Light, sweet crude oil for November delivery rose moderately to settle above $58/bbl on the New York market Sept. 23 and Brent for November rose moderately in London to settle above $64/bbl as worries continue about Saudi oil supply.
More than half of Saudi output was hampered by Sept. 14 drone and missile attacks although Saudi officials have since reassured oil investors that oil production is being restored quickly.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said oil production will be restored by Sept. 30 after the attacks temporarily stopped 5.7 million b/d of production (OGJ Online, Sept. 18, 2019).
Saudi production capacity is expected to be partly restored to 11 million b/d by the end of September and fully restored to 12 million b/d by the end of November, Saudi officials have said.
Reuters reported Sept. 23 that Saudi Arabia had restored more than 75% of crude output and would return to full volumes by early next week.
But questions remain about how fast Saudi Arabia can obtain needed parts to repair damaged equipment. The Wall Street Journal has reported the repairs could take months longer than previously anticipated.
“There remains conflicting news coming out of Saudi Arabia, but an increasing number of reports pointing to Saudi Aramco purchasing external products and potentially also crude to meet its term commitments do not give the impression that an imminent return to full capacity is in sight,” JBC Energy said.
Energy prices
Light, sweet crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange for November delivery increased 55¢ to $58.64/bbl on Sept. 23 while the December contract added 58¢ to $58.42/bbl.
The October natural gas price decreased less than 1¢ to remain at a rounded $2.53/MMbtu on Sept. 23.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for October gained 1¢ to a rounded $2/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for October edged up less than 1¢ to remain at a rounded $1.68/gal.
Brent crude for November rose 49¢ to $64.77/bbl. The December contract increased 53¢ to settle at $63.73/bbl.
Gas oil for October fell $5.25 to $612/tonne on Sept. 23.
The average for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes for Sept. 23 was $64.51/bbl, down 79¢.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
