Oil prices are up despite abundance. There’s still a glut of crude supply, but oil prices still managed to rise on Monday as stronger margins for refiners supported the market. This is due, in part, to an improvement in the gasoline crack margin. [The Wall Street Journal]
It’s only temporary, folks. Oil is coming back up. OPEC is optimistic about the oil market on Monday, saying the recent decline in oil prices is only temporary. They said a higher demand is expected in third and fourth quarters. [Platts]
Who’s on top for the second quarter? Forbes breaks it down. After second quarter earnings reports have come in for most U.S. oil and gas producers, Forbes ranks the Top 10 U.S. companies. ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources and Anadarko top the list. [Forbes]
Es Sider port to be up and running by next month. Libya started maintenance on it’s largest export terminal with hopes to increase output from the African nation. Exports should resume in September. The port has been closed since December 2014 after attacks from armed groups shut it down.
Road Trip! U.S. oil prices at their lowest in 12 years. Seasonal gas prices in U.S. are the lowest since 2004 with the national average price on Sunday at $2.12. This is 50 cents less than last year and $1.36 less than two years ago, but still 24 cents higher than the average price 12 years ago.
Pipeline project rejuvenated. Bulgaria and Russia are restarting work on the cancelled South Stream natural gas pipeline, which goes across the Black Sea and Belene nuclear power plant. The project was initially cancelled because the pipeline would have violated competition rules in the EU. [Bloomberg]
Claims of oil market rigging from Wall Street. Wall Street commodity market veterans have accused BP of manipulating the crude market in 2014 in order to get a better price on a deal, a manipulation that cost the firm $33 million. BP says it’s not so. [Bloomberg]
China selling pipeline open funds to steer away from coal. China Petroleum & Chemical plans to sell 50 percent of its stake in a major trans-China natural-gas pipeline because they want to raise capital and fund exploration with the goal of reducing China’s reliance on coal. [Epoch Times]
The death toll rises in Angola. Soldiers and rebels clashed in Angola’s oil-producing Cabinda enclave. Rebels say they want independence from Chinese-owned companies in a region that accounts for half of Angola’s oil output.
Low oil prices affect European inflation. Even though Brexit and threats of terrorism didn’t seem to have that large of an effect on the hopes of higher inflation, the new decline in oil prices dampens the European Central Bank’s hopes for a future increase. [Bloomberg]
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