First Look: Biden urged to halt oil export terminal approvals
May 10, 2024
Oil is trading higher, heading for a weekly gain of nearly $1.50
It was reported early this morning that Ukrainian drones attacked another Russian refinery in the second strike in two days
Following a reduction in exports from Mexico to the US, six VLCCs are waiting in the Gulf of Mexico to discharge Saudi sour crude into PADD 3
Higher US supply sends European crude prices lower (BBG)
WTI Midland delivered to Europe has fallen to the lowest level in over a year as increased flows from the US have weighed on prices
According to ship tracking data, flows from the US to Europe have increased by more than a third from the average level in April, on course to hit at least 2.1 MMBbl/d
The increased supply has weakened the price of Brent, CPC Blend, and Azeri Light crude in Europe as well
However, supply of sour crude is likely to remain tight due to the OPEC cuts
Biden urged to halt oil export terminal approvals (BBG)
Climate activists who pushed for the halt on new LNG export permits have turned their focus to proposed oil export terminals
Activists are pushing the administration to stop approvals of deepwater export terminals after a 2 MMBbl/d offshore terminal was approved in April
The Department of Transportation said that extensive environmental reviews are already required for the approval of a deepwater port
Natural gas prices trade lower as uncertainty around near-term weather demand countered Freeport LNG rebound
June ’24 Henry Hub is down 3.6c this morning to trade around $2.265/MMBtu
The Summer ’24 strip is down 2.2c to $2.529 and Winter ‘24/’25 strip is down 0.3c to $3.381
The EIA reported a 79 Bcf build for the week ended May 3, at the low end of expectations and lighter than the five-year average (EIA)
This increase brought inventories to 2,563 Bcf, 640 Bcf higher than the five-year average, and 444 Bcf above year-ago levels
Today's Euro Ensemble indicates a significant weather shift, with the Rockies/West cooling and temperatures east of the Rockies warming, leading to a 2.8-degree rise in Lower 48 temperatures, which remain below or at the 10-year norm through late May
Meanwhile, a rebound in feed gas flows to the Freeport LNG terminal, set to exceed 2 Bcf/d for the first time since January, has supported sentiment (Woodmac)
NGPL extending its hydrotesting outage by 21 days to June 16 (Criterion)
NGPL extended Phase 3 of the Segment 302 hydrotesting outage, pushing completion to June 16, 2024, instead of the original date of May 26
This phase limits in-path firm transport to at least 65.6% of contract MDQ, down from 66%
Eastbound flows at Segment 302 will be limited to 0.79 Bcf/d instead of 1.2 Bcf/d for the first half of June, with Phases 4 & 5 of the hydrotesting following
ANR limits Eunice Southbound capacity with force majeure (Criterion)
ANR declared a force majeure affecting Eunice Southbound from May 8-17, reducing throughput at the station to 0.4 Bcf/d on May 8
Capacity will be limited to 0.55 Bcf/d from May 9 (Timely) to May 17, 2024, for the remainder of the outage
Eunice Southbound flows averaged 0.55 Bcf/d before the outage but were closer to 0.7-0.8 Bcf/d
Get market insights delivered to your Inbox every day!
