Category: Petroleum and Gas

BP’s bid to sell the North Sea gas field it owns with Iran could face an eleventh hour delay as the threat of US sanctions raises concern for the industry regulator. The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) is expected to pause the £300m deal agreed between the oil major and North Sea minnow Serica Energy late last year because the sale includes the Rhum gas field which is part-owned by Iran’s state oil company. The deal was expected to close…

The end of some of the weakest physical crude prices in years could be in sight. While oil futures prices are at their highest since 2014 amid geopolitical risks — including the possibility of renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran — physical prices in some corners of the oil market have been depressed. Russian Urals and Caspian CPC crudes have recently traded at multi-year lows, and West African crude flows to Asia have slumped to the lowest since 2015. The weakness…

The U.S. government boosted its forecast for domestic crude output both this year and next year amid a surge in prices. The Energy Information Administration raised its average output forecasts just as the U.S. benchmark closed above $70/bbl on Monday. The U.S. government reiterated that crude production will still top 11 MMbpd in October. Elevated price levels have encouraged drillers to turn the taps higher. Crude production in the U.S. is already at a record-high and the oil rig count…