Crude oil benchmarks on the New York and London markets fell by more than $1/bbl on Dec. 6 after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries met in Vienna but delayed any announcement until reconvening for a second day Dec. 7.
OPEC formally ended its meeting on Dec. 7 and convened in a closed session meeting with a group of 10 non-OPEC members, led by Russia.
Brent and light, sweet crude oil prices jumped Dec. 7 on reports that OPEC had a decision, but OPEC officials gave no agreed production numbers pending the meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers.
The major producers have followed a Declaration of Agreement for 2 years that limited oil production to support prices. Earlier this week, Qatar said it would drop its OPEC membership.
On Dec. 6, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak returned to Russia from Vienna for talks with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. Novak returned to Vienna to meet with OPEC delegates.
Separately, the US Energy Information Administration reported US crude oil inventories declined, ending 10 weeks of consecutive inventory builds.
US crude oil supplies, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 7.3 million bbl for the week ended Nov. 30, EIA said in its weekly report, released a day later than usual because federal offices were closed Dec. 5 for former US President George H.W. Bush’s funeral.
At 443.2 million bbl, US crude oil inventories are about 6% above the 5-year average for this time of year, EIA said (OGJ Online, Dec. 6, 2018).
EIA’s Petroleum Status Report also said US oil production was 11.7 million b/d for the week ended Nov. 30.
Energy prices
The January light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.40 to close at $51.49/bbl. The February contract decreased $1.42 to close at $51.70/bbl.
Natural gas futures for January dropped 14¢ to close at a rounded $4.33/MMbtu on Dec. 6.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for January fell 3¢ to a rounded $1.86/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for January dropped 1¢ to a rounded $1.43/gal.
Brent crude oil for February dropped $1.50 to $60.06/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The March contract decreased $1.43 to $60.33/bbl. The gas oil contract for December was $556.50/tonne, down $30.25.
OPEC’s basket of crudes for Dec. 6 averaged $58.79/bbl, down $1.29.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
