Monday 20 April 2020

Canadian oil price is negative!

Wow!
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/0-Oil-Forces-Canada-To-Shut-Down-Crude-Production.html

Ok, so Brent Crude is still $26, WTI is $10.  Those are amazingly low prices as it is.
But negative?  Oil they will pay you to take away?  Wow.

The last time it was that low?  About 25 years ago, 1998.  But of course that doesn't take account of inflation, and $11 in 1998 is $19 now. (details here)  In real money it is the lowest since 1946 - maybe ever (here).

If you are a Brit of course, this matters because we are still an oil producing nation, and in fact it is our 5th biggest export (after equipment, cars, pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment - and we aren't exporting many cars at the moment either).  Not good for our economy in that sense - but obviously cheaper fuel has other benefits.  Fuel is our 3rd biggest import, so the imports will be cheaper.  And we import more than we export - so it is a net gain on our trade balance.  But the low price may make some fields less profitable, and indeed unstainable if the price stays low for long - which will hasten the end of the UK oil industry, leaving us with a gap in our exports.

No comments: