Oil Steady as Russia Commits to Output Cuts

Monday, October 28, 2019

Oil prices were steady on Monday, holding on to strong gains last week, after Russia affirmed its commitment to a deal with OPEC producers to keep production in check and support prices.

Brent crude was down 1 cent at $62.01 a barrel by 0055 GMT, having logged a weekly gain of more than 4% last week, its best weekly gain since Sept. 20.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 4 cents at $56.62 a barrel, having risen more than 5% last week, also the biggest weekly increase since Sept. 20.

Russia's energy ministry said on Friday it is continuing close cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producers to enhance market stability and predictability.

The statement came a day after Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil producer, Rosneft, said the September attacks on Saudi oil assets created doubts over its reliability as a supplier. The attacks temporarily shut down around half of the kingdom's oil output.

"(Russian) oil companies have wanted to get busy stealing oil market share from the Saudis and others for a few years now but ... Moscow has them in a bit of a box and is driving the bus," said Greg McKenna, strategist at McKenna Macro.

OPEC+, an alliance of OPEC members and other major producers including Russia, has since January implemented a deal to cut output by 1.2 million bpd to support the market.

The pact runs to March 2020 and the producers meet to review policy on Dec. 5-6.

Prices were also supported by a statement from the United States and China that they are close to finalizing some parts of a trade agreement after high level discussions.

Elsewhere, a suggestion by U.S. President Donald Trump that Exxon Mobil or another U.S. oil company could operate Syrian oil fields drew rebukes from legal and energy experts.


(Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; editing by Richard Pullin)

Categories: Oil Production

Related Stories

Into the Deep: Offshore Production Increasingly Finds Deeper Waters

Taliban Plan Regional Energy Trade Hub with Russian Oil in Mind

BP Suspends Production at Azerbaijani Platform for Maintenance Works

Russian Oil Companies Told to Boost Fuel Supply to Domestic Market

Gazprom Uses Replacement Vessel to Maintain Gas Loadings

Leaky Platforms: Pemex Knocked for Delayed Repairs, "Vast" Methane Leaks

JUB Pacific Bolsters Liftboat Fleet

BP's Carbon Emissions Rise for the First Time Since 2019

Equinor Pens 15-Year LNG Supply Deal with Indian Firm

Valeura Buys Nong Yao Field’s FSO Aurora and Expands Wassana Drilling Campaign

Current News

Doris, Rosen and Spiecapag Team Up to Repurpose Natural Gas Pipelines for Hydrogen

Indonesia to Ask Mubadala to Speed Up South Andaman Gas Development

Interview: Caroline Yang, CEO, Hong Lam Marine & President, SSA

Indonesia Offers Five Oil and Gas Blocks, Pledges to Boost Exploration

ADES Holding Signs $94M Jack-Up Rig Deal with PTTEP

Cyan Renewables, Hyundai to Set Up Offshore Wind Vessel Suply Chain in South Korea

Mubadala Energy Makes Second Major Gas Discovery in Indonesia

Subsea7, OneSubsea to Install Türkiye’s First FPU in Black Sea

Optimizing Cathodic Protection Survey Using Non-contact Sensors

Into the Deep: Offshore Production Increasingly Finds Deeper Waters

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