Oil Stages Late Gains As Saudi, Russia, Venezuela To Meet

Oil Stages Late Gains As Saudi, Russia, Venezuela To Meet

by  Reuters

 

Monday, February 15, 2016

 

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose nearly 2 percent on Monday on news that ministers from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela would hold a previously unpublicised meeting in Doha this week, adding to speculation of a global output deal.

Benchmark Brent crude gained more than 60 cents in after-hours trading.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak will attend the meeting on Tuesday in what would be the largest producer gathering since OPEC's last formal session in early December, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

After settling at $33.39 a barrel earlier in the day, barely changed from Friday, Brent rose to more than $34 a barrel by 2:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT). That adds to Friday's 11 percent surge, the biggest one-day jump in over seven years.

U.S. futures gained about 30 cents prior to the close of trade at 1 p.m. EST, hours early due to the Presidents Day holiday. Trading was thin across the board, potentially limiting the impact of the news.

Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino made no comment on his arrival to the Gulf state of Qatar on Monday, a witness said. Del Pino has been visiting major oil producers to rally support for the idea of "freezing" production at current levels to stem spiralling prices, sources have said.

The meeting is the latest sign of renewed efforts by OPEC members to try to tackle - possibly together with non-OPEC producers - one of the worst oil gluts in history, which has pushed prices to the lowest in more than a decade.

http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/143054/Oil_Stages_Late_Gains_As_Saudi_Russia_Venezuela_To_Meet
Been looking for this article for a while. Let's see what they do.
Thanks
LIT

Thanks, LIT.  Sounds like they are getting serious.

Venezuela:  We seek to bring Iraq and Iran to freeze oil production agreement

02.16.2016 13:31 

 

[Oan- pursue] 
Venezuelan Energy Minister Aaolockheo del Pino said on Tuesday he would meet with Iraqi counterparts, Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Iranian Bijan Zanganeh in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss an agreement on the freezing of oil production at January levels [last month].

The del Pino speaks during a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha after it agreed with the ministers of Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, to freeze production, provided that the other producers followed the same approach.
He said del Pino "We will hold a meeting tomorrow with the Iranian and Iraqi ministers hope to go with me Qatari minister to discuss with them the foundations this agreement is very important for stability in the market. " 
exceeds Iraq's production is currently 3.7 million barrels a day and aspires to reach 4.5 million barrels middle of this year.


http://www.alliraqnews.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=30342

OPEC turns up pressure on Iran, Iraq
Dow Jones newswires |
31 min ago |

 February 17, 2016|
Resources and Energy

  
OPEC turned up the pressure on members Iran and Iraq on Wednesday to limit their oil production, a day after Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producers agreed to curbs on their output.
 
Qatar's energy minister and current president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Mohammed al-Sada will discuss the production cap plan with ministers from Iran, Iraq and Venezuela at a meeting in Tehran Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting was scheduled to start at 2pm local time in Tehran, (1030 GMT).
 
Mr Sada is hopeful that Iran will agree to join a coordinated move by OPEC and producers from outside the group to freeze their production at the January levels, the people said.
 
OPEC and non-members like Russia are hoping that coordinated action on production will help spark a recovery in an oil market that has hit 12-year lows this year because of high output from the US, Saudi Arabia and Iraq and the prospect of new exports from an Iran unshackled by sanctions.
 
Oil prices rose ahead of the meeting in Tehran, as investors looked for clues about whether Iran and Iraq would agree to curb their output. Brent crude, the international benchmark was up 3 per cent to $US33.19, while the US benchmark was up 1.8 per cent to $US29.56 on Wednesday morning.
 
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's two largest crude-oil exporters, said they would halt production increases as long as other major producers followed suit. Venezuela, Qatar and Kuwait also agreed to the limits in the first coordinated move in years to boost prices
 
The agreement came with a significant caveat: Iran, Iraq and other big producers would also have to not raise production.
 
That could prove too much to ask, with the group that controls more than one-third of the world's oil more fractured than ever by wars, heightened competition for market share, and low oil prices that have devastated members' economies.
 
Iraq's production is at a record 4.35 million barrels a day -- second most in OPEC -- as it furiously pumps to generate revenue to fight its war with Islamic State. Iranian officials have signaled that the country -- recently liberated from Western constraints on its oil -- wouldn't halt current plans to double its exports to levels in place before the imposition of international sanctions.
 
Iranian oil will add to a market already swelled by Russian output hitting a post-Soviet record in January, US crude output above nine million barrels a day and Saudi production at historically high levels
 
Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh told state media on Tuesday that Iran didn't want to give up on its quest to claw back the customers it lost during sanctions imposed over its nuclear program. The agreement, he said, requires "discussion and examination."
 
Iran has begun shipping oil to Europe again, and the country's deputy oil minister, Rokneddin Javadi told state media on Wednesday that the country was on track to increase its exports by 500,000 barrels a day by March 20 above its level during sanctions, fulfilling a pledge to quickly ramp up output.
 
An OPEC official from a Persian Gulf Arab country said Tuesday's meeting will shift the attention to Iran, which had been calling on other countries to cut production.

"If Iran rejects the proposal, we cannot be blamed for not trying. The ball is in their court now," said the official.
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2016/2/17/resources-and-energy/opec-turns-pressure-iran-Iraq

Looks like Iraq is in let's hope Iran joins.
Thanks
LIT

Iran Snubs Doha Proposal, Won't Freeze on Oil Output Levels

• By ali akbar dareini, associated press
  TEHRAN, Iran — Feb 17, 2016, 8:05 AM ET
  
  

Iran on Wednesday snubbed a proposal agreed to by four influential oil producers to cap their crude output if others do the same, with a senior Oil Ministry official saying Tehran has no intention of freezing oil output levels.

Mahdi Asali, Iran's OPEC envoy, said his country will in fact keep increasing its crude exports until it reaches levels attained before international sanctions were imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program.

Asali's comments came as Iran's oil minister held a four-way, closed-door talks in Tehran with his counterparts from Iraq, Venezuela and Qatar.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar conditionally agreed to cap their output at last month's levels in order to halt a slide that has pushed oil prices to their lowest point in more than a decade. Oil prices recently plummeted below $30 a barrel, the lowest in 13 years.

The four countries made their announcement following an unexpected meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha that pointedly did not include Iran. They agreed to act only if other producers made similar freezes.

Asali said the fall in oil prices should be blamed on oversupply and that it was up to Saudi Arabia and others to cut down production to boost oil prices. He said the four nations that participated at the Doha gathering could stabilize oil prices on their own - if they cut their production by 2 million barrels a day.

"These countries increased their production by 4 million barrels when Iran was under sanctions," Asali was quoted as saying by the Shargh daily. "Now it's primarily their responsibility to help restore balance on the market. There is no reason for Iran to do so."

Iran is eager to ramp up its exports now that sanctions related to its nuclear program have been lifted, saying recently it aims to put another 500,000 barrels a day on the market. Figures from the International Energy Agency show it pumped 2.9 million barrels daily in December, before sanctions were lifted.

Iran used to export 2.3 million barrels per day but its crude exports fell to 1 million in 2012.

On Tuesday, Iran's petroleum minister, Bijar Namdar Zangeneh, signaled the Islamic Republic has no intention of giving up its share of the market. He acknowledged that global markets are "oversupplied," but said Iran "will not overlook its quota," according to comments carried by his ministry's Shana news service.

Even with Iran's cooperation, it was unclear if the Doha plan would be enough to put a floor under prices.

The United Arab Emirates' energy minister, Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei's, refused on Wednesday to discuss the Doha proposal after giving a keynote address at a Dubai conference in which he mentioned low oil prices only in passing.

"I will only talk about this conference," he said, before smiling and walking away from reporters' shouted questions.

He later took to Twitter to say his country's oil policy "is open to cooperate with all producers toward mutual interest of the market stability and we are optimistic on the future."

Kuwait, another Gulf OPEC member, signaled it was willing to go along with the Doha plan.

Anas al-Saleh, who is Kuwait's deputy premier, finance minister and acting oil minister, said in a statement his country was committed to the proposal if others join in.

"Kuwait hopes the agreement would provide a positive atmosphere for oil prices, and for the market to regain balance, and calls on all to support stability of markets," he said.

———

Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell and Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-snubs-doha-proposal-freeze-oil-output-level-36993002
Well, Iran not playing ball, but Kuwait wants to help.
Thanks
LIT

Iran snubs Doha agreement


http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/17/the-associated-press-iran-snubs-doha-proposal-wont-freeze-on-oil-output-levels.html