Gerard Burg Oil Quotations

That area is solid with refining capacity. There's an element of panic in the market but that's not surprising given the lack of capacity worldwide at every level, refineries and oil wells.

It is likely that we are going to see demand for heating oil rise in Europe as end-users look for alternatives to gas.

There is a bit of a time-lag in all this, but a prolonged cool spell should see a real impact on heating oil stocks, which until now have been robust.

We saw last year just how much oil shot up after Ivan, ... Crude markets remain delicately balanced and if Katrina causes substantial damage to production facilities, oil prices will exceed $US70 and could push toward $US80 a barrel.

We saw last year just how much oil shot up after Ivan. Crude markets remain delicately balanced and if Katrina causes substantial damage to production facilities, oil prices will exceed $70 and could push toward $80 a barrel.

We should see pressure to shift to heating oil if natural gas supply can't meet demand, and the shift to distillates will push prices up further.

Crude inventories went in the opposite direction to the consensus view among analysts. That's taken crude oil up a little higher.

Prices are expected to ease in 2007 as expanding refinery capacity reduces some of the bottleneck in that sector. However, the likely strength of oil demand, as well as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' intention to support higher prices will maintain crude oil prices at historically high levels.

Certainly the fundamental picture doesn't look particularly strong. Stocks in the U.S. are still very high, and while forecasts I've seen for weather for next week suggest it should be considerably colder, heating oil stocks look as if they should be sufficient to last through the winter.