By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 30 -- Oil futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed slightly lower Thursday although they held above $42/bbl. Refined products also declined, and natural gas prices settled slightly higher.
Analysts said the market is likely to stay volatile and possibly might jump to $45/bbl or higher on NYMEX pending a resolution of OAO Yukos's financial and legal difficulties with Russian authorities. Meanwhile, Yukos executives have said that the company could be forced into bankruptcy if the government sells Yukos's production assets to cover outstanding tax bills.
In other international oil price news, Venezuela said it will propose a revision in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' current oil price band of $22-28/bbl.
Venezuela's Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez told state news agency Venpres that the proposal would be brought up during the OPEC ministerial conference, slated for September. He gave no specific figures.
"We sustain that fundamental, structural factors in the market have changed," he was quoted as saying. He also said Venezuela will call for "an evaluation of the [price] band and study the possiblity of shifting what has been established since 2000."
Energy prices
The September contract for benchmark US light, sweet crude slipped by 15¢ to $42.75/bbl. The October contract also declined by 15¢ to $42.13/bbl. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., declined by 15¢ to $42.75/bbl.
Heating oil for August delivery declined by 1.14¢ to $1.1328/gal Thursday on NYMEX, while gasoline for the same month dipped by 2.02¢ to $1.2752/gal.
The September natural gas contract gained 0.038¢ to $6.180/Mcf, and analysts said the market bounced around Thursday with a decline following the release of storage date. Gas then rebounded into positive territory while crude oil futures recovered some ground that had been lost in early Thursday trading.
The US Energy Information Administration on Thursday reported that natural gas in storage was 2.3 tcf as of July 23, representing an increase of 70 bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 235 bcf higher than last year at this time and 69 bcf above the 5-year average of 2.2 tcf.
"For next week, look for the EIA to report an injection of about 70 bcf to 80 bcf. The [US] National Weather Service outlook for next week calls for normal or below-normal temperatures in the East, West, and Gulf Coast states, with above-seasonal readings expected for most of the central part of the nation," analysts at Enerfax Daily said Friday.
They noted that the longer-term forecast appears neutral to slightly supportive for gas prices. "But with almost all of the nation's more than 100 nuclear reactors on line generating nearly 100,000 Mw of power, less demand for natural gas is expected."
In London, the September contract for North Sea Brent crude lost 28¢ to $39.25/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange. Gas oil for August delivery was down by $3.50 to $364.25/tonne. The August natural gas contract gained 1¢ to the equivalent of $3.91/Mcf on IPE.
The average price for OPEC's basket of seven benchmark crudes lost 1¢ to $37.94/bbl Thursday.
