Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Jan. 26 -- Energy prices rose Jan. 25 with reports of reduced runs by US refineries and a pending strike by oil workers in Nigeria that could hamper production.
Nigerian oil unions this week threatened a strike that could shut in more than 500,000 b/d of crude production at Port Harcourt in the southern Niger delta unless the two top managers of a Malaysian-owned drilling firm leave the country. Workers blame the two executives for cutting benefits.
Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration said Jan. 26 that input into US refineries decreased by 40,000 b/d to 15.2 million b/d during the week ended Jan. 21. US refining capacity slipped to 91% from 91.5% the previous week when, with the start of maintenance, capacity was already down to the lowest level since late October (OGJ Online, Jan. 20, 2005). Distillate fuel production declined to 3.7 million b/d in the latest reported period, while gasoline production increased slightly to 8.5 million b/d.
Commercial US crude inventories rose by 3.4 million bbl to 295.6 million bbl in the period ended Jan. 21. Distillate fuel and gasoline stocks dropped by 2.3 million bbl each to 121.5 million and 214.7 million bbl, respectively, EIA said. US crude imports increased by 338,000 b/d to 10.5 million b/d. Imports from Saudi Arabia were relatively high while those from Iraq were relatively low, EIA said.
Energy prices
The March contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes shot up by 83¢ to $49.64/bbl Jan. 25 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The April contract topped out at $50/bbl before closing at $49.80/bbl, up 87¢ for the day. On the US spot market, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., gained 83¢ to $49.45/bbl. Gasoline for February delivery jumped by 4.55¢ to $1.34/gal on NYMEX. Heating oil for the same month increased by 2.16¢ to $1.42/gal.
However, the February natural gas contract lost 7.3¢ to $6.40/MMbtu on NYMEX, "pressured by milder weather forecasts for next week despite lingering cold this week that helped firm some cash [gas market] prices," said analysts at Enerfax Daily.
In London, the March contract for North Sea Brent crude increased by 95¢ to $46.96/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven benchmark crudes rose by 19¢ to $42.68/bbl on Jan. 25.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected]
