EIA: US crude stockpiles fell 2 million barrels last week
Crude oil prices were lower Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration reported that while crude oil inventories dropped last week, stockpiles of both gasoline and distillates were higher during the week. The EIA said that crude oil in storage dropped by 2 million barrels in the week ending 25 June but remained 12.9 million [...]
FSA fines drunken oil trader
Britain’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Steven Perkins for market abuse. Mr Perkins, a former PVM Oil Futures broker, received a £72,000 fine for purchasing more than seven million barrels of oil last June while “drunk” and has been from trading for at least five years. Mr Perkins, who had been [...]
Crude prices retreat on demand concerns
Crude oil prices fell Tuesday on worries that US demand will decline after the Conference Board reported that its US Consumer Confidence Index fell to 52.9 in June from 62.7 in May. Additionally, equities markets fell globally on renewed concerns about the European debt crisis after the European Central Bank did not renew a program [...]
Crude prices fall as storm threat decreases
The price of crude oil fell Monday, with declines primarily due to fewer concerns that a tropical storm will not hamper oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Prices rose last week on concerns that the storm, now Tropical Storm Alex, might be a threat to drilling and refining activities in and around the Gulf [...]
Clean-up costs continue to soar at BP
BP has said its total clean-up costs, relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, have now hit $2.65 billion (£1.76 billion). According to the oil giant, this included the cost of the response to the spill, relief well drilling, grants to Gulf states and compensation claims paid. Over 80,000 claims have been submitted and [...]
Crude prices rise on storm worries
Crude oil prices were higher Friday on weather concerns and after a new Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index reading showed that consumer confidence is at its highest level since January 2008. Investors were worried that a storm in the Caribbean sea could strengthen into a tropical depression over the weekend and then enter the [...]
BP shares slump to 14-year low
BP’s woes deepened today after shares in the oil giant slumped to a 14-year low, making it the worst performer on the FTSE 100 index. The shares collapsed amid fears of a funding crisis after the company said costs relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill had soared to $2.35 billion (£1.57 billion). In [...]
BP oil spill costs soar to more than £1.5bn
Oil giant BP said the clean-up operation in the Gulf of Mexico is in the region of $2.35 billion (£1.5 billion). In a statement, the company said: “The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately $2.35bn, including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims [...]
Drop in US durable goods orders hurts oil prices
Crude oil prices fell slightly in early afternoon trade in New York on Thursday even though the Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week, falling by 19,000 claims to 457,000. The decline came after the Commerce Department said that durable goods order were down 1.1 percent overall in May after [...]
Falkland Islands results beat expectations
Falkland Islands Holdings has exceeded analysts expectations by posting a 17% increase in full-year underlying profits to £2.7 million compared with £2.3 million a year earlier. Revenue for the year was £29.22 million against £32.25 million a year ago. The company has an 8.2% stake in explorer Falklands Oil and Gas, which is currently drilling [...]
Price of crude drops on US inventories data
Crude oil prices were lower Wednesday, hurt by climbing inventories, bad news on US home sales, a stronger US dollar, and on gasoline demand in the US that was up only slightly at a time of year when demand should be healthier. August contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil were down $1.50 to $76.35 [...]
Judge blocks Obama’s drilling ban
A US federal court judge in New Orleans has blocked President Barack Obama’s six-month moratorium on deep water oil drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The ban was imposed by the Obama administration in the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf, brought about by an explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil [...]
Crude prices nearly unchanged ahead of inventories report
Crude oil prices were nearly unchanged Tuesday from Monday’s levels ahead of tomorrow’s weekly inventories report from the US Energy Information Administration, which is expected to show that US stockpiles dropped nearly a million barrels last week. Prices were hurt by a report from the National Association of Realtors which showed that existing home sales [...]
WTI gains on China currency news
Crude oil prices were higher Monday after China said over the weekend that it will allow its currency, the yuan, to float more freely, allowing the currency to strengthen, and on a report showing that demand for oil in China was up by 9.8 percent in May over the same month last year. The gains [...]
Obama orders Gulf oil spill claims to be ‘paid quickly’
Kenneth Feinberg – the lawyer who is overseeing the $20 billion (£13.5 billion) compensation fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak – is under strict instructions to deal with claims quickly. According to Mr Feinberg, who oversaw compensation after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, US President Barack Obama wanted to “get these claims [...]
Acergy and Subsea in $5.4bn merger
Norwegian firm Acergy is to merge with rival Subsea 7, in a deal worth $5.4 billion (£3.6 billion) and will create a global leader in its field with a workforce of 12,000. Acergy, which built the world’s longest undersea gas pipeline in 2006, connecting the UK to Norwegian North Sea gas fields, saw its share [...]
BP knew about oil rig leak weeks before explosion
BP’s credibility has suffered another blow today after it has emerged that a worker on the Deepwater Horizon rig told the oil giant about a leak in the rig’s safety equipment weeks before the explosion. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April took the lives of 11 workers and two days later, [...]
BP’s Tony Hayward under attack for yacht trip
BP’s chief executive, Tony Hayward, is under attack again for attending the yachting event on the Isle of Wight this weekend. Fifty-three-year-old Hayward took time out from the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil leak to go sailing with his son at the JP Morgan Asset Management Round The Island Race. While Mr Hayward will face [...]
Moody’s join other agencies and downgrades BP’s credit rating
Oil giant BP suffered another blow today after Moody’s credit rating agency downgraded the company’s credit rating by three notches, from A2 to Aa2. The downgrade follows similar moves from the two other major international credit ratings agencies, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s, who also downgraded the company‘s rating. In a statement today, Moody’s said [...]
WTI prices decline on US jobless, manufacturing data
Crude oil prices were mixed Thursday in afternoon trade in New York, as July contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped but contracts for Brent crude were higher. The declines in New York prices came after the US Labor Department reported that new jobless claims rose by 12,000 last week, to 472,000 after three consecutive [...]
Crude oil prices mixed as WTI declines, Brent crude gains