channelnewsasia.com: Oil prices barely move: “Traders also digested news that unrest in the Niger Delta had forced oil giants Shell and ChevronTexaco to suspend exports totalling 134,000 barrels of oil per day from Nigeria, Africa's largest producer of crude. A Shell spokesman said the company had declared a "force majeure" to warn clients that it would not be able to meet export contracts from its Bonny terminal. ChevronTexaco said it was affected also by the shut down. Nigerian firefighters also battled a pipeline blaze Thursday after an explosion killed at least 26 villagers looting fuel in a fishing community just outside the city of Lagos, police said. Nigeria normally exports around 2.5 million barrels per day, but the wealth generated by the industry has been misused and three-quarters of the 130-million strong population live in abject poverty.” (ShellNews.net) 24 Dec 04
NEW YORK : World crude oil prices barely budged in hesitant pre-holiday trade, after plunging the day before on news of an unexpected rise in US crude stockpiles.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, fell six cents to close at 44.18 dollars a barrel. The contract had dropped 1.52 dollars Wednesday.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for February rose seven cents to 40.71 dollars. It lost 1.73 dollars Wednesday.
"Crude is holding up and I think that is a function of the fact that the market is going to be closed," said Fimat USA market analyst John Kilduff.
The New York oil market closed early Thursday ahead of Christmas. It re-opens Monday.
Heating oil prices fell sharply, however, sliding 3.24 cents to 1.3261 dollars a gallon (3.79 liters).
"It is a continuation of the reaction from yesterday's inventory reports and the weather reports not prompting any demand for heating oil these days," Kilduff said.
"We are approaching 60 degrees (Fahrenheit/16 degrees Celsius) here in New York today so that is an overwhelming factor."
Prices began to tumble on Wednesday when the Department of Energy said US commercial crude oil inventories had unexpectedly climbed 2.1 million barrels to 295.9 million in the week ending December 17.
Distillates -- mostly heating fuel and diesel -- rose 600,000 barrels to 119.9 million, surprising analysts who had predicted a drop. Heating fuel stockpiles were flat at 49.9 million.
Gasoline inventories surged 1.8 million barrels to 211.4 million.
In London, Barclays Capital analyst Orrin Middleton said the market had over-reacted to the latest stocks figures.
"I think the market is getting a little bit silly in terms of the reaction that it is having," he said.
"The market has got into a silly season, over-reacting a little bit too much to each set of weekly figures that we are getting."
But Middleton acknowledged there was a tight distillate market that could yet cause supply problems over the northern hemisphere winter.
"The real fear is if we get a prolonged cold snap in the (United) States, Europe or Japan and the market can't meet demand."
Traders also digested news that unrest in the Niger Delta had forced oil giants Shell and ChevronTexaco to suspend exports totalling 134,000 barrels of oil per day from Nigeria, Africa's largest producer of crude.
A Shell spokesman said the company had declared a "force majeure" to warn clients that it would not be able to meet export contracts from its Bonny terminal. ChevronTexaco said it was affected also by the shut down.
Nigerian firefighters also battled a pipeline blaze Thursday after an explosion killed at least 26 villagers looting fuel in a fishing community just outside the city of Lagos, police said.
Nigeria normally exports around 2.5 million barrels per day, but the wealth generated by the industry has been misused and three-quarters of the 130-million strong population live in abject poverty.
In another blow to production Thursday, it was announced that two Norwegian oil platforms in the North Sea that were shut down last month due to a gas leak will not be permitted to resume production this week as Norwegian operator Statoil had hoped.
"The way it looks today we won't be able to give the green light for resuming production ... this week," the head of the the Petroleum Safety Authority, Magne Ognedal, told AFP.
Norway, which is the world's third-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia and Russia, has had oil production reduced by some 205,000 barrels per day since the platforms were closed. The country normally has an average daily production of three million barrels.
AFP
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/123822/1/.html