Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog:
An interesting couple of posts from Southfront.org this week gives us some insight as to what’s happening in international oil markets.
Demand for Russian Urals grade oil is so strong that is has been trading at a pretty steep premium to Brent Crude this month. Southfront references this report from Argus research.
For decades, the common thought about the United States was that its glory days of being the number one producer of oil were long over. Indeed, the current narrative in the US about gas prices is usually based on the uptick or downtick of suppliers from the OPEC cartel.
Saudi Arabia which has faced something close to an economic recession after years of plummeting oil prices, appears to be willing to do anything to retain its only major source of revenue.
Oil prices immediately increased as Saudi Arabia led the charge of Arab nations severing all diplomatic ties with Qatar.
The price of Brent Crude has jumped 32 cents and has achieved the crucial +$50 a barrel mark.
Libya was once the richest state in Africa but since NATO’s war on Libya in 2011, it has been the world’s most resource rich failed state.
Libya currently has two bodies which each claim to be the country’s legitimate government. First of all there is the General National Congress in Tripoli and then there is the government in Tobruk, near the Egyptian border. The Council of Deputies in Tobruk is generally considered the more moderate of the two.
By IULIA FILIP | Courthouse News | May 28, 2013
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – BP, Shell and Statoil fixed North Sea crude oil prices and restricted trade for years by misleading reporting agencies, a trader claims in a federal class action.
Lead plaintiff Prime International Trading sued BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Norwegian oil company Statoil, in Federal Court.
