Brent crude climbed 89 cents, or 1.4%, to $65.23 a barrel by 0524 GMT, touching its highest since Jan. 20, 2020. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 66 cents, or 1.1%, to $61.80 a barrel, registering its highest since Jan. 8, 2020. Both benchmarks rose about $1 on Wednesday and have gained more than 6% since their close last Thursday.
Wednesday marked the fifth day of oil refineries being shut in the Texas region which has been hampered by the freezing weather. There has been a ban on exports of natural Gas from the region as the state looks to efficiently rectify the power outages to millions of people who are currently suffering from sub-zero temperatures. Estimates show that around 1 million barrels per day are currently locked in, with some analysts pointing to a total loss of output at 16 million barrels by March. (Reuters)
U.S. crude oil stocks fell by 5.8 million barrels in the week to Feb. 12 to about 468 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a draw of 2.4 million barrels, American Petroleum Institute data showed. [API/S] U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) oil inventory data will be released later on Thursday, delayed by a day after a Monday holiday. [EIA/S]
Tightening global supply and slowly increasing demand fundamentals are the key drivers for the continually bullish Brent, yet the market waits to see the outcome of the next OPEC meeting as to how much they are planning of easing supply restriction from oil producing nations.
Asian refiners have turned their attention to surplus oil product feedstocks as they have received less crude from the Arab Gulf which reflects the 1 million barrel per day output cut from Saudi Arabia. Refiners in China, India and South Korea will look to taper off production in some products to curb inventories as demand for some remain low as restriction in travel due to international lockdowns persist. (S&P Global Platts)
MARKETS NEWS:
* Saudi Oil Minister Urges Producer Caution Before OPEC+ Meeting
* Pemex Says 2020 Oil Output Increased, Contradicting Earlier Data
* PDVSA Starts Transfer of Crude from Vessel That Risked Spilling
* API Reports U.S. Crude Stockpiles Fell 5.8M Bbl Last Week
* Profit-Hit Oil Shippers Now Face Another Challenge: Costly Fuel
OTHER NEWS:
* Shell Unloads Alberta Shale Assets in Latest Canada Energy Deal
* Port of L.A. Will Divert Cargo Ships to Battle Import Congestion
* Flows to U.S. LNG Export Plants Fall to 2-Year Low on Cold Blast
* USC to Halt Fossil-Fuel Investments and Divest Existing Holdings
* LNG Importers Face a Glut After Cold Snap Triggered Panic Buying
OIL PRODUCT NEWS:
* U.S.: Cold Putting Clamp on U.S. Gasoline Supply
* EUROPE: U.S. Pulls Diesel; Exxon Fawley Starts FCC
* ASIA: Australian Imports to Gain; Maersk Fuel Use
ECONOMIC DATA/EVENTS: (Times are London.)
* 4:00pm: EIA weekly oil inventory report
* Singapore onshore oil-product stockpile weekly data
* Russian weekly refinery outage data from ministry
* Insights Global oil product inventory data for Europe’s ARA region
* Nigerian crude loading programs for April may begin to emerge from this day and will likely continue through next week
* EARNINGS: Repsol SA, Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Shell Midstream Partners
ANALYST VIEWS/COLUMNS:
* Cold Blast Opens Up Fuel Export Opportunity for Global Refiners
* Japan Quake Seen Trimming Feb. Refinery Runs Up to 150k B/d: FGE
* Investors Look to Next EIA Report as Output, Refineries Offline
OTHER FINANCIAL MARKETS:
* Asian Stocks Fall as China Pares Rally; Oil Climbs: Markets Wrap
*Rotterdam 3.5% INDIC*
Mar21 356.75 / 358.75
Apr21 355.25 / 357.25
May21 352.25 / 354.25
Jun21 348.25 / 350.25
Jul21 344.00 / 346.00
Aug21 339.25 / 341.25
Q2-21 352.00 / 354.00
Q3-21 339.00 / 341.00
Q4-21 323.00 / 325.00
Q1-22 313.25 / 316.25
CAL22 304.25 / 310.25
*Singapore 380 INDIC*
Mar21 371.25 / 373.25
Apr21 370.25 / 372.25
May21 367.75 / 369.75
Jun21 364.50 / 366.50
Jul21 361.00 / 363.00
Aug21 357.50 / 359.50
Q2-21 367.50 / 369.50
Q3-21 357.25 / 359.25
Q4-21 346.00 / 348.00
Q1-22 338.00 / 341.00
CAL22 324.75 / 330.75
*Rott VLSFO 0.5% INDIC*
Mar21 470.00 / 475.00
Apr21 467.50 / 472.50
May21 465.00 / 470.00
Jun21 462.50 / 467.50
Jul21 459.75 / 464.75
Aug21 457.00 / 462.00
Q2-21 465.00 / 470.00
Q3-21 457.00 / 462.00
Q4-21 448.25 / 454.25
Q1-22 441.50 / 449.50
CAL22 425.25 / 433.25
*Singapore VLSFO 0.5% INDIC*
Mar21 493.00 / 498.00
Apr21 488.75 / 493.75
May21 486.00 / 491.00
Jun21 483.25 / 488.25
Jul21 480.50 / 485.50
Aug21 477.75 / 482.75
Q2-21 486.00 / 491.00
Q3-21 477.75 / 482.75
Q4-21 469.75 / 475.75
Q1-22 461.75 / 469.75
CAL22 446.75 / 454.75
*Sing 10ppm GO INDIC*
Mar21 70.52 / 70.66
Apr21 70.36 / 70.56
May21 70.15 / 70.35
Jun21 69.92 / 70.12
Jul21 69.69 / 69.89
Aug21 69.44 / 69.64
Q2-21 70.10 / 70.40
Q3-21 69.40 / 69.70
Q4-21 68.79 / 69.09
Q1-22 68.09 / 68.39
CAL22 67.37 / 67.77
*ICE Gasoil 10ppm INDIC*
Mar21 529.13 / 531.13
Apr21 528.23 / 530.23
May21 526.50 / 528.50
Jun21 524.92 / 526.92
Jul21 523.52 / 525.52
Aug21 522.53 / 524.53
Q2-21 526.55 / 528.55
Q3-21 522.69 / 524.69
Q4-21 518.98 / 520.98
Q1-22 510.60 / 512.60
CAL22 504.48 / 506.48
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