OPEC, for some quiet moments..

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OPEC expects its efforts to clear the surplus in oil inventories to finally succeed by the end of the third quarter of next year, said people familiar with the group’s internal forecasts. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia have been cutting oil production this year to bring fuel inventories in industrialized nations back in line with the five-year average. They hope to end an unprecedented build-up that sent prices plunging from above $100/bbl in 2014 to around $50 currently, but the process has taken longer than expected and the deal has already been extended beyond its initial June expiry.

OPEC said to see oil inventory glut disappear in one year

Oil slid as investors waited to see whether U.S. government data will confirm that crude stockpiles rose last week, while the International Energy Agency warned of a ceiling for prices next year. Futures lost 1.7% in New York after climbing 4.1% the previous three sessions. Inventories rose by 3.1 MMbbl last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. That contrasts with a Bloomberg survey that showed stockpiles dropped for a third week. The government is due to release the official data later Thursday. Meanwhile the IEA said global supply and demand estimates for 2018 indicate that stockpiles may not fall further, potentially capping prices.

Oil slides before U.S. data as IEA warns of price ceiling

Putting on the brakes is a relative term in Scandinavia’s richest economy. The Norwegian government on Thursday proposed spending 231.1 billion kroner ($29 billion) of its oil income and wealth to plug a deficit equal to 7.7% of gross domestic product, roughly unchanged from this year. To do this, it will withdraw 72 billion kroner from its massive wealth fund, up from a lower-than-estimated 57 billion kroner in 2017.

Norway puts on the brakes, but oil-cash splurge is hard to kick

Shares of Independent Oil & Gas Plc rose as much as 100% on Thursday, the second dramatic increase for a North Sea explorer this week, after the London-based company announced a tenfold increase in its southern North Sea gas reserves. IOG said the portfolio holds an estimated 303 Bcfg, up from 34 Bcfg previously. The rally followed peer Jersey Oil & Gas Plc’s sixfold increase Monday, after joint venture partner Statoil ASA announced a discovery in the UK Continental Shelf region.

Groundhog Day in London as oil stock soars on North Sea reserves