U.S House Passes Bill to Stop Oil Drilling in Alaskan Wildlife Refuge
September 13, 2019
The news about President Trump possibly offering a limited trade deal with China to potentially roll back or delay more of the tariffs is being closely monitored by traders. The trade war issues are a big deal for the global economy and if some serious progress is made it would help ease the current outlook for an oversupplied energy market. Reuters reported that some privately run Chinese firms did buy US soybeans yesterday which is the first major purchase since June. Reports out of Beijing says that authorities will encourage the country’s firms to buy US farm products. The purchased of soybeans by the private firms and the news that the government will encourage more purchases has to viewed as good news.
US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said the US is still pursuing a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran, even after President Donald Trump ousted his National Security Adviser, John Bolton.
The House of Representatives passed a bill to reverse a 2017 law that allowed oil and gas drilling in part of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which conservationist say it is one of the last pristine regions on Earth.
OPEC reported that demand for its crude oil will fall another 1.2 million bpd next year as non-OPEC output continues to rise. Goldman Sachs believes growth in crude demand will be just 1 million bpd this year and roughly 1.2 million bpd next year. Currently the revision to demand growth and continued strong US production has many traders and analysts looking at a surplus of stocks as we end this year and into early next year. That has put a bit of a negative tone over the market. But the pressure from sanction still on Iran and Venezuela, as well as, the OPEC+ production cut agreement keeps some support under the market and as a result the market is rangebound buying time and looking for more information and clearer direction.
Iraq’s Oil Minister, Thamer Ghadban, said Iraq will fully complaint by October with its agreed oil output cuts under the OPEC-led supply deal and Iraq’s reduction will amount to 175,000 bpd. He also stated that OPEC and its allies would have to accept and deal with the fac that Iran and Venezuela would come back to the oil market in a “normal way.”
IEA said a slowing global trade will lead to weaker growth than previously expected in oil demand form the shipping sector next year despite a shift to cleaner fuel. In its monthly report, the IEA said it expects overall demand for shipping fuel, known as bunker fuel, to increase by 0.4% in 2019 and 3.7% in 2020. In the first seven months of this year, global fuel oil demand fell by 225,000 bpd, the largest decline for any oil product. Most of the decline was in large bunker hubs such as China, Singapore, Korea and the Netherlands.
The US Coast Guard closed the Upper Houston Ship Channel on Thursday morning as 11 Greenpeace protesters blocked a portion of the country’s largest oil port near Baytown, Texas