Bonds scream, Serenity now!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
As rough as it is on the stock market on Wednesday, a lot of investor attention has shifted toward the bond market, where an all-out flight to safety has translated into plunging bond yields on short-term U.S. government bills.
The yield on the three-year bill fell as low as 0.233 per cent, according to Bloomberg News, the lowest rate since at least 1954. Bespoke Investment Group believes the rate is the lowest since the Great Depression. Just this Monday, the yield was about 1.5 per cent. And the yield was as high as 4 per cent last October.
Observers are also watching closely as the TED spread – the difference between the yield on the three-month Treasury bill and the LIBOR interest rate, a key measure of financial stress – has spiked to 2.76 per cent, above previous peaks over the past year and well above the average spread of just 0.5 per cent. As the Calculated Risk blog noted, the higher the spread, the greater the perceived credit risks.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal noted that the TED spread is at its widest since the stock market crash of 1987, and indicates that banks have no interest in lending to one another.
Copyright © 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Index Red Red Red
CRO: 13 million additional lbs of recovered nickel expected over the life of the mine but they will be produced at no extra operating or capital cost
Canadian Arrow Mines Updates Kenbridge Preliminary Economic Assessment - 89% Increase in Pre-tax NPV
01:00 EDT Thursday, September 04, 2008
SUDBURY, ON, Sept. 4 /CNW/ - Canadian Arrow Mines Ltd. (CRO: TSX-V) (the "Company") is pleased to announce results of an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Kenbridge Nickel Project in northwest Ontario. The updated PEA was completed by WMT Associates Ltd. and incorporates two important improvements in the project since the company first issued the Kenbridge PEA in January 2008.
Arrow's President, Kim Tyler, comments "The impact of the new resource estimate and higher metal recoveries are substantial for the project. Not only are 13 million additional lbs of recovered nickel expected over the life of the mine but they will be produced at no extra operating or capital cost relative to the January '08 PEA. They are also expected to be produced earlier in the mine life allowing for rapid payback of pre-production capital costs.
These improvements are;
<<
- New NI 43-101 resource estimate, (August 19, 2008 news release),
prepared by P&E Mining Consultants
- Improved metallurgical recoveries (June 26, 2008 news release)
Highlights of the updated PEA are shown in the table below, relative to
the January 2008 results:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aug '08 update Jan '08 PEA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Ni recovery Life of Mine 86% 74%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recovered Ni (M lbs) 84.6 71.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual recovered Ni (M lbs) in 1st 5 years 12.5 8.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash cost / lb Ni payable net of Cu credit US$3.47 US$4.40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPV 7.5% pre-tax $253M $134M
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRR% pre-tax 65% 33%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
Cost, value and financial assumptions used in the PEA update were unchanged from the original January '08 PEA including average life of mine US$10.00/lb nickel and US$2.50/lb copper prices and a CD$1.00:US$0.90 exchange rate.
The exceptional improved metallurgical recoveries thus contribute to Kenbridge achieving an 89% increase in pre-tax net present value over the first PEA, all other assumptions being equal. With expected net cash costs of US$3.47/lb of nickel, Kenbridge would be one of the lowest cost nickel sulphide operations in Canada. Given these results and the fact that the deposit remains open at depth and along strike we are confident to move the Kenbridge project into feasibility as soon as possible".
Cautionary Statements:
Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The PEA update author is not aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing or other relevant issues that could potentially affect this estimate of mineral resources. The preliminary assessment includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment will be realized.
The PEA update was authored by Mr. Malcolm Buck, P. Eng. of WMT Associates under the direction of The Company's Vice President of Operations, Mr. Garett Macdonald, P.Eng, MBA, both qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The information in this release was prepared under the direction of Mr. R. Kim Tyler, P. Geo., President of the Company, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Currencies are expressed in Canadian dollars unless noted otherwise.
About Canadian Arrow Mines, Ltd:
Canadian Arrow Mines, Ltd. is an established Canadian exploration and development Company committed to developing and advancing base metal deposits close to existing infrastructure through exploration, development and acquisition. Shares of Canadian Arrow Mines trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CRO".
Investors are invited to visit Canadian Arrow's IR hub at http://www.agoracom/IR/CanadianArrow where they can post questions and receive answers
within the same day, or simply review questions and answers posted by other investors. Alternately, investors are able to e-mail all questions and correspondence to CRO@agoracom.com where they can also request addition to the investor e-mail list to receive future press releases and updates in real time.
Cost of Fort Hills oil sands project balloons
Cost of Fort Hills oil sands project balloons
NORVAL SCOTT
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
CALGARY — — The cost of the Fort Hills oil sands project has ballooned by more than 50 per cent above previous estimates, to as much as $23.8-billion, because of skyrocketing development costs, one of the partners says.
The first phase of the project — a mine 90 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta., and an upgrader northeast of Edmonton — had been projected to cost $14.1-billion in a preliminary estimate released in June, 2007.
Now, Fort Hills is expected to cost $23.8-billion to build, with the mine part of the project costing $13.9-billion and the upgrader costing $9.9-billion, according to UTS Energy, which owns 20 per cent of the development.
In a separate press statement, the Fort Hills consortium – including UTS, operator and 60 per cent owner Petro-Canada, and Teck Cominco Ltd., which owns 20 per cent — said the project costs have increased “in the range of 50 per cent” and that they are assessing “a range of options to reduce or defer capital costs.”
“I remain completely confident that our partners are committed to this project,” UTS president and CEO Will Roach said on a conference call.
“And we believe Fort Hills is an attractive project and it's got great potential to create shareholders value, it's a four-billion-barrel resource and in a mature stage of development.”
But the project “is sharing the same challenges in the same operating environment as all of our peers and competitors and this is an issue in terms of cost escalation that all of the resource companies are extantly facing on a worldwide basis, not just an Alberta basis.”
Petro-Canada chief executive officer Ron Brenneman said there has been “a dramatic rise in capital costs in the past year,” boosted by prices for construction materials, labour, project management and engineering.
The companies said a definitive cost estimate and an investment decision are expected by year-end.
The first phase of the project, as currently conceived, would produce 140,000 barrels per day of synthetic crude oil. First bitumen production is projected for late 2011 and output from the upgrader would begin in mid-2012.
The partners envision an expansion to 280,000 barrels per day by 2015.
UTS, which has a working interest of 20 per cent in Fort Hills, estimates that it will need to raise another $3.56-billion to fund its share of the development, on top of the $1.5-billion it has already raised. Options for raising that cash include new debt and equity issues, as well as the sale of other oil sands assets, Mr. Roach said.
“For UTS, this project is pretty robust still [with oil] at $80,” he said in a conference call. “The issue is getting the funding into the project in a non-dilutive fashion to the shareholder.”
The Fort Hills partners will now look at a range of options that would help get first production from the facility to market at an earlier date. One possibility is that the partnership looks at delaying the upgrader part of the project, Mr. Roach added.
Tristone Capital analyst Chris Feltin said the cost increases will be “particularly challenging” for UTS, and are indicative of the wider pressures facing the oil sands as a whole.
“The cost increase does not bode well for oil sands developers with projects yet to be completed,” he said in a research note. “This could see some projects put on hold until cost mitigation alternatives can be evaluated ... The forecast production growth from Canada's oils ands could continue to get ratcheted back.”
With files from The Canadian Press
Copyright © 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Goldman profit, revenue plunges
Goldman profit, revenue plunges
JOE BEL BRUNO
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the larger of America's two remaining major independent investment banks, Tuesday reported its worst drop in profits since going public in 1999.
The investment bank reported that its third-quarter profit plunged 71 per cent to $810-million (U.S.) after preferred dividend payments versus a year ago. Goldman's results reflect continuing damage from the ongoing credit crisis that has already vanquished three of its rivals.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley remain the only major independent investment banks on Wall Street after a major shakeup of the investment banking industry. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy Monday after succumbing to distressed real estate holdings, while Bear Stearns Cos. and Merrill Lynch & Co. were swallowed by commercial banks.
“This was a challenging quarter as we saw a marked decrease in client activity and declining asset valuations,” said chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein in a statement.
The New York-based investment bank said its earnings amounted to $1.81 per share in the three months ended Aug. 29, down sharply from $2.81-billion, or $6.13 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue skidded 51 per cent to $6.04-billion from $12.3-billion a year ago.
However, profit still beat Wall Street projections for $1.71 per share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Revenue fell short of the $6.23-billion expected by analysts.
Goldman shares tumbled $9.35, or 6.9 per cent, to $126.14 in pre-market electronic trading. The stock is now down almost 50 per cent from its 52-week high of $250.70.
© Copyright The Globe and Mail
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Oil Falls to Six-Month Low as Refineries Escape Major Damage
Oil Falls to Six-Month Low as Refineries Escape Major Damage
By Mark Shenk
Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell to a six-month low in New York and gasoline tumbled amid signs that refineries along the Gulf of Mexico coast will soon resume operations after escaping major damage from Hurricane Ike.
Almost 20 percent of the U.S.'s oil refining capacity was shut, limiting fuel deliveries and prompting the Department of Energy to release 309,000 barrels from its strategic reserves. New York Mercantile Exchange electronic trading opened early to allow traders to respond to Ike.
``It looks like we've dodged another bullet,'' said Peter Beutel, president of energy consultant Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. ``The refineries in the Houston area seem to have come out of the storm remarkably intact.''
Crude oil for October delivery fell $2.07, or 2.1 percent, to $99.11 a barrel at 2:44 p.m. on the Nymex. Futures touched $98.55, the lowest since Feb. 26. Prices are up 25 percent from a year ago. Gasoline for October delivery fell 12.31 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $2.6465 a gallon in New York.
CME Group Inc., the world's biggest futures exchange, began Nymex electronic trading of energy contracts at 10 a.m. New York time today.
Oil in New York has fallen 33 percent from a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11 as high prices and slowing global economic growth reduce demand for fuels. Sales at U.S. retailers dropped in August for a second straight month and July inventories at American businesses increased the most in four years, Commerce Department reports showed last week.
Trumping Ike
``Growing fears about the economy are trumping any fears about the damage caused by Hurricane Ike,'' said John Kilduff, senior vice president of risk management at MF Global Inc. in New York. ``The broader issue is the weakness of the financial system. Given the Lehman and WaMu watch, cash looks better than any speculative investment.''
Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third-biggest bank, pulled out of talks to buy Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. today as the U.S. government raced to find a solution for the faltering investment bank. Washington Mutual Inc. plummeted in New York trading last week on speculation about its financial health.
At least 13 refineries in Texas including plants operated by Exxon Mobil Corp., Valero Energy Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc shut 3.64 million barrels a day of refining capacity as Ike approached Texas.
Lake Charles
Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, which is home to three refineries, reported ``widespread'' power outages and flooding in Ike's aftermath, Tom Hoefer, the parish's public information officer, said in an interview. Hoefer said the refineries located in Lake Charles likely escaped damage.
The three local refineries, which can process a combined 772,000 barrels a day, are owned by ConocoPhillips, Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Calcasieu Refining Co.
``It looks like the storm surge was greater to the east- northeast so we got a lot of flooding in Lake Charles instead of the Houston area,'' Beutel said. ``The possible damage of the three Lake Charles refineries instead of the 13 in Houston is a trade I would take any day.''
Regular gasoline, averaged nationwide, rose 6.2 cents to $3.795 a gallon, AAA, the nation's largest motorist organization, said today on its Web site. Pump prices reached a record $4.114 a gallon on July 17.
Pump prices in the Southeast U.S. surged as the Ike made landfall. Regular gasoline in Georgia rose 16.2 cents to an average $4.025 a gallon, the AAA said today. In North Carolina the regular gasoline climbed 11.1 cents to $3.973 a gallon.
Fuel Prices
``The crude oil price should be lower because with the refineries down, there is nowhere for it to go,'' Kilduff said. ``The drop in product prices may be short-lived because some of these refineries could be down for weeks.''
Heating oil dropped 9.11 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $2.848 a gallon. Heating oil touched $2.8325 a gallon, the lowest since March 5. Trades of all the futures contracts will be recorded as part of the Sept. 15 session.
The National Hurricane Center released its last advisory on Ike at 10 a.m. Houston time when the remnants of the hurricane were centered 60 miles (97 kilometers) east-northeast of St. Louis. Ike had winds of 110 mph at its landfall in Galveston at 2:10 a.m. yesterday.
The storm idled about 99.6 percent of oil production and 91.9 percent of natural-gas output in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said today. Gulf fields produce 1.3 million barrels oil a day, about a quarter of U.S. output, and 7.4 billion cubic feet of gas, 14 percent of the total, government data showed.
Natural gas for October delivery rose 5.8 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $7.424 per million British thermal units in New York.
The Energy Department released 630,000 barrels of crude oil from the strategic reserve to Placid Refining Co. and Marathon Oil Corp. after Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Louisiana on Sept. 1. That brings the total release because of the two storms to 939,000 barrels.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Oil Falls Under 100
Oil dips briefly below $100 a barrel
MADLEN READ
Friday, September 12, 2008
NEW YORK — Gasoline prices jumped at the wholesale level Friday as Hurricane Ike swept through the Gulf of Mexico, prompting companies along the Texas coast to shut down refining and drilling operations.
Crude oil on the futures market, however, briefly sank below the psychologically important $100-a-barrel (U.S.) mark for the first time since April 2 — showing that investors believe a worsening global economy will continue to drive down demand for some time in the United States and elsewhere.
Ike is forecast to land early Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane near Galveston, a barrier island southeast of Houston. The Houston region is home to about one-fifth of U.S. refining capacity, and the site of a major fuel and grain distribution channel.
Wholesale gasoline prices on the Gulf Coast moved further into uncharted territory Friday, rising to about $4.85 a gallon, as refineries anticipated that Ike would lead to at least a significant pause in their operations, and at worst damage to their facilities.
Wholesale prices were much lower in other regions such as Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, but even those areas saw prices rise.
In Canada, gasoline prices at the pump spiked Friday by up to 13 cents a litre in some areas, although they did not move as much in the west. GasBuddy.com, a website that monitors North American fuel prices, said the average price Friday in Canada was a shade under $1.33 a litre, compared with $1.05 a litre a year ago.
Wholesale prices are determined by major players in the supply chain including refining and trading companies, which constantly buy and sell barrels. These prices end up deciding what refineries charge distributors, before they get marked up further at the retail level for the consumer.
The average U.S. retail price for gasoline edged up less than a penny to $3.675 (U.S.) Friday from Thursday, according to auto club AAA, OPIS and Wright Express.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 4 cents to $100.91 a barrel in afternoon trading, after briefly sinking to $99.99.
October gasoline futures climbed 0.12 cent to $2.75 a gallon on Nymex.
Exxon Mobil Corp., Valero Energy Corp., ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Co. have begun halting operations as the Category 2 hurricane headed straight for the nation's biggest complex of refineries and petrochemical plants. U.S. wholesale gasoline prices spiked 30 per cent Thursday.
As of Friday, nearly 98 per cent of crude production and more than 94 per cent of natural gas production in the Gulf were shuttered, according to the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service.
By Friday afternoon, Ike was a Category 2 storm centered about 165 miles southeast of Galveston, moving to the west-northwest at nearly 12 mph. Forecasters warned it could become a Category 3 storm with winds of at least 111 mph before the eye strikes land.
Ike is huge, taking up nearly 40 per cent of the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center said tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph extended across more than 510 miles.
Ike and last week's Hurricane Gustav have helped to stanch a sharp downturn in oil prices. Concerns over slowing economic growth on a global scale and a strengthening U.S. dollar have led funds to liquidate their commodities holdings, pushing crude prices down about 30 per cent from their record $147.27 set July 11.
U.S. fuel demand in June was down 5.6 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to a recent report from the Energy Department, so many market watchers are expecting oil prices to resume their tumble.
“With demand being down as much as it is, the market, some argue, is a bit oversupplied,” said Stephen Maloney, a senior consultant in energy risk management at Towers Perrin. “When you ask, how does Ike affect things? Its impacts are going to be in the context of lower demand for products than a year ago.”
In other Nymex trading, October heating oil futures rose 1.17 cents to $2.9272 a gallon. Natural gas for October delivery rose 7.3 cents to $7.321 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, October Brent crude fell 73 cents to $96.91 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, after closing at a six-month low in the previous trading session.
With files from The Canadian Press
© Copyright The Globe and Mail
Questerre's partner spuds first of St. Lawrence wells
2008-09-12 05:55 ET - News Release
Mr. Michael Binnion reports
QUESTERRE ENERGY CORPORATION: SEPTEMBER 12, 2008-TALISMAN SPUDS LA VISITATION WELL
Questerre Energy Corp.'s partner, Talisman Energy Inc., the operator, has recently spudded the first of three commitment wells under its farm-in agreement with Questerre Energy in the St. Lawrence lowlands, Quebec.
The wells will test multiple horizons including the Trenton Black River, Utica and Lorraine shale sequences. Upon earning, Questerre and its subsidiaries will hold a 25-per-cent interest on this land, along with a 4.25-per-cent gross overriding royalty on production from Talisman.
We seek Safe Harbor.
Figure 23--Diagram illustrating the drilling-fluid (drilling-mud) system and the flow of fluids through the system.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Bush + Big Oil = Sex Drugs, Oil And Gas
Sex, drugs, oil and gas
PAUL WALDIE
Thursday, September 11, 2008
A group of U.S. bureaucrats who collected billions of dollars in royalties from energy companies operated in a culture so bereft of ethics they regularly consumed cocaine and marijuana at industry gatherings, had sexual relations with oil company representatives and routinely received gifts from energy firms, including divisions of Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP, according to an internal investigation.
"We discovered that between 2002 and 2006, nearly one-third of the entire [division] staff socialized with, and received a wide array of gifts and gratuities from, oil and gas companies with whom [the division] was conducting official business," the report found.
Some of the employees held side jobs as industry consultants while others provided confidential information about upcoming government contracts to company representatives, the investigators said.
The director, Gregory Smith, allegedly "engaged in illegal drug use and had sexual relations with subordinates, and in consort with industry," the report said. Mr. Smith, who retired in 2007, allegedly had employees buy him cocaine during work hours, referring to the drugs as "office supplies." He allegedly acknowledged his drug use to investigators, calling it "episodic," and admitted inappropriate relations with some staff, the report said.
The employees worked in a division of the Denver-based Minerals Management Service, or MMS. MMS, part of the Department of Interior, collects royalties and lease payments from energy companies operating on federal land.
The division in question has about 50 employees and runs a special program that collects royalties on an in-kind basis and then sells the oil and gas on behalf of the government. The section sold about $11-billion (U.S.) worth of oil and gas last year.
The division was created in the late 1990s but came under investigation by the Office of the Inspector-General a couple of years ago when it received an anonymous tip about misconduct. That prompted a $5.3-million probe that has already led to some criminal charges, one guilty plea and several resignations.
In releasing two final reports yesterday, Inspector-General Earl Devaney expressed exasperation at the findings.
Mr. Devaney said in a letter accompanying the reports that many of those involved had escaped potential administrative action by resigning "with the usual celebratory send-offs that allegedly highlighted the impeccable service these individuals had given to the federal government. Our reports belie this notion."
He said none of the employees involved in the conduct expressed remorse for their actions. For example, the report referred to two employees who got so drunk at a day-long company-sponsored event the company had to pay for hotel rooms so they could stay overnight.
When investigators asked the employees about their actions, they insisted they "were developing business relationships and had gathered invaluable industry-related information."
The report also contained several e-mails between division staff and energy company officials discussing upcoming parties, trips and events. One e-mail told staff, "this trip is to be kept quiet," and in others, industry representatives called two staffers the "MMS Chicks."
In his letter, Mr. Devaney singled out Chevron for refusing to co-operate with the investigation. However, Chevron spokesman Donald Campbell said the company did co-operate, providing all requested documents.
Randall Luthi, head of MMS, said the agency would "take action" when it receives the report.
"It's something we take very seriously," Mr. Luthi said.
© Copyright The Globe and Mail
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
OPEC agrees to cut crude output
OPEC agrees to cut crude output
Luke Pachymuthu and Barbara Lewis
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
VIENNA — After hours of wrangling, OPEC on Wednesday agreed to revise its complex output targets and said the move would effectively cut supplies by half a million barrels per day (bpd).
Ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had been widely expected to stick to existing production allocations, which have been in place all year.
But some voiced concern about a growing surplus of oil on the market, and prices on Tuesday sank to a five-month low below $102 (U.S.) a barrel, around 30 per cent below a record hit in July above $147.
U.S. crude was trading 65 cents higher at $103.90 at 0913 GMT. The price had risen by a dollar immediately after OPEC's announcement.
OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Wednesday's decision amounted to a cut from the group's actual July output.
“I think if you do your own calculation properly, it will be a lowering of production by about 520,000 barrels per day,” Mr. Khelil said.
His estimation of how much output will be removed from the market derived from amounts OPEC members were really producing, rather than agreed limits.
OPEC's new production ceiling is 28.8 million bpd, compared with its earlier target of 29.67 million bpd, ministers said.
They seized the opportunity of Indonesia's decision to suspend its membership to the group to adjust targets and give allocations to Angola and Ecuador, which have joined over the past two years.
The producer group's output targets have long been opaque and analysts interpreted the decision as keeping existing allocations intact, while calling for tighter compliance.
“The communique is much as expected,” said Paul Horsnell of Barclays Capital. “However, it also talks of strictly adhering to quotas, when we might have expected the trimming back in coming months to be done more discreetly.”
Others agreed the surprise was that OPEC has made public its intention to remove supply above agreed limits.
“The statement is clear as mud, but really what it says is members should keep to quota, which basically means Saudi Arabia should stop the additional barrels that it has provided over the summer, which was somehow expected,” said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix. “I would say it's only half of a surprise because they have made a formal announcement.”
OPEC was estimated to be pumping roughly 790,000 bpd above target, the bulk of which came from Saudi Arabia.
The leading exporter announced unilaterally at a specially convened meeting in Jeddah in June that it would pump 9.7 million bpd, around 750,000 bpd above its agreed ceiling.
The kingdom said it was responding to strong consumption and a senior Gulf source said on Tuesday he expected it to continue producing at around 9.7 million bpd if demand held steady.
“The market is fairly well-balanced and we have worked very hard since the June meeting to bring prices to where they are now. I think we have been very successful,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters on arrival in Vienna on Tuesday.
He has yet to comment following OPEC's output decision, which was announced at around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Wednesday morning following a meeting that did not begin until after 10 p.m. on Tuesday because of Ramadan fasting.
Ahead of the conference, most OPEC ministers had seemed broadly happy with the oil price and had indicated there was probably no need for urgent action, although they said there was a risk the market could become oversupplied in the future.
Iran and Venezuela have traditionally taken the most hard-line position.
They have big-spending populist governments and need a high oil price, but had said around $100 a barrel was reasonable as a strengthening U.S. dollar compensated for the negative impact on oil producer earnings of falling oil prices.
The other surprise of the night was that major energy producer Russia, which attends OPEC conferences as an observer, sent a very senior official.
“Broad cooperation with OPEC is one of Russia's priorities,” Interfax news agency quoted influential deputy prime minister Igor Sechin as saying. “OPEC is one of Russia's key partners on the global oil market.”
In the past, Russia has agreed to trim production in line with OPEC output cuts to support prices.
OPEC will further review its production policy at a meeting in Algeria in December.
© Copyright The Globe and Mail
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