Oil is poised for a strong start this week after both US and international futures ended last week on a high note, buoyed by production cuts from Opec+ and reviving demand from the easing of lockdown measures.
Opec+, along with producers from other G20 nations, began cutting production this month to rebalance oil markets plagued by a fall in demand and limited storage.
Brent, the most widely-traded crude benchmark, closed at $30.97 per barrel gaining 17 per cent over the course of last week. West Texas Intermediate, the main US gauge, rounded off a weekly gain of 25 per cent to settle at $24.74 per barrel.
While April saw a record fall in demand as populations remained in lockdown, the second quarter of 2020 is expected to see the largest volume of production cuts in the history of the oil industry, according to consultancy IHS Markit. This will include shut-ins of production.
Around 17 million barrels per day of liquids production, including 14m bpd of crude, is expected to be shut in between April and June this year, according to the consultancy.
“The Great Shut-In, a rapid and brutal adjustment of global oil supply to a lower level of demand, is underway," said Jim Burkhard, vice president and head of oil markets at IHS Markit.
"All producing countries are subject to the same brutal market forces. Some will be impacted more than others. But there is nowhere to hide," he said.
Opec+ will cut 9.7m bpd in May and June and will enforce tapered cuts until 2022. G20 members including the US, the world's largest producer of oil and gas, will make voluntary adjustments.
Already, the US shale belt has begun to trim production, forced by tightening capacity constraints that led to front-month WTI contract prices turning negative for the first time last month.
Oil demand for the second quarter will continue to languish, however, averaging 22m bpd less than a year ago, IHS noted.
“When it comes to the where, why and how of production cuts, the wide range of technical, logistical, regulatory, contractual, and financial conditions means there is no single set of answers," said Paul Markwell, vice president, global upstream oil and gas at IHS Markit.
"But under these market conditions, it is pretty clear where production will be cut. Nearly everywhere," he added.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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