By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Mar. 5 -- Oil futures prices continued to move up Monday amid speculation that Russia would likely continue its oil production cut of 150,000 b/d through June.
Alí Rodríguez Araque, the secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is in Russia until Wednesday along with OPEC Pres. Rilwanu Lukman to urge Russia to extend its production cuts beyond the first quarter. Rodríguez said that Russia's stance would influence OPEC members' decisions about continuing their own supply restrictions.
"Much will depend on the success or failure of these meetings with the Russian leadership, since Russia is one of the main players on the world oil market," Rodríguez was quoted by Caspian News Agency as saying. The secretary general will meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and Minister of Energy Igor Yusufov, as well as certain Russian oil firm chief executives.
The April contract for benchmark US light, sweet crude rose 5¢ to $22.45/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the May position also advanced 5¢ to $22.69/bbl. In after-hours trading, the April and May contracts continued to edge up from the NYMEX close, standing at $22.55/bbl and $22.84/bbl, respectively.
Heating oil for April delivery lost 42¢ to 58.45¢/gal on NYMEX. Unleaded gasoline for the same month increased 0.11¢ to 70.71¢/gal. The April natural gas contract added 12.9¢ to $2.49/Mcf.
In London, the April contract for North Sea Brent crude futures stood at $21.94/bbl, up 5¢ on the International Petroleum Exchange. The April natural gas contract, however, fell 69¢ to the equivalent of $2.30/Mcf.
