WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2020 Click here to access Eikon top news energy page. Click here to read full stories. REUTERS TECHNICAL ANALYSIS Q1 OUTLOOK 2020 - WANG TAO Oil prices are likely to gain 17% in Q1, driven by powerful wave C. Spot gold may approach $1,700, but it is not very clear if the metal could extend towards 2011 high of $1,920.30. Palm oil is seen to have entered into a correction phase. Base metals may rise, with copper to retrace first. Grains and cocoa are bullish while coffee looks bearish. Dollar index may resume its uptrend. To read the full report click here. TOP NEWS U.S. oil output to rise in 2020 more than previously expected -EIA U.S. crude oil production is expected to rise by 1.06 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020 to a record of 13.30 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday, above its previous forecast for a rise of 930,000 bpd. The output in 2021 is forecast to rise by 410,000 bpd to 13.71 million bpd, according to the EIA. S.Korea's U.S. crude imports slip in Dec, but double in 2019 South Korea's imports of crude oil from the United States more than doubled in 2019 despite dipping in December, data showed on Wednesday, as it bolstered purchases of U.S. oil in the absence of Iranian crude. South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude importer, has ramped up U.S. oil imports, making the United States its No. 3 supplier - up from No. 6 in 2018 - while purchases from top suppliers Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have eased. GRAPHIC-Crude exports boom on U.S. Gulf Coast, allaying bottleneck fears U.S. crude exports from Corpus Christi, Texas, have surged to a record in recent weeks, often surpassing hubs such as Houston and Beaumont, Texas, thanks to faster-than-expected infrastructure additions. The infrastructure boom at Corpus Christi helped push crude exports there to a weekly record of 1.59 million barrels per day (bpd) in late December, more than doubling levels that held for the first eight months of last year, and above Houston's 2019 peak of 1.36 million bpd, according to vessel-tracking firm ClipperData. COLUMN-Oil prices expected to stay around $65-70 through 2024: Kemp Long-term expectations about oil prices remain firmly anchored around $65-70 per barrel, according to the latest annual survey of energy professionals conducted by Reuters. Plentiful supplies from U.S. shale plays and other sources outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are expected to keep prices close to their recent range for the indefinite future. OPEC+ may decide to postpone meeting from March to June - TASS cites source OPEC and its allies may decide to postpone an upcoming policy meeting from March to June, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed source in OPEC. OPEC+ may extend its existing oil output cut deal until June if the March meeting is postponed, TASS quoted the source as saying. U.S. oil growth to slow, may spur shale buyouts -Schlumberger's Papa U.S. oil output growth is expected to slow over the next five years, likely prompting oil majors to "gobble up" smaller shale oil producers, Mark Papa, shale pioneer and non-executive chairman of Schlumberger, told Reuters. U.S. output surged to nearly 13 million bpd last year, making it the world's largest producer. January 15, 2020 Norway awards 69 oil and gas exploration blocks The Norwegian government has awarded 28 oil and gas companies a total of 69 offshore blocks to explore for petroleum in mature areas of its continental shelf, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Tuesday. Shell, ConocoPhillips, Total and Equinor won blocks, as did DNO, Aker BP, Lundin Petroleum and Eni's Vaar Energi. Offshore oil and gas boom to continue -Rystad Spending on new offshore oil and gas projects is set to grow further this year after developments holding more than 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent were given the go-ahead last year, Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy said. More than $92 billion of new offshore oil and gas projects were given the green light in 2019, a nearly fourfold jump from the decade's low in 2016, Rystad, a leading consultancy in the oil and gas industry, said in a note. TC Energy to resume work on Keystone XL oil pipeline in February Canadian pipeline company TC Energy Corp said on Tuesday it planned to start pre-construction work in February for its Keystone XL oil pipeline, the start of what it expects to be a busy work schedule for the long-delayed project. TC said in a filing with U.S. District Court in Montana that in February it would start mobilizing heavy construction equipment in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, and aim to begin building a 1.2-mile (1.93 km) segment spanning the U.S.- Canada border in April. Belarus seeks oil from elsewhere amid row with Russia -Ifax Belarus, having failed to agree terms with Russia for oil supply this year, has sent proposals to Ukraine, Poland, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and the Baltic states to buy oil from them, news agency Interfax reported on Tuesday citing Belarus's first deputy prime minister. Russian oil companies including Rosneft Gazprom Neft, Lukoil and Surgutneftegaz have suspended deliveries to Belarus since Jan. 1 as Moscow and Minsk argue over contract terms. Junk-rated energy firms speed to debt markets after 2019 drought The dawn of the new decade has brought a reprieve for debt-laden companies in the energy sector: Investors are throwing money their way again, for now. Having been largely shut out of capital markets in 2019, low-rated energy firms, some on the brink of default, are racing to secure financing. They are finding willing lenders. Asia Weekly Fuel Oil: Jan expectations down vs Dec with lower Mideast outflows Refinitiv Oil Research has pegged total fuel oil flows into East Asia for Jan within the 4.5-5 mln mt range (with 4.74 mln mt assessed to date), lower versus Dec flows of 5.85 mln mt, mainly from a close to 1 mln mt decline in Mideast outflows into the region. To read more, click here. MARKETS TODAY OIL: Oil prices slipped on concerns that the pending Phase 1 trade deal between the United States and China, the world's biggest crude users, may not lead to more fuel demand as the U.S. intends to keep tariffs on Chinese goods in place. FOREX: The safe-haven yen held firm and riskier Asian currencies softened a little, as currency investors awaited the signing of the U.S.-China trade deal with trepidation. EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR THE DAY (GMT) 0930 UK CPI YY for Dec: Expected 1.5% ; Prior 1.5% 1900 US Federal Reserve issues the Beige Book TECHNICAL CHARTS NYMEX Crude | |NYMEX RBOB Gasoline | NYMEX Heating Oil | ICE Brent Crude | ICE Gas Oil | ICE Heating Oil The Financial and Risk business of Thomson Reuters is now Refinitiv. © 2020 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. (Inside Oil - Asia Edition is compiled by Priyanka Paul in Bengaluru) Refinitiv 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036 For questions or comments about this report, contact: [email protected] Please visit: Refinitiv for more information. To subscribe to Asia Oil newsletter, click here. Privacy statement 2 .