RIYADH: Oil prices edged up on Wednesday as the market waited for US inflation data later in the day that will likely influence the Federal Reserve’s policy on future interest rate hikes.
Brent crude gained 21 cents, or 0.21 percent, to $85.82 a barrel as of 11.00 a.m.Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate rose 15 cents, or 0.18/ percent, to $81.68 a barrel.
Prices had risen about 2 percent on Tuesday amid optimism that the US Federal Reserve is getting closer to ending its cycle of interest rate hikes, making dollar-priced oil cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
The US consumer price index is expected to show March core inflation rose 0.4 percent on a monthly basis and 5.6 percent year-on-year, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
Colombia’s Ecopetrol appoints Ricardo Roa as new CEO
Colombia’s majority state-owned energy company Ecopetrol has appointed Ricardo Roa as its new chief executive, the company said in a statement late on Tuesday, adding he will assume the role from April 30 at the latest.
Roa’s appointment follows the recent exit of former chief executive Felipe Bayon, who stood down from the role at the end of March.
Ecopetrol announced in January that Bayon would be leaving the company, with his departure representing a shake-up for Colombia’s biggest company and largest producer of oil.
The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro has pledged to wean Colombia away from its dependence on oil and gas exports in favor of a transition toward greener, renewable energy sources.
“My commitment is to lead with all the professional rigor, from this great company, a fair and sustainable energy transition for the benefit of the entire country,” Roa said in a message in Spanish posted on Twitter.
Roa, a mechanical engineer, has more than 30 years’ experience, particularly in leading strategic transformations in the energy sector, Ecopetrol said in the statement.
OPEC’s share of oil production growth to shrink this year: EIA
Countries that are not in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries group will account for a higher percentage of oil production gains this year and next, a reversal of the last two years, the US Energy Information Administration predicted on Tuesday.
Gains by the US, Brazil, Canada and Guyana will overshadow OPEC after Saudi Arabia and other Middle East producers this month disclosed plans to cut output by around 1.16 million barrels per day beginning next month.
Total non-OPEC liquid fuels production is expected to grow by 1.9 million barrels per day in 2023 and by 1 million bpd in 2024, the EIA said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
OPEC output will fall by 500,000 bpd in 2023, then rise by 1 million bpd in 2024, after the group’s output agreement expires, according to the EIA forecast.
About half of the forecast gain by non-OPEC producers in the next two years will come from the US, the agency said. US crude production is set to rise 5.5 percent to 12.54 million bpd this year and another 1.7 percent, to 12.75 million bpd, in 2024.
Novatek to acquire Shell’s stake in Sakhalin-2 for $1.16 billion
Russia’s government has approved the sale of Shell’s former 27.5 percent stake in the Sakhalin-2 energy project to Russian energy firm Novatek for 94.8 billion roubles ($1.16 billion), a government order showed on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his consent for the transfer of the required funds to Shell, the Russian daily Kommersant reported last week.
Following Moscow’s decision to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Shell said it would quit Sakhalin-2, in which it held a stake worth 27.5 percent minus one share.
The company booked a $1.6 billion impairment related to Sakhalin-2 in the first quarter of 2022.
In June, the Sakhalin-2 operating company was transformed into a Russian entity via a presidential decree. Shell and Japanese trading companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi were then asked to apply to keep their stakes if they wanted to.
Moscow invited firms interested in obtaining Shell’s stake — as well as Exxon Mobil's abandoned share in the sister Sakahlin-1 project — to submit applications to the government.
(With input from Reuters)
