Oil climbs as OPEC signals possible deal extension
NEW YORK — Oil prices inched higher on Monday after one of the most bearish weeks in months, propped up by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) comments signaling the possibility of continued action to restore market balance in the long term.
Oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico also started returning to service after hurricane Nate forced the shutdown of more than 90% of crude output in the area. The prospective restarts kept price gains in check.
About 85% of US Gulf of Mexico oil production is off line in the aftermath of hurricane Nate, the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.
“Quiet market overall this morning though (refined) products are weaker as it looks like Nate was a non-event for refining,” said Scott Shelton, broker at ICAP in Durham, North Carolina.
Total SA completed the restart of units shut by hurricane Harvey at its 225,500-barrel-per-day Port Arthur, Texas, refinery not involved in an overhaul planned prior to the storm that hit late in August, the company said.
“I think that without the support of products and Brent, the market may get dragged lower in the near term as it’s apparent that the market doesn’t care much about OPEC already jawboning about an extension of the deal,” Mr. Shelton said.
OPEC is due to meet in Vienna on Nov. 30, when it will discuss its pact to reduce output in order to prop up the market.
OPEC Secretary- General Mohammad Barkindo said on Sunday that consultations were under way for an extension of the agreement beyond March 2018 and that more oil-producing nations may join the pact, possibly at next month’s meeting.
He also said OPEC members and other producers may have to take some “extraordinary measures” to ensure the market is in balance in the long term.
In a speech to the Reuters Global Commodities Summit on Monday, Barkindo said he saw clear evidence the oil market was rebalancing.
Global benchmark Brent crude settled up 17 cents at $55.79 a barrel at 1:25 p.m. EDT (1725 GMT). Earlier in the session it touched a three-week low of $55.06. It ended last week 3.30% lower, its biggest weekly loss since June 2017.
US West Texas Intermediate ( WTI) crude futures ended the session up 0.60% or 29 cents higher at $ 49.58 a barrel. They came close to a four-week low when they fell to $ 49.13 earlier in the session. WTI’s losses last week came to 4.60%.
In further signs that OPEC members are sticking to agreed output cuts, Saudi Arabia said it had curtailed crude allocations for November by 560,000 barrels per day and Iraq’s oil minister said the country was fully committed to its OPEC production target.
Among other bullish news for oil, Morgan Stanley cut its forecast for US crude output growth, citing a range of operational headwinds including limited availability of fracking crews.
Still, US exports have surged as the price of US WTI futures has been trading at a steep discount to Brent. —