Oil market recap: week ending 20 July 2014

PIRA Energy Group has said that as both the physical market and financial length bottoming, oil prices are at or near their lows. In the US, PIRA has seen a sharp crude stock reduction be offset by a product build, while in Japan crude stock have posted a large draw.

Europe

• Tightness in LPG supplies in Europe has prices bid up this week.
• European supplies of LPG have tightened considerably on lower export volumes out of Russia and refinery maintenance in the UK and Antwerp.
• Russian maintenance at gas processing plants has lowered prompt Russian output.
• Concerns about potential further sanctions on Russia will support oil industry prices next week.

Japan

• Despite typhoon Neoguri, runs posted a sizeable gain, imports dropped and crude stocks drew.
• Product balances for gasoline and gasoil were little changed.
• Kerosene stocks resumed building.
• Both gasoline and naphtha stocks drew to record lows.
• Refining margins remained good with cracks little changed.

USA

• For the week ending 11 July, crude stocks fell and product inventories built which lead to an overall inventory build.
• Crude oil and other products are up on last year while the four major product inventories are down.
• Ethanol prices showed some strength early in the week ending 11July, but resumed their descent due to rising inventories.
• Ethanol manufacturing cash margins improved for the second week running.
• US ethanol output hit 943 000 bpd up from 927 000 bpd for the week ending 4 July.
• Ethanol inventories declined by 341 000 bbls to hit a four week low of 17.9 million bbls.

Adapted by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/23072014/20-july-oil-recap/