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Monday September 21, 2015

// September 21st, 2015 // Daily News

Oil prices rise as US drilling declines

Reuters
Lucy Nicholson | Reuters

Oil rose by more than 2 percent on Monday after data showed U.S. drilling slowed and a report said $1.5 trillion worth of planned production was uneconomic at current prices.
Crude has halved in value over the last year as soaring global production overwhelmed slowing demand and the much lower prices have now begun to hit drilling, particularly in the United States.
U.S. drillers have cut the number of rigs in operation for three straight weeks.
Global benchmark Brent crude oil was up $1.12 at $48.59 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $45.81 per barrel, up $1.12.
“The fall in rig counts (is) supporting an otherwise bearish market,” said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a report that rig data pointed to a decline in U.S. oil production between the second and fourth quarters of this year of more than 250,000 barrels per day (bpd)
Commerzbank head of commodities research, Eugen Weinberg, said reductions in U.S. production should, eventually, turn oil market fundamentals, giving prices a lift:
“We are confident that the incipient decline of production in the United States will herald a long-term and fundamental bottoming out process on the oil market,” Weinberg said.
Analysts said low prices would have a bigger impact in the longer term as U.S. producers struggled to cut enough costs.
Low prices should have long-term impact on oil production.
“While operators are seeking an average cost reduction of 20-30 percent on projects, supply chain savings through squeezing the service sector will only achieve around 10-15 percent on average,” energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said.
“$1.5 trillion of uncommitted spend on new conventional projects and North American unconventional oil is uneconomic at $50 a barrel,” Woodmac added.
Despite such a cut to U.S. spending plans, analysts said prices were expected to remain at low levels for some time as other producers, especially in the Middle East and Russia, kept pumping near record levels.
“Oil producers continue to battle for market share … widening the global oil surplus,” ANZ said on Monday.
The bank said it expected U.S. crude to fall below $40 a barrel over the next six months and to average just $41 next year. It expects Brent to average $46 per barrel in 2016.

Today’s Inspiration

A Gift for Others and for Yourself

by Joyce Meyer – posted September 21, 2015

Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
– Luke 6:37 NKJV

Do you hold unforgiveness toward anyone for any reason? If so, it needs to be eliminated from your heart and mind right away because it’s keeping you in bondage. You may be thinking, Well, Joyce, that’s easy for you to say. You haven’t been hurt like I have. That is true, but I have been hurt in life to a very deep degree. I was abused, abandoned, rejected, blamed, lied about, misunderstood, and betrayed by family and friends, and I allowed the enemy to fill my heart with hatred for those who hurt me. But when I began to learn about love, I moved from hatred to bitterness to mild resentment and finally to freedom, which only comes through forgiveness. The Lord graciously brought restitution into my life.

God promises to bring justice into our lives and to give us a double reward for our former shame, pain, and unfair treatment (see Isaiah 61:7). When we try to bring justice ourselves through vengeful acts, we only prevent God from working on our behalf.

The absolute key to unlocking the recompense of God for past hurts, however, is to do things His way and not our own. We are to love our enemies, pray for them, and bless them. If you have been hurt, God knows all about it, and He has a plan for your vindication. He, and He alone, is the vindicator (Hebrews 10:30).

Love Others Today: Do you need to extend forgiveness to someone? Make the choice to do so right now. It will be a gift to that person and a gift to you.