Saudis Pledge Deeper Oil Cuts in February Under OPEC+ Deal
Saudi Arabia expects to reduce oil output once again in February and pump for six months at levels “well below” the production limit it accepted under OPEC’s oil-cuts accord, Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, a coalition known as OPEC+, agreed to pare production starting this month in an effort to buttress sagging oil prices. Click here to read more from Bloomberg.
Crisis In Caracas: Bolton Declares Oil Sanctions
As a leadership struggle unfolds in crisis-stricken Venezuela, the economic and geopolitical consequences will surely reverberate beyond Caracas. Monday January 29, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the imposition of sanctions against Venezuela’s national oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A (PDVSA). The restrictions would amount to $7 billion in blocked assets today, and an estimated $11 billion in export revenues over the course of 2019, according to Bolton. Click here to read more from Forbes.
Canadians found a safer way to transport oil and, yes, it looks like a hockey puck
Our northern neighbors have invented a quintessentially-Canadian way of transporting oil from tar sands: They’re forging it into solid, hockey-puck-like briquettes. Dubbed ‘CanaPux,’ these bitumen-based blocks patented by the Canadian National Railway might make transporting oil by rail safer, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly—or at least as friendly as viscous petroleum can be. Click here to read more from Popular Science.
Libya Earmarks $50B To Boost Oil Production
The state-held National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya has a budget of US$50 billion to invest in its oil and gas sector this year, as it looks to overcome safety and security challenges and restore oil production to the pre-civil war level of 1.6 million bpd. Yet, analysts think that with presidential and legislative elections this year, Libya could continue to face security problems at its oil infrastructure. Click here to read more from OilPrice.com