Mid-Week Review

Oil’s Ascent: The Ride Is Only Beginning

Oil prices have been volatile, but have generally been on the rise in recent months.  Latest figures suggest we might already be experiencing a deficit in the market, but that deficit is about to explode.  Market bulls should be very comfortable regarding recent trends because it points to even higher prices down the road.  Click here to read more from Seeking Alpha.

A Flood of U.S. Oil Exports Is Coming

What started as an American phenomenon is now being felt around the world as U.S. oil exports surge to levels unthinkable only a few years ago. The flow of crude will keep growing over the next few years with huge consequences for the oil industry, global politics and even whole economies. OPEC, for example, will face challenges keeping oil prices high, while Washington has a new, and potent, diplomatic weapon.  Click here to read more from Bloomberg.

U.S. buyers of Venezuelan oil sub in Shell, BP offshore crude

Sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry have made winners out of Gulf of Mexico offshore heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc as U.S. refiners in need of substitutes are scooping up oil produced in the region. The two major oil companies produce notable amounts of crude oil that refiners have settled on as the immediate replacement for the heavy Venezuelan crude that U.S. refiners relied on for years. Trading volumes in these grades of oil have surged to the highest in months, and prices touched five-year peaks since U.S. sanctions were imposed late in January.  Click here to read more from Reuters.

Trump Team Split over Iran Oil Waivers Ahead of Next Deadline

President Donald Trump’s national security team is deeply divided over whether to let a small group of countries keep buying Iranian oil after a U.S. deadline on sanctions waivers expires in May. Now that fight is getting ugly. The division — primarily between John Bolton’s National Security Council and Michael Pompeo’s State Department — has led to rising frustration and flared tempers. It’s exposing fault lines over how the president’s most senior advisers approach the Iran issue, according to four people familiar with the debate who asked not to be identified discussing the internal deliberations.  Click here to read more from Bloomberg.

Trade Tensions Are Keeping a Lid On Oil Prices

Ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions continue to chip away at Chinese economic growth. China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday that the country’s economy slowed in the first two months of the year as the rate of industrial production fell to its lowest in a decade. On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a summit to seal a trade deal between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would not happen at the end of March as previously discussed because more work is needed in U.S.-China negotiations.  Click here to read more from OilPrice.com.