NEW YORK (Reuters) - As a war of nerves between U.S. shale producers and Gulf powerhouses intensifies, OPEC's biggest members are counting down the months until their upstart rivals lose the one thing shielding them from crashing oil prices — hedges.
Canada’s Richest Grain Family Betting on Rebound in Oil
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-04/canada-s-richest-grain-family-betting-on-rebound-in-oil.html
Jan 5, 2015
A decade after expanding its grain business during a slump in prices, the Richardson family of Winnipeg, one of the richest in Canada, is making a similar bet on oil.
With crude futures collapsing to the lowest in five years, the Richardson’s Tundra Oil & Gas unit last month agreed to buy 550 wells in Manitoba, part of a $410 million divestiture of Canadian assets by EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) Tundra’s biggest purchase ever will boost its output this year by one-third to 32,000 barrels a day, and Chief Executive Officer Ken Neufeld says he remains on the lookout for more deals.
Oil Glut Seen Setting Sail as Contango Widens: Chart of the Day
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-05/oil-glut-seen-setting-sail-as-contango-widens-chart-of-the-day.html
Jan 4, 2015
The CHART OF THE DAY compares today’s forward curve for oil and the one from six years ago. It shows how prices in August are about $5.50 a barrel higher than in February. To cover the costs associated with storing oil at sea — hiring a ship, fuel, insurance, finance — that gap needs to widen to $6.50 a barrel, according to E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd. When future costs are above immediate ones, the market structure is called contango, the opposite is backwardation.