International

Oil Weighed Down After 10% Drop on Lingering Demand Fears

Published on : 2020-04-15

Bloomberg - Oil was anchored near $20 a barrel after tumbling 10% on Tuesday as concerns over virus-driven demand destruction overshadowed a historic deal by the world’s biggest producers slash output.


While Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers have pledged to cut supply starting next month, they continue to flood the market, swelling global stockpiles and testing capacity limits. The world is still choking on too much oil and will run out of places to store it within a month, according to trader Gunvor Group Ltd.


In the U.S., industry data indicated American crude stockpiles rose by more than 13 million barrels last week, while a key timespread for New York futures moved deeper into contango, signaling an expanding physical glut.


Oil has lost around two-thirds of its value this year after the coronavirus prompted lockdowns across the world to stem its spread, vaporizing consumption for everything from crude to fuels. The International Monetary Fund estimated that global gross domestic product will shrink 3% in 2020, a signal that energy demand may remain weak longer than anticipated.


“This is a demand driven market at the moment and clearly lockdown measures across most of the world are keeping that under pressure,” said Daniel Hynes, an analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Sydney. “We expect to see prices remain relatively volatile.”


West Texas Intermediate crude for May fell 1 cent to $20.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 7:53 a.m. London time after rising as much as 3.9% earlier. The contract has lost almost 20% in the past three sessions. Brent for June delivery dropped 1.6% to $29.13 on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange after closing 6.7% lower Tuesday.


Dated Brent, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s physical supply, was assessed at $20.66 on Tuesday, compared with $23.73 on Thursday.


The OPEC+ output deal has only served to avert a complete price collapse, according to Societe Generale SA. The bank forecast Brent will average $30 a barrel in the second quarter, “on the premise that post pandemic normalcy returns, OPEC+ cuts are successful,” and decent compliance.


Saudi Arabia’s crude exports so far in April stand at 9.3 million barrels a day, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 6.8 million barrels a day in the first two weeks of March. There are also at least 10 supertankers with a capacity to haul a combined 20 million barrels waiting to load at the Saudi port of Ras Tanura in the coming days.


The difference between crude production and product demand is about 25 million barrels a day, Gunvor’s co-founder and chief executive officer Torbjorn Tornqvist said. Storage both on land and at sea is filling up as traders rush to find a place for the unwanted crude. “It may be hard to even find a place to store oil three to four weeks from now,” he said.

Related Articles

TechnipFMC Secures Whiptail Project Contract with ExxonMobil Guyana

TechnipFMC has been awarded a contract by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited for the Whiptail project in Guyana Stabroek Block

Read More

Fadhili Gas Plant Expansion: Aramco Awards $7.7 Billion in EPC Contracts

Aramco Grants $7.7 Billion in EPC Contracts for Fadhili Gas Plant Expansion in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Aramco has recently awarded engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts worth $7.7 billion to facilitate a significant expansion of the Fadhili Gas Plant located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Read More

QatarEnergy awards $6bln EPC contracts for Al Shaheen field

Under this, Project Ruya will see the development of more than 550mln barrels of oil within a five-year period with the first oil expected in 2027

Read More
Wintershall Deaneptune LogoSIEnppipetrojetTransGlobe SCHNEIDER-ELECTRIChempleEgypt gasNorthAlmansooriSKY CTS exxonmobilSchlumbergerhttps://www.shell.com/GascoCPCAlmansoori