December 2007 Archives

Given that production is declining in some countries, the latest news out of Russia probably should be celebrated.

A spokesman with the country's energy and ministry industry told Platts on Friday that the country expects to raise crude output to a record 9.973 million barrels per day in 2008.

In the survey form for ranking the top 10 stories of 2007, we asked if there were any subjects in our 40-odd story offering that we had missed. A box was presented to those who took this option, a canvas for offering their opinions.

The Barrel thanks everyone who contributed their views to the top 10 stories of 2007. We had more than 170 responses, with plenty of comments about what we missed.

The winner was no surprise: Oil soars, reaches close to $100 for WTI. But what was right behind it was instructive in in the way responders reacted to the various choices put before them.

President Harry Truman formed the Council of Economic Advisors during his administration and was an avid user of their advice. However, he always preferred a clear recommendation and not a qualified one. He is quoted as saying "Give me a one-armed economist!" in reference to their use of qualifying statements like "But on the other hand, ..."

I fell victim to Truman's disgust this week.

If the ministers from OPEC thought they were the only act in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, they were in for a surprise. Who stole the show? Well Justin Timberlake for one.

The multi-award winning singer/dancer had top billing when it came to star recognition at the Emirates Palace hotel, the massive arena that was also the venue for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ministerial meeting in the UAE capital on December 5.

International diplomacy isn't always a pretty thing. From time to time the delicate phraseology and finely nuanced language are swept away in the heat of the moment, and unutterable truths are uttered.

With a global credit crunch already under way and fears growing of a possible recession in the US, this month's report from the International Energy Agency, released Friday, was keenly awaited to give an insight into where demand for oil is heading. The results, however, are tricky to interpret.

On the surface, the report seems paradoxical. The agency has repeated its warning that high prices are starting to hit oil demand, particularly in the rich countries of the OECD. But its overall assessment for the demand outlook for next year has been revised upwards, with global consumption now expected to grow by 2.5%.

We want your help. We want you to tell us what you think were the 10 biggest oil industry news stories
of 2007.

This was an eventful year in our business; really, what year isn't? But certainly, it does seem like the industry was buffeted by change and crosscurrents at a pace that exceeds most years. So we've set up a survey on Survey Monkey. You can get there by clicking this link.

The latest Platts' monthly survey of OPEC production, for November, doesn't show a lot more oil in the market at first glance. But that's not the whole story.

Total production from the group was 31.15 million b/d, only 40,000 b/d more than October. But that's because the UAE was conducting extensive maintenance, and its 2.6 million b/d figure from October fell to just 2.15 million b/d in November. That maintenance is largely complete.

There may not be a bigger non-issue in US energy than the much-ballyhooed fact that the US has not opened up a new refinery since 1976. It's made for a great sound bite, and could leave the average person believing the US refines the same amount of crude that it did 30+ years ago.

That's not true, of course. Expansions and so-called capacity creep all have contributed to the fact that in 1982, in the first week with available data from the US Energy Information Administration, US refiners put 11.7 million b/d of inputs into their refineries. Last week, it was 15.4 million b/d, and it's been as high as 16.4 million b/d.

For those who feel the crude oil market has grown a bit stale of late, a full slate of news due to hit the wires Wednesday should satisfy desire for more volatility.

First off, the OPEC meeting in Abu Dhabi should keep the market on its toes during Singapore and early London trading hours. While a number of oil ministers have downplayed the need for OPEC to hike output, the only one who really counts -- the Saudi Arabian minister -- has said that all options are open.

I have to read the Straits Times, Singapore's national daily broadsheet, pretty much every day. It's part of my job, and like a lot of reporters it's not part of my daily life that I give a lot of thought to, most of the time.

I don't keep tabs on the ST so much to stay on top of energy news, because if Platts gets regularly scooped by the Straits Times in energy, we have bigger problems. But it is a handy insight into the mood of Singapore on energy issues, and particularly the mood of the government running our city state.