Light, sweet crude oil for December delivery fell modestly to settle under $47/bbl on the New York market on Nov. 1 pending the weekly release of the US oil and product inventory, which some analysts expected to show a gain in crude supplies.
US gasoline futures prices rose Nov. 1 on news reports of an explosion and fire at a pipeline owned by Colonial Pipeline Co. Gasoline futures prices were falling in early Nov. 2 trading after Colonial said it only expects the gasoline pipeline will be down until sometime during Nov. 5.
But Barclays analysts suggested the pipeline outage might last longer pending inspections by the US Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
The pipeline explosion marked the second time in 2 months that Colonial Pipeline has experienced problems. On Oct. 31, a track hoe Colonial Pipeline’s Line No. 1 in Shelby County, Ala., igniting gasoline. One worker was killed and five were severely injured. A fire continued burning Nov. 2.
The incident happened within a few miles of the site where Colonial experienced a Sept. 9 pipeline rupture and leak (OGJ Online, Sept. 21, 2016).
Energy prices
The December crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 19¢ on Nov. 2 to close at $46.67/bbl. The January contract was down 22¢ to $47.24/bbl.
The natural gas contract for December fell 12¢ to a rounded $2.90/MMbtu. On the spot market, the Henry Hub gas price tumbled 27¢ to $2.53/MMbtu.
Heating oil for December rose 1¢ to a rounded $1.52/gal. The price for reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenates blending for December gained 6¢ to a rounded $1.48/gal.
The January Brent crude contract on London’s ICE was down 47¢ to settle at $48.14/bbl. The Brent contract for February was down 35¢ to $48.95/bbl. The November gas oil contract settled at $436.75/tonne, down $3.50.
The average price for OPEC’s basket of benchmark crudes on Nov. 1 was $44.53/bbl, down $1.30.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
