More Balanced Oil Market Expected in 2nd Half

Professional commodity traders watch spreads (differences between the prices for adjacent futures contracts) rather than spot prices as the best indicator of the balance between supply and demand.

In crude, the narrowing spreads for both Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) indicate a closer balance between supply and demand in the second half of the year than in the first.

MILESTONE ALERT: World’s Longest Well Completed at Chayvo Field

Rosneft, as part of Sakhalin-1 Consortium, has completed drilling of the “world’s longest well” at the Chayvo field, off the coast of Sakhalin Island.

O-14 production well was drilled with Orlan drilling platform in direction of the field’s south-eastern point. According to Rosneft, the well has the world-record measured depth of 13,500 meters and a horizontal reach of 12,033 meters.

Can the Shale Oil Boom meet it's End in May?

The shale oil boom that pushed U.S. crude production to the highest level in four decades is grinding to a halt.

Output from the prolific tight-rock formations such as North Dakota’s Bakken shale will decline 57,000 barrels a day in May, the Energy Information Administration said Monday. It’s the first time the agency has forecast a drop in output since it began issuing a monthly drilling productivity report in 2013.

Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and IHS Inc. have projected that U.S. oil production growth will end, at least temporarily, with futures near a six-year low. The plunge in prices has already forced half the country’s drilling rigs offline and wiped out thousands of jobs. The retreat in America’s oil boom is necessary to correct a supply glut and rebalance global oil markets, according to Goldman.

Nigerian States Look to Sell Bonds as Oil Income Dwindles - FBN

FBN Holdings Plc, owner of First Bank Nigeria, said it expects to benefit from a surge in sales of bonds by state governments to replace dwindling oil revenue and after peaceful elections bolstered investor confidence.

“We expect a lot of the state governments to go to the market to issue bonds to be able to fund their projects,” Chief Executive Officer Bello Maccido said in an interview. “It presents an opportunity for the investment-banking business.”

"We are likely to see more energy deals after Shell-BG" - Fitch

Royal Dutch Shell’s acquisition of BG Group agreed Wednesday could spark a wave of energy deals beyond the opportunistic ones already seen, Fitch Ratings says.

The deal signals that Shell has confidence in the sector and is positioning itself for the sector’s recovery. Shell’s competitors are likely to also look for partners, so they are not at a disadvantage when the cycle turns, Fitch Rating explains.

WorleyParsons Lands Deal for Ophir's Fortuna Project in Equatorial Guinea

WorleyParsons disclosed Friday the award by Ophir Equatorial Guinea (Block R) Limited of an agreement for provision of engineering and project management services for their Equatorial Guinea 

Oil Rises a Third Day as Iran Export Recovery Remains in Doubt

Oil advanced a third day as skepticism among U.S. lawmakers over a nuclear deal with Iran undermined prospects that the OPEC producer will bolster crude exports.

Futures climbed 1.3 percent in New York. President Barack Obama is dispatching three cabinet members to brief lawmakers as a Senate committee prepares to take up a bill that will give Congress 60 days to review any final agreement with Iran. Drillers in the U.S. reduced the number of active rigs seeking oil to the fewest since December 2010, according to Baker Hughes Inc.