The Oil Man: Oil price, Falcon Oil & Gas, Amec FW, Savannah

WTI $49.56 +94c, Brent $49.74 +$1.13, Diff -$0/18 +19c, NG $1.99 +1c

Brent has climbed through $50 this morning and WTI is not far behind it. The big question is, will this encourage producers, particularly in the US to open up their DUC's and start producing again? Yesterday was all about the inventory stats from the EIA which to a certain extent mirrored the API numbers.

Crude drew by 4.2m barrels, well above the 1.67m guess from the boys in short trousers and also drew at Cushing which is also good. In products there was also another unexpected build in gasoline of 2m barrels and again like the API, distillates showed a draw. The market wasnt sure what to make of it, first it wobbled then it firmed, the news from Chevron of further trouble in Nigeria tipped it over the edge and this morning Brent is over the magic $50 level in all its glory.

This is no time to gloat however, fundamentals are still negative and being bailed out by the wild card of recent outages, next week sees the start of the driving season so the gasoline stocks will be under scrutiny and of course there is an Opec meeting on Thursday which I will talk about tomorrow.

Falcon Oil & Gas

First quarter numbers today which are irrelevant as is the change of address card re Falcon Oil & Gas's Dublin office. Indeed, news that they are in advanced stages of preparation for drilling at Beetaloo in a 2-4 well possible campaign is good news and this confirmation should stir excitement amongst its shareholders. Falcon are carried through this programme and with no debt and cash of $11.9m have the odds very much on their side.

Elsewhere progress is being made in South Africa and this still remains a live and potentially exciting part of the portfolio. One doesnt normally get excited about an AGM but FOG's one in Calgary on 21st June may be more interesting than most. I hope to be able to bring more news on this soon but the AAPG conference is in town that week and I hear that Origin are presenting on their Beetaloo prospects, watch this space...

Sundry

The trade press is reporting a decent contract won by Amec FW for FEED work for the Kuwait Oil Company.

And Savannah has reported figures but having being suspended since January the market could rightly assume nothing until this mystery deal is finally announced...

And finally...

The weekend is full of exciting sport but this week has shown a paucity unless you take an interest in the special one's image. Over in Paris amongst striking refinery workers Muzza is making a meal of his progress by going to five sets with an unheard of local. Given that the pre-tournament publicity was that of plenty of hype for a first win at the Roland Garros he is certainly doing it the hard way...

But finally it was a good day for the Magpies as Rafa has decided to stay, until he doesnt want to that is...

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser