Specious Argument

I am updating my WTI oil price expectations for the next several weeks to range between $43–$53 per barrel, two dollars per barrel lower than before. The reasons for changing are increased production from Libya and Nigeria, Ecuador straying outside its production cap, and general cynicism toward OPEC being able to reduce global inventories as quickly as expected.

Although I have reduced my expectations, should OPEC announce significant changes to its policy after meeting this weekend in Saint Petersburg, Russia, then all bets are off.

If the current situation persists, however, then I am comfortable with my updated values.

US Weekly Oil Production Versus US Oil Rig Count

With the recent release of the US Energy Information Administration’s Short Term Energy Outlook, I have revised downward my forecast for WTI oil price to between $45 and $55 per barrel for the next several weeks, until midsummer. The reason for lowering my forecast is that the EIA has forecast more production between now and roughly the end of 2018. Furthermore, in its “Forecast Highlights” it says the following: “EIA forecasts that implied global petroleum and liquid fuels inventories will decline by about 0.2 million b/d in 2017 and then increase by an average of 0.1 million b/d in 2018.” I anticipate that the forecasted build in inventories in 2018 might keep a lid on oil prices.

Let’s take a quick review of some data. You’ve likely seen a variation of the following graph where oil production has almost recovered to pre-downturn levels, yet the number of oil rigs being used is roughly half that at the peak of production. The key point from this graph is that production efficiency per rig has increased. It’s important to remember that this graph represents all rigs involved in US oil production, not just those used for shale oil.

One of the benchmarks that I track is the US Energy Information Administration’s Short Term Energy Outlook data for US crude oil and liquid fuels production as shown in the next graph, which is an updated version from the prior month. Every month the EIA releases a new forecast. The January forecast is the lowest line along the horizontal axis, and the June forecast is the top line for much, but not all, of the graph. Solid-line portions represent historical data, and the dotted-line portions are forecasts. Because of data revisions, not all months start from the same point. Please note that liquid fuels include ethanol, natural gas plant liquids, and biodiesel, and this total volume is different from just the oil volume shown in the prior graph.

EIA Short Term Energy Outlook Forecasts

In February and March, the EIA revised substantially upward its December 2018 production forecast. In the last four months, the December 2018 production forecast remained relatively constant, but the production volume leading up to December 2018 was increased with each new forecast.

With production forecasts increasing each month and with the EIA forecasting a slight build in global inventories, I am more cautious. I want to wait for more data throughout the summer. Do global inventories draw down faster than many expect, or do they remain relatively stable?

In this weekend’s Barron’s magazine article (subscription required) “Energy Shares Could Soon Heat Up,” Andrew Bary discusses bullish comments made by Morgan Stanley’s energy analyst Evan Calio.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund (ticker: XLE), which tracks the energy stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, is off 12% so far in 2017, compared with a 9% gain in the broad market. The more volatile SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) is down 21% after hitting a new 52-week low last week. “This is one of the worst beginnings to the year ever,” says Evan Calio, an energy analyst at Morgan Stanley. “Investor sentiment is horrible.”

Nevertheless, Calio remains upbeat on U.S. exploration-and-production stocks, seeing about 15% upside on average from current levels. He expects oil prices to rise to the mid-to-high $50s over the summer and into the fall, supported by drawdowns of crude inventories and the effect of output reductions announced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. A rally in energy stocks could be under way, after their 2% gain on Friday.

Calio is more bullish than I am at present. If, however, global inventories deplete faster than expected over the summer, I will reverse my current position and go back to my prior expected range of $50–$60 per barrel.

With WTI prices briefly spiking below $44 per barrel, May was an exciting month for oil prices. Even though prices dipped further than I expected, I remain optimistic and expect oil prices to generally be bound between $50 and $60 per barrel for the next few months.

One of the benchmarks that I am tracking is the US Energy Information Adminstration’s Short Term Energy Outlook data for US crude oil and liquid fuels production as shown in the graph. Every month the EIA releases a new forecast. The January forecast is the lowest line along the horizontal axis, and the May forecast is the top line. Solid-line portions represent historical data, and the dotted-line portions are forecasts. Because of data revisions, not all months start from the same point. Please note that liquid fuels include ethanol, natural gas plant liquids, and biodiesel.

EIA Short Term Energy Outlook Forecasts

To date, the largest jumps in December 2018 production volumes were from the February and March forecasts. The May forecast for December 2018 production volumes of about 15.8 million barrels per day is just over a million barrels per day greater than estimated in the January forecast. Clearly, the large increase in US production surprised many analysts and, very likely, OPEC, too.

Moving away from the graph, I came across an interesting comment from Pioneer Natural Resources chairman Scott Sheffield in a Forbes article “Up On Trump, Down On Oil, Hamm Warns Frackers Not To Spook OPEC.”

Others at CERAWeek have been more bold. Vicki Hollub, CEO of Occidental Petroleum, the Permian’s biggest producer, predicted Tuesday that output from the basin could grow from 2 million barrels per day now, to 5 million bpd. Scott Sheffield, chairman of Pioneer Natural Resources, another Permian giant, said 8 million to 10 million bpd in a decade. What’s different is that Oxy and Pioneer have a vast inventory of Permian acreage that the companies say offers good cash-on-cash returns even at $40 oil.

I haven’t seen other forecasts as aggressive. That said, Sheffield’s forecast deserves careful consideration and monitoring.

Switching to the key OPEC development, I was surprised by OPEC’s decision to extend its oil production cuts for an added nine months because I had expected only a six-month extension. As we saw on May 26 by the drop in oil prices from roughly $52 to $49 per barrel, many were disappointed that OPEC didn’t cut deeper. I agree, however, with Helima Croft’s comments in the Wall Street Journal article “Oil Prices Edge Higher Following OPEC Decision” (subscription might be required).

While the market had a “knee jerk reaction” because it “remains skeptical” on the impact of OPEC’s cuts, “we encourage investors to separate the near-term, noise-driven price gyrations and focus on the improving global fundamental backdrop,” said Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, LLC, who said she believes oil will eventually move between $50 and $60 a barrel.

So now we wait to see how this situation plays out. The summer driving season has begun and refineries are running at high throughputs. Will global oil inventories have shrunk by very much at the end of the summer in September?

Oil prices dipped below $50 late last week, tumbling since Wednesday when the US Energy Information Administration announced an unexpected gasoline build in its weekly update on inventory levels. More downward pressure came on Friday, April 21, when Baker Hughes said that the oil-rig count rose by five to 688.

On that same Friday, the Financial Times wrote (subscription required) the following:

But concerns are mounting that a ramp up in US shale production will undermine a push by Opec and other producers such as Russia to reduce excess stockpiles and bring to a close the worst price crash in a generation.

One Wall Street trader said: “There are lots of things at play. US production is surging, there are concerns about demand in Asia, hedge funds are reducing their bets on a higher oil price. It’s all coinciding and putting pressure on prices.”

While there is plenty of news to suggest that oil prices will remain soft, I continue to expect that oil prices will generally be bound by $50 to $60 per barrel. I anticipate that in late May OPEC will agree to extend its production cuts for another six months. Furthermore, more oil is expected to be consumed as driving seasons kicks into high gear over the next few months. With continued production cuts and increased consumption, prices should be supported at $50 per barrel.