OIL: Oil End of Day Summary: Crude Plunges

WTI has passed below its first support level of $70.43/b to around year-to-date lows. The market faces further downward pressure from expectations of OPEC+ cut unwinding, coupled with optimism that the Libya production stoppage may be short lived.

• WTI OCT 24 down 4.6% at 70.19$/bbl
• Libya’s legislative bodies have agreed to appoint a new central bank governor within 30 days after UN sponsored talks, a statement signed by representatives of those bodies said Sep. 3, cited by Reuters.
• OPEC crude production is seen falling 70k b/d in August, according to the latest Bloomberg survey.
• Russia’s seaborne oil flows edged down to the lowest in a nearly a month due to likely maintenance at the offshore Arctic Prirazlomnoye field, according to Bloomberg.
• Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oil field has completed planned maintenance, according to Tengizchevroil.
• Kazakhstan plans to transport 147k mt of crude oil to Germany in September, compared to 148k mt in August, Reuters said.
• Prices of sweet or low-sulphur crudes in the Mediterranean, following the shutdown of Libyan oil production, Bloomberg said.
• Pipeline that traditionally carry Canadian crude to the US are cutting rates and looking to ship different grades of crude oil due to rising competition from the expanded 890k b/d Trans Mountain Pipeline, Reuters said.
• Alberta’s oil output rose 115.9k b/d to 4m b/d in July, the highest since March, Alberta Energy Regulator data shows.
• The Brent crude price outlook looks bearish and set to average $72.50/bbl next year amid soft demand, according to RBC.
• Setbacks from attacks and corrosion at oilfields in Ecuador’s eastern Amazon jungle are curbing crude output, Petroecuador said in a statement Sep. 2, cited by Platts.