Daily Energy Report

Crude oil futures for May 2021 settled down $2.62 @ $58.56/bbl, trading in a $3.42 range including the overnight. RBOB settled down 6.81/cpg and heating oil settled down 7.78/cpg.

OPEC said the recovery in oil demand will be focused on the second half of the year as the impact of the pandemic lingers as a headwind for the group and its allies in supporting the market. In a monthly report, OPEC said demand will rise by +5.89 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021, or +6.5%, up slightly from last month. But the group cut its forecasts for the first half. “Total oil demand is foreseen to reach 96.3 million barrels per day, with most consumption appearing in the second half,” OPEC and its allies said in the report.

Natural gas futures for April 2021 settled up $0.052 @ $2.570/mmbtu trading in a .100 cent range including the overnight session.

CPS Energy has sued at least nine natural gas suppliers, including giants BP Energy and Chevron, alleging they charged excessive rates as it struggled to keep the power on during February’s winter storm. The suits filed Monday in Bexar County District Court allege the suppliers overcharged the city-owned utility tens of millions of dollars, imposing “commercially unreasonable, unconscionable and unlawful prices” during the catastrophic freeze. The suits are an effort by CPS to cut the $1 billion in charges it incurred last month as it fought to keep customers’ lights and heat working as the state’s power grid teetered on the brink of collapse.

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