PI: ENERGY MARKETS REPORT INCLUDING: Royal Dutch Shell said it has shut down a unit due to an upset at its 327KBPD refinery in Deere Park Texas
WTI and Brent crude futures came off their overnight lows as the USD Index weakened and risk appetite picked up as the session progressed.
Oil & Gas News:
• Iraq deputy PM says he expects oil prices this year to average more than USD 100 per barrel with no need for OPEC to raise production at the next meeting on June 8th because markets are oversupplied.
• China’s foreign ministry said that there was no dispute with Russia over the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, after Russia’s Transneft had claimed they had been underpaid for crude supplies.
• Japanese crude oil imports fell 14% compared to April last year due to the earthquake disrupting refinery output. However LNG imports rose 9% for the same period to plug the gap created by nuclear power shutdowns.
Geopolitical News:
• US President Obama and British PM Cameron will stress a united effort to pressure Libyan Leader Gaddafi to step down, while glossing over differences between their two governments.
• Yemeni President Saleh said he is ready to sign transition of power deal within the framework of dialogue. He added he will not be dragged into a civil war by recent provocations as tribesmen battled Yemeni security forces in the capital Sana’a.
• The US has passed sanctions against Venezuela in a more aggressive move to starve Iran of fuel, however Venezuelan Oil Minster Ramirez responded by saying relations with Iran will continue.
Corporate News:
• Total E&P head confirmed he expects production to grow by 2% per year until 2014. Meanwhile Total said their exploration budget has increased to USD 2.1bln in 2011.
• General Electric Vice-Chairman Krenicki said the group was “looking at a 25-year, very bullish market” for gas, and making acquisitions and investing in new products to profit from it.
• Royal Dutch Shell said it has shut down a unit due to an upset at its 327KBPD refinery in Deere Park, Texas, in a filing with regulators.
Weather news:
Weather Derivatives forecast sees average temp. in the US for the next 6-10 days to be 2.1F above the average at this time of the year. The data is accurate as that of 24th May, 2011.
The NHC reports that shower and thunderstorm activity has diminished in association with a surface low located about 650 miles east-southeast of Bermuda. Subtropical cyclone development is not expected with a low chance of this system becoming a subtropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.
US API Inventory Data:
US API Crude Oil Inventories (May 20) W/W -860K vs. Prev. 2669K
US API Cushing Crude Oil Inventory (May 20) W/W 54K vs. Prev. -1479K
US API Distillate Inventory (May 20) W/W -846K vs. Prev. -2844K
US API Gasoline Inventory (May 20) W/W 2442K vs. Prev. -676K
US DOE Inventory Data Estimates:
DOE Crude Oil Inventories (May 25) W/W Exp. -1500K, Low Estimate: -3000K, High Estimate: 1200K, Prev.: -15K
DOE Gasoline Inventories (May 25) W/W Exp.: 450K, Low Estimate: -1000K, High Estimate: 2000K, Prev.: 119K
DOE Distillate Inventory (May 25) W/W Exp.: 0K, Low Estimate: -1300K, High Estimate: 1000K, Prev.: -1157K
DOE Cushing Crude Inventory (May 25) W/W Exp. N/A, Low Estimate: N/A, High Estimate: N/A, Prev.: -1591K
DOE Refinery Utilisation (May 25) W/W Exp.: 0.50%, Low Estimate: -0.15%, High Estimate: 1.00%, Prev.: 1.50%
