06-30-2017, 10:58 PM
On the surface, the oil market is getting worse and worse: there are now more bearish bets on benchmark Brent crude than at any time in at least six years. But to many traders, that’s a signal prices are vulnerable to a sudden, sharp rebound. Oil’s ripe for a so-called “short-covering” rally -- where traders who sold contracts hoping to benefit from falling prices buy them back to take profits or avoid losses. Short positions held by speculators in Brent rose to 169 million barrels last week, the highest since records started in 2011, according to exchange data.
Oil's record bearish bets prompt warning of violent rally
A joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil said on Wednesday it would appeal against a Dutch government plan to lower a production cap at the Groningen natural gas field by a further 10%. The Dutch government has lowered production at Groningen several times over the past three years due to small earthquakes triggered by work there. The latest cap, announced in May, would lower production to 21.6 Bcm/year from October. It was 53.9 Bcm in 2013.
Shell, Exxon to appeal latest Groningen gas production cap
Libyan oil shipments are poised to hit their highest level in at least three years in the latest sign the North African country is managing to sustain a production revival. Exports are on course to reach about 715,000 bpd this month, the most since July 2014, when Bloomberg began monitoring Libyan shipments, tanker-tracking data show. With relatively limited capacity to process that crude in its domestic refineries, the shipments have been moving in lock-step with production.
Libyan crude gushes into tankers as nation's output accelerates
McKinsey Energy Insights (MEI), the data and analytics specialist that provides insight and support to the global energy industry, has released its North American Shale Oil Outlook. Under its Price Recovery scenario, which assumes WTI prices will hit $60–$70/bbl from 2019 onward, MEI expects shale drilling and completions to grow at 20% p.a. and production to increase at 12% p.a. through to 2021. U.S. shale oil production is estimated to reach 9 MMbpd by 2025, but this could vary by 5.4 MMbpd depending on oil price scenarios.
McKinsey Energy Insights expects U.S. shale production to reach 9 MMbpd by 2025