2024-11-22 11:50
MOSCOW, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The global oil market is balanced thanks to the actions of OPEC+ countries and compliance with its quotas, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday following a Russia-OPEC meeting. OPEC+ countries, which are pumping around half the world's oil, are taking all necessary decisions to maintain market stability, Novak also said after meeting OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais in Moscow. "Today, while discussing the situation and forecasts, we assess the current market as balanced. That's thanks primarily to the actions of OPEC+ countries and coordinated actions to comply with the quotas, voluntary commitments of OPEC+ count," Novak said. The meeting comes as OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, prepares to meet on Dec.1. Sources and analysts said that OPEC+ will have little room to manoeuvre on oil policy when it meets noting it would be risky to increase output because of weak demand, and difficult to deepen supply cuts because some members want to pump more. OPEC+ had planned to slowly undo production cuts through small increases over many months in 2024 and 2025. But a slowdown in Chinese and global demand, and rising output outside the group, have put a dampener on those plans. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russias-novak-says-oil-market-balanced-thanks-opec-2024-11-22/
2024-11-22 11:31
Bitcoin above $99,000, within striking distance of $100,000 Cryptocurrency up 45% since Trump's election win Set for third week of plus 10% gains NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Bitcoin touched a record high on Friday, with its sights set firmly on the $100,000 barrier, in a stellar rally for the cryptocurrency sparked by expectations of a more friendly regulatory environment under a Donald Trump administration. It has more than doubled in value this year and is up about 45% since Trump's sweeping election victory on Nov. 5, when voters also elected a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress. The cryptocurrency's gains, however, were more measured on Friday. After touching a fresh record high above $99,800 , bitcoin pulled back a touch to trade up 1.33% on the day, around $99,383. Still, the momentum for further gains appeared strong with bitcoin poised for a third straight week of plus-10% gains. It was also on track for its best monthly performance since February. Its surge has made bitcoin one of the standout winners of so-called Trump trades - assets that are seen as winning or losing from the Republican president's policies. The cryptocurrency also appears on the cusp of mainstream acceptance since its creation 16 years ago. "The longer it survives it is taken more seriously, that's just the reality of things," said Shane Oliver, chief economist and head of investment strategy at AMP Sydney. "As an economist and investor I find it very hard to value it ... it's anyone's guess. But it does have a momentum aspect to it and at the moment the momentum is up." Indeed, bitcoin is up around 130% this year. Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin. Crypto investors see an end to increased scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after Chair Gary Gensler said on Thursday he would step down in January when Trump takes office. Under Gensler, the SEC sued exchange Coinbase , Kraken, Binance and others, alleging that their failure to register with the agency violated SEC rules, accusations the companies deny and are fighting in court. Still, the approval of U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January this year helped boost the market. The SEC had long attempted to block ETFs from investing in bitcoin, citing investor protection concerns, but the products have allowed more investors, including institutional investors, to gain exposure to bitcoin. More than $4 billion has streamed in to U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds since the election. U.S.-listed crypto stocks, which have rallied in recent days, were steadier on Friday as the price surge paused. But people were continuing to trade. Software firm Microstrategy which has repeatedly raised funds to buy bitcoin, and is a major holder of the asset, closed 6.2% higher on Friday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/bitcoin-record-highs-sets-sights-100000-2024-11-22/
2024-11-22 11:26
ISTANBUL, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Azeri state energy company SOCAR is in talks with potential buyers for the sale of its shares in natural gas distribution companies Bursagaz and Kayserigaz in Turkey, a SOCAR official told Reuters on Friday. The official said the talks are in the early stages, but did not provide any information about the timing of any possible sales. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/azeri-socar-preliminary-talks-turkish-gas-grid-sales-official-says-2024-11-22/
2024-11-22 11:03
MOSCOW, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Russia is preparing to lift its gasoline exports ban and the necessary paperwork will be ready in near future, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Friday without providing a concrete timeline. Russia extended gasoline export restrictions until the end of the year in August. The top gasoline producers in Russia in 2023 were Gazprom Neft's (SIBN.MM) , opens new tab Omsk refinery, Lukoil's (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab NORSI oil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod and Rosneft's (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab Ryazan refinery. Russia in 2023 produced 43.9 million metric tons of gasoline and exported about 5.76 million tons, or around 13% of its production. The biggest importers of Russian gasoline are mainly African countries, including Nigeria, Libya, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-is-preparing-lift-gasoline-exports-ban-deputy-pm-says-2024-11-22/
2024-11-22 10:52
NELAHOZEVES, Czech Republic, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic expects to end consumption of Russian oil in July next year after an upgrade to a transalpine pipeline allows it to ramp up shipments from the west, the deputy chairman of the state pipeline company MERO said on Thursday. The country currently sources half its oil needs from Russia but has been looking to end those purchases following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and an EU ban on most imports of Russian oil. The Czech Republic expects to start increasing shipments of crude oil from the west in the second quarter of next year and to completely halt deliveries of Russian oil from July, MERO operations director Zdenek Dundr told Reuters. "If we are able to confirm in the first quarter that all is ready, then a gradual logistical switch of supplies will follow," Dundr said in an interview at MERO's storage facility in Nelahozeves, north of Prague. "The plans are for a full switch to supplies of non-Russian crudes from the second half," he said, adding that July was the month eyed for an end to Russian oil imports. That will follow MERO's completion of a $60 million capacity upgrade to the Trans Alpine (TAL) pipeline from Italy to Germany that feeds a connector to the Czech Republic, Dundr said, doubling capacity from the west to 8 million tonnes a year. "At the end of this year, TAL will be able to pump at maximum capacity, which we need to supply the Czech Republic," Dundr said. While the Czech Republic started its diversification process in 1995, building the IKL pipeline connecting to TAL in southern Germany, one of its two refineries owned by Poland's PKN Orlen (PKN.WA) , opens new tab has continued to process Russian oil. Dependency on Russian flows meant the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Germany and Poland were exempt from EU sanctions on Russian pipeline oil. Germany and Poland have both since stopped Russian imports, though Slovakia and Hungary have spoken of keeping the flows. Alternative crudes to match Russian oil properties will be blends of crudes from Latin America, Saudi Arabia and the North Sea, Dundr said. Even after a full switch from Russian supplies, he said the Druzhba pipeline that carries Russian crude westwards will remain filled with oil and ready as a back-up. It could potentially be used in the future to carry crudes from Ukraine or Kazakhstan, or from the Janaf pipeline from Croatia, he added. The pipeline could also theoretically be adapted for reverse flows from west to east to supply Slovakia, Dundr said, though this was still a hypothetical option. ($1 = 24.0690 Czech crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/czech-republic-track-end-russian-oil-supplies-july-2025-2024-11-22/
2024-11-22 10:25
LAGOS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The Nigerian government's plan to sell crude priced in the local currency is faltering, with refiners, including the giant Dangote Oil Refinery, saying they are still unable to secure adequate supplies. To address challenges in accessing foreign currency, the government in July said it would sell crude priced in naira to local refineries for an initial six months starting in October. "We need 650,000 barrels per day, (state oil firm NNPC Ltd) agreed to give a minimum of 385,000 bpd but they are not even delivering that," said Edwin Devakumar, head of the Dangote refinery. The refinery built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in Lagos aims to compete with European refiners when operating at full capacity but it has struggled to secure sufficient crude supplies to run optimally. While Devakumar declined to give specific figures, he described deliveries from NNPC under the scheme as "peanuts". Still, Dangote is the only one of 8 operational refineries in Nigeria to have benefited from the naira-denominated crude sale arrangement, said Mathins Obaze, an acting executive director of the Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), a trade group of refiners. "Members are still unable to access crude in naira and are currently engaging the government for a resolution," Obaze said. The reason for the shortfall was not immediately clear. NNPC did not respond to a request for comment. The Dangote refinery in August urged the oil regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to enforce a rule that compels oil producers to supply local refineries. NUPRC did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. Dangote, with a current capacity of 425,000 bpd and a year-end target of 85% operational capacity, has turned to international markets for supplies. It purchased two million barrels of U.S. WTI Midland crude on Wednesday, its first U.S. crude purchase since August, according to trade sources and shipping data. Meanwhile NNPC is pursuing new markets for its crude oil. The company was in London on Wednesday seeking term customers for its new Utapate crude oil grade. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nigerias-local-currency-crude-sales-fall-short-target-dangote-refinery-says-2024-11-22/
