Sandwiched between a recent discovery to the East, the world’s largest reserves of crude oil to the West and with their maritime border dispute resolved - Guyana and Suriname have started to attract a lot of exploration interest.
Key report from the US Department of State should set the stage for project`s approval from the White House, say analysts.
After BP-Rosneft deal falls through, Exxon score a major coup with partnership that grants them access to untapped reserves that could top 110 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
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.
Even as investors are mulling mixed signals over crude supply numbers from the Energy Information Administration, there are clear indications that the Gulf state leaders have no plans to stop pricing oil in dollars. The rumour had traders hitting the panic button.
Prices of light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange are currently trading at half their peak hit in July last year. This has led some producers to postpone oil sands projects as they are capital-intensive and need crude futures above a certain threshold to be viable. US oil demand is also in the doldrums due to the global economic downturn, making it harder for producers to justify investments in new crude oil production. However, PetroChina has gone ahead with its investment in Canadian oil sands.
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