SINGAPORE (Yosefardi) – RH Petrogas Limited expects oil prices likely to continue volatile in the near term. The oil market remain volatile in the first quarter of the year, with Brent oil prices fluctuating between the US$62 per barrel range. Average price for Brent was US$54 per barrel during the quarter.
Pockets or strength in oil demand unexpectedly emerged, likely to be a reflection of improving macroeconomic conditions in many OECD countries and colder temperatures in the first quarter.
On the supply side, there are no clear indications that supply glut will be abated in the near future as OPEC recorded its highest monthly output increase in nearly for years in March.
Notwithstanding, cuts in capital expenditures by oil companies are generally expected to lead to tighthening of supply.
RH Petrogas suffered loss of US$657 million in the first quarter of 2015, against profit US$73 million in the same period of 2014. Revenue dropped 33% to US$13.25 million from previous Rp19.78 million.
The decrease in revenue is mainly due to the significant decrease in average realized oil prices for the period and decline in production due to power disruption in both Basin and Island production sharing contracts (PSC).