004... CAIRO -- Opec is set to cut production from Jan. 1 to slow the build in heavy sour oil supply and try to put a floor under wobbly oil prices, a trim that will--if fully implemented--do away with most of the excess production above the...

Bomb attacks show impact on Iraqi crude oil exports.
December 14, 2004... NEW YORK -- Iraqi oil exports for December are scheduled to come in at 53.7 million barrels or 1.73 million barrels per day if all the planned loadings take place at the Basrah Oil Terminal in the south and at the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan...

Global oil market balances point to lower oil prices.
December 20, 2004... NEW YORK -- Even if global oil demand in December is stronger than expected, the world still will be heading for a contra-seasonal crude oil stockbuild in the fourth quarter, as oil output is running way ahead of oil consumption. Preliminary...

West African crudes are fighting their way back up.
December 23, 2004... London -- After a severe pasting, West African differentials are in recovery mode, thanks to concerns over heating oil, a dip in freight rates and last week's resumption of trading in Nigerian crude--frozen earlier by a stand-off between...