Market Watch  

Headline crude prices for the week beginning 14 October 2019 – Brent: US$59/b; WTI: US$53/b

• Crude oil prices remain stubbornly stuck in their range, despite several key issues that could potentially move the market occurring over the week
• The sudden thawing of the icy trade relations between the US and China last week – announcing a partial trade deal where new tariffs would be halted – was a positive for the waning health of the global economy; this, however, failed to send prices any higher as previous optimism has always been dashed
• The trade spat has already caused fears of an economic recession and tumbling global oil demand, with the IEA projecting yet another drop in the demand that has neutralised another possible ‘geopolitical premium’ on prices
• That geopolitical premium focuses on the fragile situation in the Middle East, with risk spiking up as Iran announced that one of its tankers in the Red Sea – far away from the Persian Gulf - had been struck by missiles; an initial accusation that Saudi Arabia was behind the attack was later withdrawn
• Meanwhile, news emerged that Nigeria had been quietly handed an increased quota under the OPEC+ supply deal, from 1.685 mmb/d to 1.774 mmb/d, in July, which would help it meet compliance under the deal
• After more than two months of continuous declines, the US active rig count increased for the first time, but not by much; two oil rigs were added, offset by the loss of a gas rig, but a net gain of 1 to a total of 856
• We expect prices to remain entrenched as it displays resilience against political and economic factors, with Brent hovering in the US$58-60/b area and WTI at the US$52-54/b range

Headlines of the week

Upstream

• The US Department of the Interior will be opening up 722,000 acres of federal land along California’s central coast near Fresno, San Benito and Monterey for oil and gas leasing – the first sale in the state since 2013
• Alongside the lease sale in California, the US will also be opening up some 78 million acres in Gulf of Mexico federal waters for sale in 2020, covering all available unleased areas not subject to Congressional moratorium
• Santos has confirmed oil flows at the Dorado-3 well in the Bedout Basin offshore Western Australia, with some 11,1000 b/d in place
• After having exited Norway, ExxonMobil is now reportedly looking into selling its Malaysian offshore upstream assets as part of its divestiture programme, fetching up to US$3 billion for assets including the Tapis Blend operations
• Equinor has won a new exploration permit – WA-542-P – in the offshore Western Australia Northern Carnarvon Basin, located new the Dorado well
• Nigeria is looking to settle a US$62 billion income-sharing dispute with international oil firms such as ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, Total and Eni operating in the country, with hopes of reaching a settlement
• Barbados is looking to emulate its nearby neighbour Guyana as it gears up for its third offshore bid round that will launch in early 2020
• Petroecuador has been forced to declare force majeure on its crude exports, as widespread protests over the removal of fuel subsidies have led to the shutdown of some oilfields
• Abu Dhabi is looking to create a new benchmark price for Middle Eastern crude based on its Murban grade that could compete with Brent and WTI

Midstream/Downstream

• Aruba has ended its contract with Citgo – PDVSA’s US refining arm – to operate its 209,000 b/d refinery that is currently idled; a new operator is being sought, paralleling the situation over Curacao’s Isla refinery and PDVSA
• Poland’s crude pipeline operator expects to only be able to clear its system of contaminated Russian oil from the Druzhba incident by July 2020
• Gunvor’s Rotterdam refinery will only be able to produce low sulfur fuel oil by March 2020, part of a larger planned overhaul of the 88,000 b/d site

Natural Gas/LNG

• After Total’s departure, it is now the turn of CNPC to quit the South Pars Phase 11 project in Iran, leaving Iran to go ahead alone its largest natural gas project ever as the threat of US sanctions bites down
• CNPC has taken over operation of the Chuandongbei sour gas field in China’s Sichuan basin from Chevron, and will kick of Phase 2 development soon
• Qatar has invited ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, ConocoPhillips and some other ‘big players’ to assist in the North Field expansion that will underpin its ambitions to boost gas output to 110 million tpa from a current 77 million tpa
• The FID on the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique has been pushed back by a year, with first production now expected by 2025 at the earliest
• Pakistan has cancelled a ‘huge’ 10-year tender covering 240 LNG cargoes to its second LNG terminal, turning instead to spot cargoes due to inadequate demand
• Inpex has formally received a 35-year extension for the PSC covering the Abadi LNG project in Indonesia, extending its operation of the Masela block to 2055

Amid ongoing political unrest, Ecuador has chosen to withdraw from OPEC in January 2020. Citing a need to boost oil revenues by being ‘honest about its ability to endure further cuts’, Ecuador is prioritising crude production and welcoming new oil investment (free from production constraints) as President Lenin Moreno pursues more market-friendly economic policies. But his decisions have caused unrest; the removal of fuel subsidies – which effectively double domestic fuel prices – have triggered an ongoing widespread protests after 40 years of low prices. To balance its fiscal books, Ecuador’s priorities have changed.

The departure is symbolic. Ecuador’s production amounts to some 540,000 b/d of crude oil. It has historically exceeded its allocated quota within the wider OPEC supply deal, but given its smaller volumes, does not have a major impact on OPEC’s total output. The divorce is also not acrimonious, with Ecuador promising to continue supporting OPEC’s efforts to stabilise the oil market where it can. 

This isn’t the first time, or the last time, that a country will quit OPEC. Ecuador itself has already done so once, withdrawing in December 1992. Back then, Quito cited fiscal problems, balking at the high membership fee – US$2 million per year – and that it needed to prioritise increasing production over output discipline. Ecuador rejoined in October 2007. Similar circumstances over supply constraints also prompted Gabon to withdraw in January 1995, returning only in July 2016. The likelihood of Ecuador returning is high, given this history, but there are also two OPEC members that have departed seemingly permanently.

The first is Indonesia, which exited OPEC in 2008 after 46 years of membership. Chronic mismanagement of its upstream resources had led Indonesia to become a net importer of crude oil since the early 2000s and therefore unable to meet its production quota. Indonesia did rejoin OPEC briefly in January 2016 after managing to (slightly) improve its crude balance, but was forced to withdraw once again in December 2016 when OPEC began requesting more comprehensive production cuts to stabilise prices. But while Indonesia may return, Qatar is likely gone permanently. Officially, Qatar exited OPEC in January 2019 after 48 years of continuous membership to focus on natural gas production, which dwarfs its crude output. Unofficially, geopolitical tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia – which has resulted in an ongoing blockade and boycott – contributed to the split.

The exit of Ecuador will not make much material difference to OPEC’s current goal of controlling supply to stabilise prices. With Saudi production back at full capacity – and showing the willingness to turn its taps on or off to control the market – gains in Ecuador’s crude production can be offset elsewhere. What matters is optics. The exit leaves the impression that OPEC’s power is weakening, limiting its ability to influence the market by controlling supply. There are also ongoing tensions brewing within OPEC, specifically between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The continued implosion of the Venezuelan economy is also an issue. OPEC will survive the exit of Ecuador; but if Iran or Venezuela choose to go, then it will face a full-blown existential crisis. 

Current OPEC membership:

• Middle East: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE
• Africa: Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, Republic of Congo
• Latin America: Venezuela
• Total: 13
• Withdrawing: Ecuador (January 2020)
• Membership under consideration: Sudan (October 2015)

U.S. crude oil production in the U.S. Federal Gulf of Mexico (GOM) averaged 1.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2018, setting a new annual record. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects oil production in the GOM to set new production records in 2019 and in 2020, even after accounting for shut-ins related to Hurricane Barry in July 2019 and including forecasted adjustments for hurricane-related shut-ins for the remainder of 2019 and for 2020.

Based on EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook’s (STEO) expected production levels at new and existing fields, annual crude oil production in the GOM will increase to an average of 1.9 million b/d in 2019 and 2.0 million b/d in 2020. However, even with this level of growth, projected GOM crude oil production will account for a smaller share of the U.S. total. EIA expects the GOM to account for 15% of total U.S. crude oil production in 2019 and in 2020, compared with 23% of total U.S. crude oil production in 2011, as onshore production growth continues to outpace offshore production growth.

In 2019, crude oil production in the GOM fell from 1.9 million b/d in June to 1.6 million b/d in July because some production platforms were evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Barry. This disruption was resolved relatively quickly, and no disruptions caused by Hurricane Barry remain. Although final data are not yet available, EIA estimates GOM crude oil production reached 2.0 million b/d in August 2019.

Producers expect eight new projects to come online in 2019 and four more in 2020. EIA expects these projects to contribute about 44,000 b/d in 2019 and about 190,000 b/d in 2020 as projects ramp up production. Uncertainties in oil markets affect long-term planning and operations in the GOM, and the timelines of future projects may change accordingly.

Source: Rystad Energy

Because of the amount of time needed to discover and develop large offshore projects, oil production in the GOM is less sensitive to short-term oil price movements than onshore production in the Lower 48 states. In 2015 and early 2016, decreasing profit margins and reduced expectations for a quick oil price recovery prompted many GOM operators to reconsider future exploration spending and to restructure or delay drilling rig contracts, causing average monthly rig counts to decline through 2018.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Thompson Reuters, Baker Hughes

Crude oil price increases in 2017 and 2018 relative to lows in 2015 and 2016 have not yet had a significant effect on operations in the GOM, but they have the potential to contribute to increasing rig counts and field discoveries in the coming years. Unlike onshore operations, falling rig counts do not affect current production levels, but instead they affect the discovery of future fields and the start-up of new projects.