An expected recovery for the oil markets this week .. Hurricane...

Oil specialists and analysts expected that the oil market would witness a relative recovery in prices this week, noting that Hurricane Ida would lead to a reduction in stocks of crude oil and American products, which would stimulate prices to rise.
Specialists told Al-Eqtisadiah that US production is heading to a gradual recovery, but oil and gas production in the United States in the Gulf of Mexico is slowly moving towards recovery, about a week after Hurricane Ida, which swept the Louisiana coast, noting that the producers recovered 15,000 Only barrels per day of oil production.
They explained that Hurricane “Ida” is one of the most powerful storms that have struck the region in years, which impeded the access of upstream operators to their offshore platforms and facilities, and that four-fifths of the energy giant “Shell” production in the American Gulf was closed.
In a related context, the market is following, on Monday, the activities of the first ministerial round table on energy, climate and sustainable development, organized by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries “OPEC” via video conference, as part of its efforts to support the energy transition and mobilize members’ efforts to combat the climate change crisis. Highlighting the distinguished Saudi experience in the green economy and carbon recycling.
In this context, Ross Kennedy, managing director of QHI International Energy Services, said that market conditions are still unstable, which means more price fluctuations, especially after permission was granted to American refiners to access emergency crude oil stocks in The country, where most of the oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are still idle due to the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
Damir Tesperat, director of business development at the International Technic Group, added that the hurricane crisis casts a strong shadow on the market and prevents price stability, especially with the disruption of about 1.7 million barrels per day of US marine production, and most of the refining industry in Louisiana has been weakened by the effects of the effects of the hurricane. floods. He pointed out that this week may witness a relative recovery in prices, as Hurricane “Ida” will reduce stocks of crude oil and American products, which will stimulate prices to rise, adding that the supply is still appropriate in light of the decision of the “OPEC +” ministers last week, Which approved the monthly increase and did not bring any surprises to the market, with a commitment to continue increasing supplies during the remainder of this year.
For his part, Peter Bacher, an economic analyst and specialist in energy legal affairs, said that the damage to US refineries as a result of the hurricane continues to weigh heavily on the market, especially after the largest refinery in Louisiana in terms of capacity, the Marathon refinery, which amounts to 565,000 barrels per day, was severely damaged.
He explained that the US jobs report, which was weaker than expected, affected the expectations of US demand, and the Federal Reserve is likely to delay reducing fiscal stimulus programs, which will give more impetus to oil prices in the United States, especially in the short term.
Arvi Nahar, a specialist in oil and gas affairs at African Leadership International, said that the weak US job data is due to the Corona epidemic crisis, and this was strongly evident in last August’s data, which monitored the growing loss of jobs and weak investment.
She stated that holding a round table in the OPEC secretariat on climate change and promoting sustainable development reflects OPEC’s strong commitments to the Paris Agreement and its tireless work with the international community in the field of reducing harmful emissions and developing plans for transformation and diversification of the energy mix to keep pace with future development challenges in the world with a review The distinguished Saudi experience in this field.
On the other hand, with regard to crude oil prices at the end of last week, oil prices fell on Friday, as they fell after the US jobs report indicated the irregular recovery in light of the pandemic. The losses were limited by fears that US supplies would continue to be affected by Hurricane Ida, which reduced production from the Gulf of Mexico region in the United States.
Brent crude futures fell 42 cents, or 0.58 percent, to $72.61 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 70 cents, or 1 percent, to $69.29 a barrel.
“Prices fell on the back of the jobs report, which was clearly affected by the delta strain, and this was revealing of the fact that the coronavirus is still affecting demand,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York. Non-farm payrolls came below expectations for an increase of 235,000 jobs amid a decline in demand for services and a continuing shortage of workers with the increase in cases of the Corona virus, while economists polled by “Reuters” had expected non-farm payrolls to increase by 728,000.
Meanwhile, sources told “Reuters” that production of about 1.7 million barrels per day of oil in the US Gulf of Mexico is still suspended, as damage to helipads and fuel depots slows the return of crews to offshore platforms.
On the other hand, the weekly report of “Baker Hughes” company on US drilling activities stated that a decrease in the number of oil and gas rigs in the United States was recorded by 11 this week after rising by five last week.
The report indicated that the total number of rigs is now 497, up 241 from the same time last year, but it is behind 790 active rigs in March 2020, indicating that the number of US oil rigs has decreased significantly this week to 394 – a decrease of 16 rig and biggest single week since June 2020, while gas rig count increased by five and various rigs are flat at zero.
He pointed out that the Energy Information Administration’s estimates of oil production in the United States for the week ending on August 20 increased by 100,000 barrels per day to 11.5 million barrels per day on average, explaining that it is the highest production rate in the United States since the week ending May 15. 2020.