Saudi ready for deeper oil cuts: Opec minister

Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz said his country is ready to make deeper cuts in oil output than it agreed to with other global producers, according to Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva.
“He assured me that they are very ready to even cut deeper,” Sylva told Bloomberg TV in Riyadh. The Opec minister said he and Prince Abdulaziz didn’t discuss new output levels when they spoke on Monday.
Saudi Arabia is leading the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other top producers like Russia into a collective production cut extending though the end of March. Opec and its allies are due to meet in December to discuss whether steeper cuts to oil supply will be needed to shore up prices amid a surplus and signs of weaker demand.
Nigeria is fully complying with its new production quota and is currently pumping 1.774 million barrels a day, Sylva said. He said he was also speaking with Gabon, South Sudan and Angola about compliance with the cuts.
Nigeria is holding talks with Saudi Arabia for the supply of oil products to the African country where all refineries are not currently producing, Sylva said.
There is still no agreement about the volume, he said.
“We are also discussing the possibility of fixing one of our refineries with the Saudis and then we are also discussing the development of an oil and gas industrial pact in the Niger Delta,” he said.

Oil falls
Oil extended declines on expectations of rising inventories at a key pricing point in Oklahoma and as Opec considers deeper output cuts.
Futures fell as much as 2.2% in New York. Genscape Inc. said oil stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub expanded last week, fueling concerns over sluggish demand and ample supplies.
Although crude is heading for its best month since July — nearing a technical barrier in its 200-day moving average — it’s fallen 17% since late April as the trade war weighs on demand and American production booms.
“There are expectations that we will see another big build in Cushing,” said Olivier Jakob, managing director at Petromatrix GmbH in Switzerland. “On a technical basis, you’ve got the 200-day moving average in WTI which is being tested.”
West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 60 cents to $55.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:56 a.m. local time. Brent for December settlement slid 35 cents to $61.22 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange. The global benchmark crude was at a $6.04 premium to WTI.
Crude inventories at Cushing rose by 1.5 million barrels last week, according to data provider Genscape. If confirmed by government figures on Wednesday, that would be a fourth straight week of gains at the US hub.
“We’re still in shoulder month so it makes sense we are a little bit ahead of ourselves,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO of InfraCap in New York. “It’s normal for oil to be weak for October.”