Oil Advanced Amid U.S. Production Halted by Hurricane

Oil prices rose as production in the United States slowly resumed after being suspended by Hurricane Ida more than a week ago.

On Wednesday, futures in New York finished 1.4 percent higher. According to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, around 77 percent of U.S.S. Gulf of Mexico crude output shut down nine days after Ida made landfall in southeast Louisiana. The value of regional grades like Mars Blend has hit its highest level since January. A prolonged shutdown could increase Russian crude exports to American ports.

Many observers expected offshore wells to reopen before onshore oil refineries. However, “it appears that it may be the other way around,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Management.

Benchmark so far this month, U.S.S. oil futures have remained close to $69 a barrel, owing to sporadic demand rises in Europe and elsewhere. Nonetheless, the rapidly spreading Covid-19 delta version has prompted further lockdowns in some countries. Meanwhile, a new wave of demonstrations at key Libyan oilfields and ports threatens to halt production and shipments from the OPEC member. However, its impact on the supply-demand balance may be less severe than in the past.

Hurricane Ida’s impact on an Oil Production

According to Rob Haworth, there is a lot of spare capacity throughout the world right now that can replace Libyan supply. Rob is a senior financial strategist at U.S.S. Bank Wealth Management.

Following Ida, prolonged oil-production disruptions in the United States Gulf may wind up helping an industry that was concerned about the delta’s spread impacting demand. Babin said it could operate as a market equalizer, boosting crude pricing as we exit a seasonally strong time. 

The government will provide traders with an update on Hurricane Ida‘s impact on U.S.S. inventories on Thursday. According to persons familiar with the situation, the American Petroleum Institute estimated that stockpiles had dropped by nearly 3 million barrels on Wednesday. The industry organization also calculated that total fuel inventories fell by more than 10 million barrels. According to a Bloomberg study, gasoline probably fell by 3.3 million barrels last week.

OPEC+ crude output up

The alliance’s combined output of 40.26 million b/d represents an increase in output for the sixth month in a row. However, it may have been higher in August.

The present OPEC+ supply agreement asks for monthly increases in the group’s collective quotas of 400,000 b/d to capture the worldwide economic recovery from the pandemic.

The top gainers in the month were Iraq, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E. At the same time, Kazakhstan had extensive field maintenance, resulting in a drop in output. Nigeria experienced a significant oil spill near a critical export terminal, resulting in a decline in production.

According to the study, OPEC’s second-largest producer, Iraq, increased output to 4.10 million b/d in August. It went above its quota of 4.06 million b/d, thanks to increased exports and solid power plant demand.

Nigeria suffered the worst loss among OPEC members. This happened when Shell announced force majeure on important export grade Forcados due to technical difficulties at the terminal.

In a political dispute between its oil ministry and state oil corporation, Libya had a 40,000 b/d decline. This happened due to problems with the oil pipelines connecting the Waha oil fields to the Es Sider port.