Brent Oil Climbs Toward $73

By Shadia Nasralla
Thursday, May 16, 2019

Oil prices rose on Thursday for a third day running as fears of supply disruption amid heightened tensions in the Middle East overshadowed swelling U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude futures were up $1.03 cents at $72.80 a barrel by 1344 GMT, heading for the biggest weekly rise in about three months.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 83 cents at $62.85.

Oil was drawing support from the risk of conflict in the Middle East, with helicopters carrying U.S. staff from the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday out of apparent concern over perceived threats from Iran.

"Brent looks poised to breach the upper bound of its recent $70-$73 a barrel price range as bullish headlines from the (Mideast) Gulf continue worrying investors," Citi said in a note.

A rise in U.S. crude oil inventories to their highest since 2017 helped to cap prices, though government data pointed to a smaller increase than previous industry data, with falling gasoline stocks also providing some price support.

Also keeping prices in check is uncertainty about whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers will continue supply cuts that have boosted prices more than 30% so far this year.

OPEC said on Tuesday that world demand for its oil would be higher than expected this year.

Despite continuing trade tensions between the United States and China, which have weighed on the demand outlook, the oil market is marked by tight supply.

"There is ... more supply at risk to a new U.S. war in the Middle East than demand at risk to the continuation of the trade war with China," Petromatrix analyst Olivier Jakob said in a note.

An end this month to U.S. waivers that allowed some countries to buy Iranian oil after the reimposition of U.S. sanctions has prompted Tehran to relax restrictions on its nuclear programme and threaten action that could breach a 2015 nuclear deal.

An attack on four oil tankers in the Gulf on Sunday, for which no one has claimed responsibility, and Saudi Arabia's announcement that armed drones hit two of its oil pumping stations have compounded supply-side fears.


(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Jason Neely and David Goodman)

Categories: Energy Oil Production

Related Stories

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Vietsovpetro Brings BK-24 Oil Platform Online Two Months Early

Propane’s Economic Edge for Ports During Trade Uncertainty

Ventura Offshore’s Semi-Sub Rig to Keep Drilling for Eni in Asia

SBM Offshore, SLB to Optimize FPSO Performance Using AI

Floating Offshore Wind Test Center Planned for Japan

CNOOC Brings Online Another Oil and Gas Project in South China Sea

China Starts Production at Major Oil Field in Bohai Sea

Current News

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com