OPEC, for some quiet moments..

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Oil prices gave up earlier gains on Tuesday, as concerns over slowing demand and a relentless rise in U.S. crude output undermined the impact of hopes that OPEC-led production cuts could be extended. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $49.37 per barrel at 0252 GMT on Tuesday, down from a high of $49.60 earlier in the day and near their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $46.46 per barrel, down from an intra-day high of $46.66 and also little changed from their last settlement.

Oil gives up earlier gains as rising US output, China concerns weigh | Reuters

From Exxon Mobil Corp. to Total SA, the world’s largest listed oil companies have sent a message to skeptical investors and rivals at OPEC: we can get by in a world of $50/bbl crude. Oil majors generated a gusher of cash in the first quarter. The surge shows how a mix of cost-cutting and assets sales -- plus the tailwind of new output from projects approved several years ago -- helped companies to survive and then thrive with prices that are less than half what they were a few years ago.

Oil majors going strong in a $50/bbl market

By the time Midwesterners fire up their furnaces this fall, the $2-billion Nexus pipeline is supposed to be pumping natural gas to heat homes from frosty Ohio to frostier Ontario. But six months out, the 255-mi (410-km) pipeline exists only on paper.  Until President Donald Trump fills key vacancies at an energy regulator, Nexus and other sprawling energy projects are in limbo, unable to secure permits to begin construction. For Nexus developers DTE Energy Co. and Spectra Energy Partners LP, each week that passes threatens the project’s ability to meet winter demands.

Trump delay stalls $50 billion of energy investment projects

OPEC’s plan to boost oil prices by cutting production has fizzled, yet it has little choice but to stick with it. Crude has surrendered all of its gains since the OPEC first agreed production cuts in November. While the group has implemented the curbs, a rebound in U.S. shale output and stubbornly-high stockpiles show the world’s three-year crude glut isn’t shifting. Even signals from Saudi Arabia and Russia that they’ll prolong the supply reductions haven’t staunched the rout.

OPEC runs out of options as bid to boost oil price fizzles