Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from November 2008

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from November 2008

Demand contracts, supply expands, economy tumbles.
November 5, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Against the backdrop of the world economic downturn, oil demand continues to take big hits, falling for the third straight month. Global October oil demand dropped a staggering 1.83 million barrels per day from October 2007. At...

Saudis give Asia a price break as refining margins fall.
November 6, 2008... NEW YORK -- Further depreciating naphtha and fuel oil prices are depressing refining margins in Asia, and Saudi Arabia took note of that development when it effectively lowered its crude prices for December loadings to that region. Europe and...

Azeri Light exports rise, BP might miss output target.
November 12, 2008... LONDON -- Shipments of Azeri Light crude oil from the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan via the BP-operated Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline are set to total 780,000 barrels per day in December, nearly double the preliminary loading...

Oil inventories rise as demand continues to take hits.
November 18, 2008... WASHINGTON -- It was just a matter of time before inventories started to see rather significant increases. And with demand contracting significantly and supply surging ahead, stocks could continue to rise unless Opec reins in more production....

Storms, economy hit US crude imports in September.
November 19, 2008... NEW YORK -- US crude oil imports in September fell sharply, by 1.88 million barrels per day, from August as hurricanes hitting the US Gulf Coast made shipments impossible, even as a rapidly falling US economy needed less oil to operate. The...

North Sea crude loadings end on a modest up note.
November 25, 2008... LONDON -- Demand has been the key to the huge swings in crude oil prices over the past two years -- and it still is. Initially, it was worries that stagnating supplies would fail to keep pace with increasing demand from emerging markets --...

Opec races to catch up with fast-falling oil demand.
November 26, 2008... NEW YORK -- Oil demand forecasts for 2009 look more pessimistic by the day, with some predicting a drop of more than 500,000 barrels per day from this year as the global economy continues sliding. The unpredictability of demand is a growing...

World oil surpluses weigh on West African loadings.
November 26, 2008... LONDON -- Trade in January-loading West African crudes is similar to December, with medium-heavy Angolan fare clearing faster than light, sweet Nigerian grades, despite poor demand from Angola's main market, a still-overstocked China. While...

Opec will cut output, wants better market feel first.
November 29, 2008... CAIRO -- With crude oil stocks rising rapidly and demand falling fast, Opec is preparing a formal cut in output targets. But the group decided at its "consultative meeting" in Cairo on Saturday that a formal decision on how big a cut is needed...