Brent crude rises

Brent crude futures edged higher on Thursday after seven straight sessions of losses, as the threat of Hurricane Sandy to East Coast gasoline and heating oil supplies lifted markets. Gasoline led the oil complex higher, standing up more than 2 percent in afternoon activity, and heating oil also rose as Sandy churned northward. Expectations of heavy snowfall in the Appalachians, and the possibility refineries along the coast could face disruptions helped drive prices. 

Crude Oil Theft: Act Of Terrorism Or Lack Of Political Will?

Recently, the Minister of Petroleum Resources raised the alarm over the increasing menace of crude oil theft describing it as another face of terrorism. JULIET ALOHAN takes a look at the situation and writes on whether the challenge is insurmountable or simply aided by the lack of political will to confront the threat on the nation’s commonwealth

The rising level of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism particularly in the Niger Delta region has reached an all-time high with the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke recently describing it as another face of terrorism. The menace which led to the declaration of amnesty for repentant militants in the Niger Delta region by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, has assumed an even higher dimension prompting the question about the effectiveness of the amnesty programme which is costing government billions of naira.

Industry observers believe that the amnesty programme for militants seems to have waned, going by available statistics of crude theft. Statistics show that a total of 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) was lost to illegal bunkering in 2012, representing an increase of 45 per cent over the figure for 2011, and 67 per cent over that of 2010, while the trend for 2013 is even more alarming. They insist that unless government summons the will to fight the menace the situation will further worsen the country’s economic woes.

One Too Many Attacks
The ugly development has made operations in the Nigerian oil and gas industry one of the most expensive in the world according to the Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu.  Attacks on production facilities have led to several shutdowns and declaration of force majeure by the International Oil Companies (IOCs), ultimately resulting in loss of revenue to the government. In April, 2013, oil giant Shell; shut-down the 150,000bpd Nembe Creek oil pipeline due to the urgent need to clear away illegal connections.

Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in the same month declared a force majeure regarding crude oil lifting at the Brass terminal and suspended its activities in Bayelsa State, following the intensification of illegal bunkering activities and the vandalisation of the 10-inch Kwale-Akri-Nembe-Brass oil delivery line. Another explosion and fire at a crude theft point on Shell’s facility at Bodo West in Ogoniland also forced the company to shut the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), in June 2013, deferring some 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), to mention just a few.

Data from the NNPC revealed that 53 break points were discovered along the 97km Nembe Creek Trunkline in the first quarter (Q1) of 2013 reducing April and May monthly average oil production to about 2.2 mbpd and decreasing revenue that should have accrued to the Federation Account for the period by about $554.0 million (equivalent to N83billion).
Acting Spokesperson of the Corporation, Tumini Green, disclosed that crude oil production within the period dropped to 2.1 million bpd as against the estimated production figure of 2.48m bpd.

Failed Attempts To Tackle Challenge
Several attempts have been made by the federal government to tackle the challenge to no avail. The collaboration forged between the NNPC and the Inter Agency Maritime Operation Committee, whose members are drawn from the NNPC, Nigerian Navy, Air Force, Customs, Police, SSS and the Judiciary has not done any good.

In a meeting with Yakubu in Abuja, the Chairman of the Operation Committee, Rear Admiral E. O. Ogboh, said the committee was established with a mandate to address the issue of illegal bunkering in the nation’s maritime waters, but crude theft still thrive in the face of the collaboration.
There has also been the constitution of a Committee by the National Economic Council (NEC), comprising of some Governors, NNPC, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), IOCs, security agencies and other relevant bodies to work out modalities to mitigate the menace to no avail. Even the juicy pipeline protection contract awarded to some ex-militants warlords at a combined sum of N5.6 billion ended up as yet another drain on the nation’s scarce resources.

A breakdown of the contract showed that Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari got $9 million, Ebikabowei “Boyloaf” Victor Ben and Ateke Tom, each got $3.8 million, while Government “Tompolo” Ekpumukpolo, got the largest share of $22.9 million to engage their foot soldiers to protect the pipelines, but the menace has remained on the increase.

To further worsen matters, it has been alleged that some bad eggs in the Military Joint Task Force (JTF) deployed to the region to protect oil personnel and facilities have been accused of complicity in the illegal bunkering activities. Not even the much hyped crude oil finger print which Nigeria claims to be championing to detect crude oil theft as purchased by other nations has helped matters.

Alleged Culpability Of International Community
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, recently declared that the grave phenomenon of oil theft and its global support system has continued to remain a cog in the wheel of the nation’s high economic growth trajectory. While delivering a presentation titled, “The Strengths and Obligations of the African Diaspora,” recently in London, at the Powerlist 2014, the minister said efforts at combating the menace locally is made more complicated because of the international slant of the crime.
“Theft of this magnitude is not only highly technical, but it is also an international-level crime.  It is aided and abetted by syndicates outside of Africa who are the patrons and merchant-partners of the oil thieves,’’ she said. She also made a similar accusation while speaking at the 2013 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, USA, where she called on the global community and international oil traders to drop the appetite for stolen Nigerian crude oil.
Presenting a paper with the theme: ‘Development efforts in the West African Exploration Zone,’ the minister who spoke through the NNPC GMD, Engr. Andrew Yakubu said, “It takes two to tango, if those stealing our crude do not find a market for it there would be no incentive to steal that is why we are appealing to the international community to take action.”

Economic Implication
In the meantime, while government battles with how to effectively bring the situation under control, it is estimated that between $6bn and $12bn is lost to crude oil theft annually, with oil theft peaking at about 350,000 barrels per day (bpd), higher than the quantity of oil produced daily by Gabon or Equatorial Guinea.
According to the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Engr. Andrew Yakubu, the persistent attacks on major pipeline arteries supplying crude oil to export terminals has impacted negatively on the nation’s economy. Speaking  during his submission to the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for the period of 2014 to 2016, Yakubu lamented that the continuous crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and shut-ins have constrained the sector from meeting its revenue projection. He said the oil and gas sector is a key component of MTEF adding that any impact on it will have a negative effect on revenue flow to the federation account.

“The critical and most important point to note here is that when the artery conveying crude oil to the terminals is hit, this reduces our production volume by 150,000 barrels per day and for the period that the line is down that accounts for the drop in crude oil production. From February to date we have witnessed so much breaches and each time we go down about 150,000bpd goes down,” Yakubu informed.
He said the daily crude oil production figure for 2013 has been very erratic as a result of the several attacks on the arteries stating that crude oil production figure ranges between 2.2mbpd to 2.3mbpd.  According to the Corporation, about $2.23 billion (N191bn) revenue that should have accrued to the federal government from oil proceeds was lost to the activities of crude oil thieves in the first quarter (1Q) 2013 alone.

Way Forward
Appalled by the worrisome level of crude theft, experts and industry captains have picked holes in government approach to tackling the menace and called on the federal government to apply multi-dimensional strategies towards finding a lasting solution to the challenge. Managing Directors of IOCs who spoke at the 2013 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, noted that the issue of crude theft has grown to become an organised industrial scale business requiring more than one approach to fight.

In his presentation, SPDC Chairman, Mutiu Sunmonu, said the war against crude theft is no longer a war against the poor people of the Niger Delta, “it is a war against the big fishes,” he stated. While noting that the finger print tracing which the federal has decided to adopt as part of efforts to end crude oil theft, was crucial, Sunmonu maintained that the country still needs to apply other strategies.

“We need strategies to engender some sense of outrage so that all Nigerians can see crude theft as crime against humanity and the environment and begin to condemn it,” he said. He also advised the government to look for ways to make it more difficult for the oil thieves to access the pipelines by laying the pipes deeper below the ground. “I don’t think one solution is okay, government has to look for multidimensional strategies to end this challenge,” Sunmonu maintained.

For his part, Managing Director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, Mark Ward advised the federal government to look into the issue of poverty in the host communities which he maintained was playing a major role in the rising level of crude theft. Also speaking, former Venezuela’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Dr. Alirio Parra, urged government to apply four major strategies which he listed as identifying the market where Nigeria’s oil is sold, tracking the money from the illegal business, incorporate the communities in the fight against bunkering and to raise public outrage against crude oil theft.

Furthermore, an industry expert who spoke to LEADERSHIP on the matter explained that the pipelines, being strategic assets, ought to be conventionally outsourced by government to competent companies for protection, where it feels it is not capable of protecting them.  According to him, the global practice is that the owner of the assets works out the safety and security needs assessment of the infrastructure using a consultant, and where needs be, contract a third party to protect the assets if it becomes obvious that it cannot protect it.

He however, stressed that such services are usually contracted to the best companies after advertisement and specifying which artery of the network is most prone to vandals that needs protection. The expert who did not want to be named said the manner in which the pipeline protection contract was handed over to ex-militants under the table sends the wrong signals to the international community over Nigeria’s commitment to the principles of extractive industry transparency, which the country is a signatory to.

Also speaking to LEADERSHIP, Nigeria’s representative on the Board of the Global Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), Faith Nwadishi expressed worry that despite the contract awarded to the ex-militants and the money paid to the JTF for the protection of the assets, no visible result has been seen.  “The question to be asked is what has changed since ex-militants were paid this money? Why are we not getting results? Is the money meant for jamboree? Are they paying it to them to acquire their ships and enlarge their cabal?” Nwadishi who is also the Country Director of Publish What You Pay Nigeria, queried.

Against the background, there is therefore, the need for government to put sentiments and blame-game aside and engage in strategic reassessment and re-orientation towards bringing the challenge to an end in the interest of the nation’s economy.

If US attacks Syria, crude oil may surge to $150/barrel - Expert

If US attacks Syria, crude oil may surge to $150/barrel but, going by experience, Indian users know the price will return to more realistic levels and are also reconciled to fuel price hikes.

August 31, 2013:  

The last time India experienced a oil shock was in August 2008 when crude prices galloped to $148/barrel. It was a difficult period when public sector oil marketing companies were near collapse as fuel losses soared.

Today, as tension levels rise in West Asia, with the US threatening to strike Syria, crude oil prices have once again reacted and are inching towards $120 a barrel. There is fear that a crisis could affect supplies from West Asia, and importers such as India (which coughs up over $170 billion annually for its crude oil) will face the brunt. 

It is still a million-dollar question if the US will go ahead with its plans to attack Syria, but the uncertainty is enough to prompt a surge in crude oil prices. “And, should the strikes actually happen, we will not be surprised if crude touches $150 a barrel ,” says a top-level PSU oil sector official.

Will it, therefore, be back to the grim days of 2008, when IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation were incurring annual losses of over Rs 250,000 crore? In fact, these companies were actually borrowing heavily to stay afloat since the government compensation was slow in coming.

At one point, reports began doing the rounds that if the crisis continued, fuel supplies would be severely affected as a result of refinery shutdowns. “It was an impossibly difficult period when all of us were stressed out and wondering how long we could keep going,” recalls the official.

The Government compensation finally came with added support from the upstream oil companies (ONGC and Oil India) but the damage had been done. The three refiners were battered and this was reflected in their results in 2008-09. The silver lining was that crude had come back to the $40-a-barrel level during the last quarter of the fiscal; the alarm bells fell silent.

Prepared now

The oil industry is, however, a lot more composed this time around even as crude prices stay uncomfortably high. Part of the reason could be because everyone is reconciled to the fact that crude oil will not go below $100 a barrel. “This is the new reality and we are not naïve to think that prices will nosedive to $60 a barrel,” says a finance executive.

By the same yardstick, the think-tanks in these companies are only too aware that any sharp escalation in crude prices (as a result of the crisis in Syria) will only be temporary. It is only a matter of time before they are back to the more realistic levels of $100-105 a barrel.

Deregulation of fuels

The companies are also assured by the fact that the Government has kicked off the process of deregulating petrol and diesel. There have been blips along the way when petrol prices were not allowed to be raised during state elections but the constant dithering of yesteryear is clearly a thing of the past. Today, even the end-user is unhappily aware that a steep diesel price hike is round the corner despite the inevitable political opposition that will follow. The managements of IOC, BPCL and HPCL have also become more pragmatic to the realities of a new pricing regime. Panic and uncertainty were natural reactions in 2008 because nobody had quite seen anything as dire. “You only get tougher and more cynical with experience,” quips an oil industry veteran.

Does this mean there is little to worry about this time around? On the contrary, it is going to be a tough period, especially when the rupee has been ravaged and the economy is in dire straits. At the end of the day, it is going to be yet another rollercoaster year for India’s oil sector. Nobody is, perhaps, too vocal about it any longer because they have seen this scenario remain unchanged for the last six years now

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Who Steals Nigerian Crude Oil?

“Insanity has been described as doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.”

Nigerians have been treated to a theatre of the absurd in which those close to the oil scene and those who should be the prime suspects for the incessant theft of crude are the same people complaining about it and passing the buck among themselves. Jonathan’s government is obviously powerless to stop the grand larceny or is unwilling to do so. Meanwhile, we face real fiscal catastrophe this year and next year if the theft is not checked. Who are the culprits? Take your choice from the list below.

“Oil workers………
“Security agents……
“NNPC officials…..
“Top govt officials….
“Militants…….

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Crude Trades Above $107 as Supplies Dip - Analyst Blog

The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed that crude stockpiles logged a larger-than-expected decline. The report further revealed that within the 'refined products' category, gasoline stocks fell, while distillate supplies were up from the week-ago level. Meanwhile, refiners scaled down their utilization rates by 1.5%.

The supportive crude data from the U.S. government, together with the ongoing unrest in Egypt that could destabilize the resource-rich Middle East and further tighten the global supply picture, has nudged the commodity above $107 a barrel.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) Petroleum Status Report, containing data of the previous week ending Friday, outlines information regarding the weekly change in petroleum inventories held and produced by the U.S., both locally and abroad.

The report provides an overview of the level of reserves and their movements, thereby helping investors understand the demand/supply dynamics of petroleum products. It is an indicator of current oil prices and volatility that affect the businesses of the companies engaged in the oil and refining industry.
Analysis of the Data
Crude Oil: The federal government's EIA report revealed that crude inventories fell by 2.81 million barrels for the week ending Aug 09, 2013, following a decrease of 1.32 million barrels in the previous week.
The analysts surveyed by Platts - the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Financial Inc. ( MHFI ) - had expected crude stocks to go down some 1.5 million barrels. A steep drop in Gulf Coast supplies led to the stockpile drawdown with the world's biggest oil consumer even as domestic production continued to spike, now at their highest level since 1989.

In particular, crude inventories at the Cushing terminal in Oklahoma - the key delivery hub for U.S. crude futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange - were down 1.36 million barrels from the previous week's level to 38.52 million barrels. Stocks are currently at their lowest since Mar last year and 25.7% under the all-time high of 51.86 million barrels reached in Jan.

As a result of the sixth weekly inventory decline in 7 weeks, at 360.49 million barrels, current crude supplies are now 1.6% below the year-earlier level, though it is still close to the upper limit of the average for this time of the year. The crude supply cover remained at 22.7 days - same as in the previous week. In the year-ago period, the supply cover was 23.4 days.

Gasoline: Supplies of gasoline were down for the first time in 3 weeks despite a decline in domestic consumption. The fall in gasoline inventories could be attributed to lower imports and domestic production.
The 1.17 million barrels withdrawal - below analysts' projections for a 2 million-barrels decrease in supply level - took gasoline stockpiles down to 222.43 million barrels. Notwithstanding this drawdown, the existing inventory level of the most widely used petroleum product is 9.2% higher than the year-earlier level and is near the top half of the average range.

Distillate: Distillate fuel supplies (including diesel and heating oil) were up 2.03 million barrels last week, surpassing analysts' expectations for a 1 million barrels rise in inventory level. The increase in distillate fuel stocks - the second in as many weeks - could be attributed to weaker demand and higher imports, somewhat negated by the effects of lower production.

At 128.48 million barrels, distillate supplies are 3.5% above the year-ago level but is close to the lower limit of the average range for this time of the year.
Refinery Rates: Refinery utilization edged down 1.5% from the prior week to 89.4%. The analysts were expecting the refinery run rate to decrease 0.3% to 90.6%.
Stocks to Consider

With spot crude price staying strong - at around $107 a barrel - brokerage analysts are likely to upgrade their forecasts on oil-weighted companies and related support plays, leading to positive estimate revisions. While all crude-focused stocks - including behemoths like Exxon Mobil Corp. ( XOM ) and Chevron Corp. ( CVX ) - stand to benefit from rising commodity prices, companies in the exploration and production (E&P) sector are the best placed, as they will be able to extract more value for their products.

In particular, one can look at Matador Resources Co. ( MTDR ) - a small-cap, undervalued E&P player - as a good buying opportunity. Dallas TX-based Matador Resources, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), with current focus on the high-return Eagle Ford shale formation in South Texas, is expected to witness earnings growth of 232% in 2013 and 32% in 2014. Moreover, a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of just 2.3 suggests that the stock is still undervalued. In fact, shares of Matador Resources have risen from $12.78 to $15.96 since we recommended it on Crude Prices Surge: 3 Stocks to Buy Now on Jul 22.

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Agric to displace crude oil in revenue generation - Minister

Nigeria’s economy within the next 10 years would be braced mainly by revenue from agriculture rather than oil, going by the government’s sustained efforts towards reposition the sector, Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has assured. The minister said by 2015, the ongoing revolution in the agricultural sector would have become visible with the eagerness by farmers to ensure food security with production of large quantities of cassava, rice, beans, canned fruit juices and others for both domestic consumption and exports.
He made this known in Abuja as he explained that part of the transformation agenda by President Goodluck Jonathan was to develop the agricultural sector to generate revenue as an alternative to crude oil.
He disclosed that the target of the agricultural transformation agenda was to provide not less than 3.3 million jobs by 2013, while also targeting the production of 20 million metric tonnes of food by 2015.

China's crude oil output slightly up

BEIJING - China's crude oil output rose slightly year on year in the first half of 2013, according to data released Friday by the country's top economic planner.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement that crude oil production stood at 103.31 million tonnes in the first six months, up 3.2 percent from the same period last year.

The country refined 217.46 million tonnes of crude oil during the first half, up 6.6 percent year on year, while refined oil products rose by 6 percent to 133.77 million tonnes, the NDRC said.

Apparent consumption of refined oil products rose 4 percent from a year earlier to 126.54 million tonnes.

In the same period, natural gas output rose 9 percent to 58.8 billion cubic meters, while imports climbed 24.6 percent to 24.7 billion cubic meters.

Apparent consumption of natural gas climbed 13.1 percent year on year to 81.5 billion cubic meters, according to the statement.

Crude Oil Stays Above $108

Crude oil prices held above $108 per barrel Friday morning in New York. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude added 30 cents to $108.11 per barrel. A long rally in equity markets supported higher prices, which were bumped up recently by political tension in Egypt.
On Friday morning, reformulated blendstock gasoline added 5.22 cents to $3.162 per gallon. Home heating oil added 2.06 cents to reach $3.1213 per gallon. Natural gas lost 2 cents to $3.792 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $3.672, up from Thursday's $3.669, the AAA Fuel Gauge report said.



Source: Copyright UPI 2013

India pips US as Nigeria’s biggest crude oil buyer

India has overtaken the US as the top buyer of Nigerian crude oil.

Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria Mahesh Sachdev said recent statistics showed that India had been buying more of Nigeria’s crude than the US over the last three months.

“India will continue to cooperate with Nigeria to improve its economy and it will also assist the country in capacity building of workers in both the public and private sectors,” Sachdev said, during a courtesy visit to the Governor of Niger state in northern Nigeria last Wednesday.

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India Now Nigeria’s Biggest Crude Oil Buyer

INDIA High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr Mahesh Sachdev, on Wednesday, said that the Indian government now leads the United States in the purchase of crude oil from Nigeria.

He disclosed this during a courtesy call on Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, at the government house in Minna. He said recent statistics showed that India had been buying more of Nigeria’s crude than the United States government over the last three months.
Sachdev also said that bilateral trade between Nigeria and India had hit $10bn mark while India’s investment in the country was valued at $16.6bn.
The envoy said India would continue to cooperate with Nigeria to improve her economy, adding that India would assist Nigeria in capacity building of workers in both the public and private sectors as one of the ways to revamp Nigeria’s economy.


“To reduce unemployment in Nigeria, the Indian government is now partnering with the Kano State Government for the establishment of a film city. We will also collaborate with the Niger State Government to create health care facilities and improve agriculture as well as embark on vocational training of youths towards self employment,” Sachdev said .
Responding, Governor Aliyu commended India for being one of the few countries in the world that had kept faith in the policy of strengthening the civil service, saying that the retention of the policy had helped the country to develop in all ramifications.
He therefore urged Nigeria to take a cue from India for the rapid economic development of the country, adding that if peace prevailed in all parts of the country the economy would be revived.

Oil Futures Settle Above $100 a Barrel on Egypt, Stockpiles

--Nymex crude up $1.64 at $101.24/barrel
--Tensions in Egypt raise investors' concerns
--U.S. oil stockpiles fell 10.3 million barrels last week, the EIA said

 
  By Sarah Jacob and Dan Strumpf 
 

NEW YORK--U.S. oil prices settled above $100 a barrel Wednesday for the first time in more than a year, following political uncertainty in Egypt and a sharp fall in domestic stockpiles.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose $1.64, or 1.7%, to $101.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since May 3, 2012. ICE North Sea Brent crude oil for August delivery was recently $1.79 higher at $105.79 a barrel.
"Crude oil got its first boost from fears of the spread of unrest in Egypt. It got its second boost from the friendly weekly inventory report...It caught people a little bit off guard," said Phyllis Nystrom, energy analyst at CHS Hedging.

The amount of oil in storage in the U.S. fell by 10.3 million barrels to 383.8 million barrels for the week ended June 28, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. It was the biggest weekly drop in U.S. stockpiles since the week ended Dec. 28 and was more than the 2.3-million-barrel decline analysts had expected.

Stockpiles in the Gulf Coast region saw the biggest drain, down 3.2% from the previous week.
"We've got the refining industry really back up and running, turning this crude-oil surplus that we've seen back into refined products," said Andy Lipow, president of Houston consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates. "We're in the peak summer driving season, so [demand] is going to be at the highest level we've seen this year."
Refineries turn crude oil into gasoline and other products. They ramp up production at this time of year to prepare for increased demand as Americans travel during the summer. Refineries were running at 92.2% capacity last week, up from 90.2% the previous week.
Analysts also said stockpiles were lower because of supply disruptions in Canada, curbing imports. Pipeline operator Enbridge Inc. (ENB) shut down three oil pipelines in Canada last week after detecting a leak in one.
Oil prices also got a boost from political tensions in Egypt that increased concerns about supplies from the Middle East.
"All eyes are on Egypt. There is fear of more instability in an already unstable region," said Andy Lebow, senior vice president of energy futures at Jefferies Bache.
Egyptians have taken to the streets in recent days to participate in mass demonstrations demanding the resignation of President Mohammed Morsi. A deadline set by the Egyptian army for Mr. Morsi to resign expired Wednesday. Mr. Morsi refused to step down and proposed a consensus government as a way out of the country's crisis.
Although Egypt isn't a major crude producer, its control of the Suez Canal and its proximity to large oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia make investors uneasy whenever there is political unrest in the country.
Front-month August reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 5.49 cents higher at $ 2.8382 a gallon. August heating oil settled 4.98 cents higher at $2.9512 a gallon.
More information on settlements and highs and lows for futures on Nymex and ICE platforms can be found by searching for the following headlines:

   Nymex Light Crude Oil Close 
   Nymex Harbor RBOB Gasoline Close 
   Nymex Heating Oil Close 
   ICE Brent Crude Oil Close 
   ICE Gas Oil Close 

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Crude Oil Discovered In Lagos,Nigeria

LAGOS—Nigeria’s commercial capital, LAGOS, is on the verge of joining the country’s oil-producing states with the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the coastal state.

Yesterday, Afren Plc and its partner, Lekoil Limited, announced significant oil discovery offshore Dahomey Basin in Lagos, according to the London Stock Exchange.

In separate announcements, the partners said they discovered a significant light oil accumulation based on the results of drilling and wire line logs from a high impact Ogo-1 well, located on the Oil Prospecting Licence, OPL 310 offshore Nigeria.

Afren is optimistic that the discovery is likely to be significantly higher than the anticipated 78 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), which encourages search to further high potential zones.

The discovery is subject to the authentication of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which is expected in two weeks.

Crude Oil Bubbles Up a Little

The price for a barrel of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 38 cents overnight to $95.52 per barrel Friday morning. 

Prices recovered from Thursday's drop, which was prompted by a global sell-off in equity markets, a reaction to news the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin to wind down a stimulus program this year. 

Reformulated blendstock gasoline, which lost more than 10 cents Thursday, also rebounded slightly, gaining 1.59 cents to $2.7934 a gallon. 

Home heating oil gained 1.46 cents to $2.8876 a gallon. 

Natural gas shed 0.4 cents to $3.873 per million British thermal units. 

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $3.592, down from Thursday's $3.598, the AAA Fuel Gauge report said 

Yemen repairs main crude oil pipeline after explosion: official

SANAA -- Yemen's main oil export pipeline has been repaired and crude is again flowing to the terminal on the Red Sea after tribesmen blew up a section of the link last week, a Yemeni oil official said on Thursday.

Friday's explosion followed a day after the completion of repairs to damage from a similar attack on May 24, before which the pipeline had been pumping around 125,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The Arabian Peninsula state, which relies on crude exports to replenish its reserves and finance up to 70 percent of budget spending, has suffered frequent bombings of its main pipeline in central Maarib province since an uprising broke out in 2011.

The tribesmen have given an ultimatum to the government to respond to their demands by Friday evening or they will blow up the pipeline again, the official said.

Crude oil tops $97

The price for a barrel of crude oil topped $97 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil in New York added $1.09 cents to $97.71 per barrel. Reformulated blendstock gasoline added 3.27 cents to $2.894 a gallon.
Home heating oil gained 2.26 cents to $2.9621 a gallon.
Natural gas lost 5.7 cents to $3.757 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $3.625, down from Thursday's $3.632, AAA Fuel Gauge report said

Sell Bonny Light Crude Oil - Find Buyers of BLCO

If you are looking for buyers of mazut m100 (fuel oil), d2 (diesel oil), blco (bonny light crude oil) or bitumen (petroleum asphalt), then there is a genuine way to find them both online and offline. One of the genuine ways to find them online is through the use of business to business sites. Business to business sites contains buyers of crude. Most real buyers of oil do not like wasting time. They need sellers who can perform, that is a seller who has the product. They also want a seller that can show proof of product before they issue proof of fund. The equation is POP = POF. It should not be any form of POP but it should be one that can be verified and ascertained to be valid and authentic.

Another thing most buyers want is sellers that can work with their own procedure. This is very peculiar to bonny light crude oil and forcados buyers. Most times the first clause on their procedure is: vessel name and location. This is not always the case. BLCO buyers may also want verifiable product allocation certificate from NNPC or details of a loaded vessel so they can verify and proceed to sign a contract. As for mazut 100, jp54, bitumen and d2 buyers, they need sellers that can show POP in form SGS or refinery commitment to produce the crude.

If you are a seller and you are not able to meet the buyer's preferred criteria above, you do not have to worry. This is so because different buyers have their respective criteria. Some of the online sites where you can find buyers of mazut m100, jp54, bitumen, d2, blco and forcados to sell your product are tradekeys, eczplaza, spaintraders, fuzing and alibaba. This is a few of b2b sites where buyers can be found. You should note that you can hardly find end buyers at these sites. The types of buyers you can find are intermediary buyers. If you want to work with end buyers, then you need to write to refineries who are the end buyers of raw crude. As for refined crude oil, you should write to major oil dealers who buy and store at fuel depot from where it is supplied to filling stations to be sold to consumers. Selling raw and refined crude oil to major oil dealers requires the use of professional experience. You need to show something that certifies you as a serious and genuine businessman.