Oil & refined products
End-users rush into hedging oil prices
End-users are ploughing into hedging their oil positions, as prices remain in a tight range, says Standard Chartered Bank’s head of energy and environmental research
Goldman Sachs: end-users hedge oil prices now for 2011
Crude will be "the bottleneck in the system, rather than refining" says the investment bank
Low natural gas prices push producers to oil
US producers move to oil plays, 2011 natural gas hedging programmes not expected to support current production levels
Oil & Products House of the Year, Asia – Morgan Stanley
Growing oil demand and the emergence of new commodities markets in Asia have created a new era for the energy and commodities industries
IEA: oil price volatility negated by non-OECD demand
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries’ energy demand negates the volatile effects following BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill
Ecuador’s hydrocarbons reforms threaten production
Ecuador’s latest reforms for the hydrocarbons industry could stunt investment in the country and lower production levels. Alex Davis investigates
BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill will not push fuel switching
Experts quash fears that tighter restrictions following BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill will result in oil to gas fuel switching in the US, thus pushing up gas prices
China’s drop in oil demand is "warning sign’"
Alarm bells hit the market after China’s oil demand slump signals a possible unexpected slowdown in energy demand growth
A turning point for crude oil indexes
In the year since major producers in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait adopted the Argus sour crude index (ASCI) as a pricing benchmark for their imports into the US, Alex Davis examines the impact the new benchmark has had on global oil pricing mechanisms
IEA: BP’s oil spill threatens future supply
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expresses major concerns over future oil supply, as new regulations threaten to tighten deepwater drilling, following BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill
Energy firms' hedging programmes give mixed results
Hedging programmes for oil & gas companies show widely differing outcomes according to the latest flurry of company results
Nigerian political stability boosts oil production
Nigeria’s crude oil production is on the up, after geopolitical stability hints at consistent growth, says the NNPC
BP oil spill to boost alternative energy - fund manager
The fallout from BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill will act as a boost for the alternative energy sector, says exchange-traded fund manager ETF Securities.
Time to consider electronic trading for oil markets
The oil markets have stubbornly resisted electronic trading for 10 years. Alex Davis finds out if this is about to change
Nigerian official says oil exports not at risk
Nigeria’s oil minister has dismissed market reports that the country’s oil supply will dramatically tighten following insolvency rumours and major plans for offshore drilling
MF Global fuel oil brokers to move to Spectron
Several fuel oil swaps dealers at brokerage MF Global are reported to be moving to rivals Spectron
HSBC enters energy derivatives market
HSBC and Total Oil Trading expect to offer their first products in a few months' time
BP’s oil spill to tighten global oil supply - report
BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill will tighten global oil supply as US oil production is set to wane, following expectations the disaster will lead to stricter regulation and closer scrutiny of drilling operations in the US, say Barclays Capital
Moody’s boosts Petronas rating on Iraq exposure
Rating agency gives a surprise boost to Malaysian oil company Petronas’s credit rating from negative to stable, despite the company’s substantial acquisition of an Iraqi oil field with Royal Dutch Shell
China unveils major oil and gas plan
China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for energy production and consumption reaches new levels as the country unveils plans to increase oil and gas production by a third by 2020
Iraq's oil minister calls for swift action on contracts
Iraq calls on foreign energy companies, such as BP, Eni and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to move swiftly to implement their recently awarded contracts
Events force IEA to recalibrate oil assessment methods
The International Energy Agency says game changing events including sovereign debt issues, China’s oil demand and the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill have forced it to revise the way it assesses oil markets
Knock-on effects of US drilling ban could be long-lasting
What longer-term implications could the moratorium on new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico have on production costs and supply amid uncertainty over new regulations asks Pauline McCallion
European refineries face difficult times
European refining has been in the doldrums for the last few years. Alex Davis looks at the outlook for Europe’s refiners and at how this will affect hedging strategies