Though ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Placid Refining Company are both receiving hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude from America’s federal reserves to continue refinery operations, and two rigs in the Gulf have been knocked adrift, the overall impact of Ike appears fairly benevolent to energy companies.
OPEC’s meeting tomorrow will almost certainly result in talk of cutting production, but not much in the way of concerted action. Member nations’ motivations are not synchronized, so consensus is exceedingly unlikely. Iran wants to impose OPEC-wide decreases, but the UAE thinks current levels are appropriate. Although OPEC will not move together on this issue, some countries (notably Saudi Arabia) are likely to retrench significant volumes.
Oil prices are being pushed upwards by the impending arrival of tropical storm Gustav in the Gulf of Mexico. Gustav is projected to become “the largest hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico since Katrina”. Workers are already being evacuated from oil and gas rigs in the area, which has pushed up NYMEX oil futures past $117.
Barrel prices nosed upward of $115 on Monday, largely due to a sagging US dollar. Analyzing this in reference to last week’s barrel and dollar prices shows the extent to which crude is tied to currency differentials. The relationship is not one sided, either. For us Canadians, high oil prices are keeping our dollar near parity with that of our neighbours.
At this point, there are much more pressing threats to the pipeline’s continued functioning. A long simmering dispute between Georgia and Russia over the disputed South Ossetia region erupted into war. Reports on Monday morning confirmed that Russian forces had pressed along the Greater Liakhvi River, beginning to enter the city of Gori.
Sky Petroleum reported production of 23,947 Barrels of oil during Q2, 2008. For full news, click here
Shares of Anadarko Petroleum fell 6%, as crude prices went down on news of reduced consumer spending. For more news, click here
Think of how your day would go if you couldn’t use the internal combustion engine, plastic, most electricity, the products of commercial agriculture or anything that has traveled by ship.
Monday, September 15, 2008