As oil prices plod along near US$60 a barrel, all eyes in the Canadian energy sector will soon focus on two wildcards in the weeks ahead: OPEC and the White House. Read More
The combination of trade action and OPEC production increases have reduced prices for benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude into the low US$60-a-barrel range this spring
The combination of trade action and OPEC production increases have reduced prices for benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude into the low US$60-a-barrel range this spring
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As oil prices plod along near US$60 a barrel, all eyes in the Canadian energy sector will soon focus on two wildcards in the weeks ahead: OPEC and the White House.
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Coincidentally, the heads of both entities — U.S. President Donald Trump and OPEC’s secretary general — will be in Alberta next month, and industry players will be watching closely what they say and do.
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On Thursday, the Global Energy Show Canada announced OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais will be the keynote speaker on June 10 at the annual conference in Calgary. Last week, the U.S. administration confirmed the president will attend the G7 meeting, to be held in Kananaskis from June 15 to 17.
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Noon News Roundup
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Trump’s tariffs have weighed over oil markets like an anvil this year, widely expected to crimp global economic growth and energy demand.
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The White House lost a key U.S. Court of International Trade ruling earlier this week that underpins much of its contentious tariff policies, but promptly saw the decision paused Thursday by an appeals court.
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Meanwhile, OPEC+ members are meeting virtually this weekend to confirm plans to unwind previous cuts and bring more idled oil back to the market in July, after adding more than 400,000 barrels per day for both May and June.
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The combination of trade action and OPEC production increases have reduced prices for benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude into the low US$60-a-barrel range this spring.
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“I think President Trump wants low oil prices. OPEC wants high oil prices, and there’s a balance in between,” said Bob Geddes, president of Calgary-based Ensign Energy Services, which has drilling operations in Canada and internationally.
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“What Trump says moves the market, and what OPEC says moves the market. So everybody is really going to be hanging on to those words. That being said, I don’t think there’s any way to forecast what Trump is going to say, nor what OPEC is going to say,” added Rystad Energy senior vice-president Susan Bell.