WTI $46.05 -70c, Brent $49.61 -$1.07, Diff $3.56 -37c, NG $2.66 -7c

Oil price

After fierce swings last week crude oil ended up pretty flat, WTI was up 83 cents in a range of $6.12 and Brent was down 44 cents, range $6.58. Friday saw various data releases that might have had an effect one way or another but didn't seem to inspire the market. With non-farm payrolls coming in low one might have expected rate rises to be deferred but employment is deemed nearly full so the dollar remains firm with all the implications that has for the oil price. Also the rig count was pretty optimistic as well, I even flicked over to the oil price when I saw the number expecting a jump but there was none. Down 13 overall at 864 and oil down those 13 at 662 one might have been excused a modest whoop of joy after a fall of 21 rigs in a fortnight but the market was too weary. With the EIA following my words on the gasoline price they also added that at £2.51 a gallon it was the cheapest Labor Day for drivers since 2004. Finally the news that Opec stated that they were ‘ready to hold talks with other producers’ also gained short shrift from markets, actions will need to be louder than words on this front now.

Amerisur Resources

An operational update from Amerisur this morning in which the company confirms most importantly, that the interconnector pipeline is still on track and should be completed in December and up and running by the year end. The OBA as it is now called (Oleoducto Binacional Amerisur) is progressing with final construction works and the Environmental Impact Assessment is being prepared and will be submitted shortly, this should mean that the licence will be granted within 60 days and cause no delay. Elsewhere, May-August production is almost as expected and not surprisingly the operational netbacks have varied widely with the oil price. Numbers may be trimmed slightly but are pretty much on track with my expectations.

The CPO-5 Loto-2 well is scheduled to spud in mid September and expect to wait around 30 days for the log data, if successful the company will drill Loto North-1 which is a step out from the existing well location. The company are processing the CPO-5 3D seismic at the moment and are reviewing all the geophysical…

Unlock the rest of this article with a 14 day trial

Already have an account?
Login here