2020-11-12 14:05:00
OPEC CUTS 7.7 MBD
PLATTS - 12 Nov 2020 - Crude oil rose during the mid-morning trade in Asia Nov. 12, as indications that OPEC+ may deepen production cuts in 2021 kept the market afloat even as a rally seen due to a promising Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine ran out of steam.
At 10:54 am Singapore time (0254 GMT), ICE Brent January crude futures were up 43 cents/b (0.98%) from the Nov. 11 settle to $44.23/b, while the NYMEX December light sweet crude contract was up 44 cents/b (1.06%) at $41.89/b. Both markers had risen 0.44% and 0.22% on Nov. 11 to settle at $43.80/b and $41.45/b, respectively.
Optimism over OPEC+ intervention continued to fuel the uptrend in prices, after Algerian energy minister Abdelmajid Attar, who holds OPEC's rotating presidency, said that the OPEC+ alliance's current 7.7 million b/d in output cuts could be maintained into 2021 instead of being eased as originally planned, or even extended.
At a Gas Exporting Countries Forum ministerial roundtable convened ahead of the body's formal meeting Nov. 12, Attar reassured the market that the OPEC+ alliance remains committed to preventing another slide in oil prices, and said that doing so "includes the possibility of extending today's production adjustment into 2021 as well as deepening this adjustment should market conditions so require."
Vandana Hari, CEO at Vanda Insights, however, told S&P Global Platts on Nov. 12, "There have been some hints from the OPEC+ regarding the status of the production cuts. But the market is still awaiting definitive statements and the alliance is still keeping its cards close to its chest. It is possible right now, with the recent rise in crude prices, that the alliance may now be more dovish on supply."
Hari also added that the rally built upon vaccine hopes was coming to an end, as "indicated on Nov. 11 alone, when Brent traded well above $45/b at during the intraday trading period but the settlement was much lower than the intradays highs."
Hari surmised that until further development, the trajectory of the prices will once again depend on the progression of the coronavirus pandemic in the coming winter months.
In the background, COVID-19 infections have surged in the US and much of Europe remains under some degree of lockdown, forcing the OPEC to turn more bearish on the global oil demand outlook.
In its monthly report released Nov. 11, the OPEC revised down its projections of global demand by 280,000 b/d for 2020 and by 580,000 b/d for 2021.
The alliance said: "The oil demand recovery will be severely hampered and sluggishness in transportation and industrial fuel demand is now assumed to last until mid-2021. "
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Earlier:
2020, November, 11, 14:55:00
OIL PRICE: BELOW $45
Brent rose $1.17, or 2.7%, to $44.78 a barrel. WTI added $1.17 cents, or 2.8%, to $42.53 a barrel.
2020, November, 11, 14:50:00
OIL PRICES 2020-21: $40 - $47
EIA forecasts Brent crude oil prices will average $47/b in 2021.
2020, November, 10, 11:35:00
OIL PRICE: BELOW $43
Brent rose 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $42.49 a barrel. WTI edged up 16 cents, or 0.4%, to $40.45 a barrel.
2020, November, 10, 11:30:00
RUSSIA IS RESPONSIBLE PLAYER
"In any case, Russia is a responsible player on the energy market and that's something which governs our decisions and our thinking," Sorokin said, during the ADIPEC virtual conference Nov. 9.
2020, November, 9, 13:30:00
OIL PRICE: BELOW $41
Brent climbed 94 cents, or 2.4%, to $40.39 a barrel. WTI was at $38.07, up 93 cents, or 2.5%.
2020, November, 9, 13:25:00
OPEC, GECF DIALOG
The OPEC delegation was led by HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General, and the GECF delegation was headed by HE Yury Sentyurin, Secretary General.
2020, November, 6, 12:40:00
IRAQ OIL PRODUCTION UP
Iraq pumped 3.842 million b/d in October, above September's 3.60 million b/d and its quota of 3.804 million b/d,
