If oil prices were to keep rising from current levels the whole oil sector will continue to appreciate. But some oil stocks will do better than most because they have the capacity to increase production above current levels and reap the benefit of higher prices.
Oil future prices climbed to a new high in New York on Monday as a strike began in Nigeria—Africa's largest exporter of crude oil.
Crude oil for November delivery rose 33 US cents to $53.64, surpassing Friday's record settlement price of $53.31 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia vowed on Sunday to maintain a cushion of spare supplies of up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) to meet future demand growth.
"There is no shortage of oil, and there will be no shortage of oil, and we are willing to meet demand as it rises," Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters ahead of an oil exhibition in the United Arab Emirates.
Oil prices shot up more than $1 a barrel Monday as traders focused on the changing path of Hurricane Ivan, which prompted several large oil and natural gas producers to evacuate rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
"It's all fear, it's all speculative buying," said Agbeli Ameko, managing partner at the Denver-based energy research firm Enercast.com, adding that the actual loss of supply, at least for now, was negligible.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies a third of the world's crude oil, can raise production capacity by 1 million barrels a day by year-end, OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said.
OIL prices gained yesterday on fears that Russia’s largest oil producer, Yukos, could be forced to halt production after a Moscow court granted prosecutors the go-ahead to seize £1.4 billion from the bank accounts of Yukos’ key subsidiaries.
NEW YORK: US oil prices fell more than one dollar yesterday on continued profit-taking as producer-group Opec eyed increases in the coming months in its tight spare capacity, countering worries over stumbling Iraqi oil exports.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell $1 below record highs on Tuesday as fears over supply disruptions in Venezuela eased after President Hugo Chavez won a vote on his rule.
But traders said an expected dip in U.S. crude oil stocks, further disruption to Iraq's oil flow and warnings that Russian firm YUKOS' financial crisis could eventually cut into oil exports, could see prices test new highs yet again.
Oil futures edged closer to $42 a barrel Monday afternoon, as traders assessed the market's production outlook against a backdrop of a higher OPEC quota and continued threats to output from violence in Iraq.
Oil futures weakened early Friday, with traders unsure of how to react to the latest updates on U.S. petroleum supplies but reluctant to pull prices much below $40 following the government's warning of a possible terrorist attack before November.
