Brent oil trading near $76 as BP receives seven year US ban

15 July 2010 15 July 2010

BonTrade

Brent oil prices open today’s trading session near the $76 mark, following WTI oil prices lower as a US Congressional committee imposes a seven year ban to BP on new US offshore drilling.

In London, Brent crude oil futures for August 2010 delivery were trading at $76.30, 07.45 GMT on the ICE Futures Exchange.

The US Congressional committee yesterday voted in favour of precluding companies with poor safety records from offshore oil exploration permits.

The proposed law does not name BP, but would apply to any company that has experienced 10 or more deaths in the last seven years, which of course would apply to the BP oil disaster currently playing out in the Gulf of Mexico.

The proposal would need to be passed by both houses of Congress before it can be signed into law.

Higher Oil Prices for 2010?

Brent oil prices are tipped to trade higher in the short to medium term, a view adopted by Standard Chartered Bank who see Brent’s future oil price around the $90 at the end of 2010.