Dave Brown has worked for over a decade in the capital markets and wealth management industries. Having spent over seven years working within the Portfolio Management division of the largest privately owned mutual fund company in Canada he was most recently occupied in a more intimate sized high net worth boutique located in Toronto. Dave’s open and closed ended trust fund mandates and structured product offerings have included both international and domestic equities and he has been writing on mining investment opportunities for Resource Investing News since 2008. He received his formal training in both geography and education from Brock University. As an active community member, Dave has volunteered and been active for 12 years in various committees serving a number of roles with Family and Children’s Society and also as treasurer and newsletter editor for a local chapter of UNICEF.
Oil prices eased modestly early on March 28 after advancing rebels in Libya announced that they would be able to resume crude exports in a week and Qatar promised to help them market their product on world markets.The price remains 8 percent higher than it was a month ago, and 30 percent higher than a year ago, challenging global economic recovery.
Spot market oil prices fell to a two-week low in New York on speculation that the worst earthquake in Japan’s history will hurt growth and reduce fuel demand in the world’s third largest economy.
In an exclusive interview, Bob Sewell, President of Bellwether Investment Management indicated, “While higher oil prices may result in some increase in natural gas prices, the reality is that natural gas supply is so abundant with additional supply coming on line regularly we don’t see this imbalance resolving itself anytime soon.”
BP and Reliance Industries intend to create a joint commercial interest to purchase, transport and market oil and natural gas. This partnership could prove important for the Indian economy.
The increasing investment in harder-to-reach oil is often sited as a sign of oil companies’ belief in the end of easy oil. Additionally, while it is widely held that increased prices catalyze an increase in production, a growing number of oil insiders are now coming to believe that production is unlikely to increase widely beyond current ranges.
International Energy Agency last week indicated that “three digit oil prices risk damaging” the economic recovery, offering a message that OPEC should raise output; however, OPEC responded the same day by saying that global supplies are sufficient to meet demand.
The Trans Alaska Pipeline was shut down on Saturday following the discover of a leak at an intake pump station at Prudhoe Bay, constricting supply in one of the United States’ key oil arteries. Cold weather in the Northeast during December translated into 5 consecutive stock draws in the Central Atlantic, while New England stocks fluctuated during the month.
Oil prices have risen steadily this quarter. Benchmark crude hit a 26-month high on Monday near $92 per barrel and is forecast by some analysts to be headed to $100, driven by quantitative easing in the United States and as data supporting robust growth in India and China drive demand. Analysts believe OPEC’s evident reluctance to increase output and the prospect of continued dollar weakness add to the case for costlier oil in 2011.
The West African offshore oil and gas industry has a history of exploration of more than 50 years, with international majors and smaller firms having held, and relinquished, licences all along the coast since the British discovered oil in the Niger Delta in the late 1950s.
Last month news reports out of China surfaced that the nation might see its natural gas supply fail to meet 35 percent of the demand in 2011, and the shortage could persist through 2021.
