Daily Energy Report

Crude Oil Futures for December 2019 settled down $0.06 @ $56.80/bbl trading in a $1.01 range including the overnight-RBOB settled up 0.45/cpg and Heating Oil settled down 1.66/cpg. A sizable oil field containing as much as 53 billion barrels of crude has been discovered in Iran, President Hassan Rouhani announced on Sunday, a find that could boost the country’s battered economy amid the stringent US sanctions. The newly discovered oil field in southwest region stretches over an area of about 1,491 square miles in the Khuzestan province and is approximately 262 feet deep, according to the Iranian leader. Once projects begin, it will become the country’s second largest producing oil field, behind the one in Ahvaz, which is estimated to contain 65 billion barrels. “This is a small gift by the government to the people of Iran,” Rouhani said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Natural Gas Futures for December settled down $0.016 @ $2.621/mmbtu trading in a .078 cent range including the overnight session. According to EIA data, Natural gas production is forecasted to grow +7.0% each year from 2018 to 2020, which is more than the +4.0% per year average growth rate from 2005 to 2015. However, after 2020, growth slows to less than +1.0% per year as growth in both domestic consumption and demand for U.S. natural gas exports slow. To satisfy the growing demand for natural gas production must expand into less prolific and more expensive-to-produce areas, putting upward pressure on production costs. After 2020, production grows at a higher rate than consumption in most cases, leading to a corresponding growth in U.S. exports of natural gas to world-wide markets.