May 06 2009
Oil prices rose even after report that US supplies of the fuel declined by one million barrels last week, increasing optimism that energy demand will recover soon. The government reported that the nation is consuming less than it has in years and that inventories are the highest in nearly two decades. Benchmark crude for June delivery gained $1.05 to settle at $50.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Mar 15 2009
Russia is poised to hold a conference in Moscow and invited OPEC representatives to take part and discuss the procedure for setting oil prices, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said during a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev. Sechin indicated that Moscow would suggest a gradual transition to the new system of price formation, the Vesti TV channel reported Sechin as saying. He also noted that the problem of making oil reserves was becoming especially severe.
In turn, Medvedev stressed that Russia was interested in stable, predictable and fair oil prices. “We do not want extremely high prices that hurt the economic structure, and of course we do not want a significant drop in prices below their fair level,” he stated. With this in mind, OPEC and other countries will have to take steps to prevent any deepening of the crisis or further deterioration of the economic situation, Medvedev observed.
Feb 19 2009
President Hugo Chavez is vowing that Venezuela will provide China with all the oil it needs “for the next 200 years.” Chavez spoke Tuesday to a visiting delegation led by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. The two nations are expected to sign a series of accords on Wednesday.
Caracas sees China as a key partner in its strategy of diversifying oil sales away from the U.S., which buys about half Venezuela’s crude despite years of political tensions. The South American nation aims to increase exports to China to 1 million barrels a day by 2012, up from 330,000 currently.
Venezuela and China plan to build four oil tankers and three refineries in China capable of processing heavy Venezuelan crude.