Analysts said WTI crude increased late in the day as more Texas oil refineries started to return to service, including Valero Energy’s Port Arthur plant and Citgo Petroleum’s Corpus Christi plant.
Morgan Stanley expects Brent crude prices to climb to $70/bbl in the third quarter on “signs of a much improved market” including prospects of a pick-up in demand.
Key questions for the OPEC+ meeting will be whether Saudi Arabia rolls back its voluntary cut of 1 million bbl/d and whether there is room for an additional increase in supply from the whole oil producer group.
The Texas Railroad Commission, though, likely does not have the authority to interfere with contracts between companies to sell gas out of state, says Commissioner Jim Wright.
Bullish Wall Street banks expect crude oil prices to rise as high as $100 as the world economy rebounds.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the restrictions on out-of-state supplies of natural gas from Texas through Feb. 21, citing the weather emergency. Mexico is Texas’ main out-of-state customer for gas.
Governor Greg Abbott directed Texas natural gas providers not to ship outside the state until Feb. 21 and asked the state energy regulator to enforce his export ban.
Saudi Arabia is expected to announce its plans when a coalition of oil producers meets next month, according to a WSJ report on Feb. 17, adding that the output rise won’t kick in until April.
Russian state gas company Gazprom is racing to finish the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project to bring natural gas to Europe via Germany ahead of the implementation of further U.S. sanctions.
WTI crude oil in the U.S. was on track for a weekly gain of about 5% while Brent was set for a 5.7% rise on the week due to hopes a U.S. stimulus will boost the economy and fuel demand.