Sanctions, Oil Prices May Harm Russian Economy, Ministers Warn

Global oil prices posted a fifth weekly loss as concerns about high supplies continued to weigh on prices.

Oil prices have fallen by over 20% in the last couple of months. Brent is currently trading $30 below its summer spike to $115 per barrel and many are left wondering what the Saudis are playing at.

Rosneft is looking for some financial relief from Russia’s sovereign wealth fund

Oil companies in Russia, the world's biggest producer which has budgeted for $100 crude, played down the oil price drop, saying it would not last and would not damage long term projects.

Schlumberger Ltd, the world's largest oilfield services company, said oil and gas spending would increase in 2015 as global oil demand is poised to rise, downplaying fears of an investment slowdown due to weak crude prices.

The Brent-WTI spread, the difference between the front month futures price of North Sea Brent crude oil and that of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, narrowed to $2.00 per barrel (bbl) as of October 15, after reaching a 2014 high of $14.95/bbl in January

Oil prices posted their biggest one-day drop in nearly two years Tuesday as a U.S.-led wave of crude has crashed into weak global demand, threatening the stability of some countries and providing an economic lifeline to others.

Bank of America Corp. and BNP Paribas SA predict prices will hold above $80 a barrel. Commerzbank AG also sees that level as a possible low for Brent crude. They’re in part counting on OPEC cutting output -- some say as soon as next month -- to compensate for recent declines in demand.

Russian state gas giant OAO Gazprom said second-quarter profit rose 13% on higher sales and prices which offset provisions for non-payment by Ukraine’s Naftogaz.

OPEC is resisting pressure to cut oil production while demand slumps as it tests how low prices must go to make U.S. shale oil unprofitable. As producers become more efficient, that floor is sinking.

Saudi Arabia effectively started a global oil price war this month aimed at quickly denting U.S. oil output. Slowing a U.S. drilling boom, however, could take more than a year.

The IEA Oil Market Report (OMR) for October reduced its forecast of global oil demand for 2014 by 0.2 million barrels per day (mb/d) from the previous month, to 92.4 mb/d, on lower expectations of economic growth and the weak recent trend. Annual demand growth for 2014 is now projected at 0.7 mb/d, rising tentatively to 1.1 mb/d in 2015 as the macroeconomic backdrop improves.

Two of OPEC’s biggest members say they won’t immediately reduce oil production to offset tumbling prices, a signal the group is unlikely to heed Venezuelan calls for an emergency meeting.

Increasing access to modern forms of energy is crucial to unlocking faster economic and social development in sub‑Saharan Africa, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Africa Energy Outlook, a Special Report in the 2014 World Energy Outlook series.