- WTI is up 51c to $61.65/Bbl, and Brent is up 42c to $64.77/Bbl
- Texas freeze knocks out 4 MMBbl/d (40%) of the nation's crude production
- Initially, production was only expected to be offline for a few days. As the situation has worsened, analysts now are saying that it could take a few weeks for a full resumption
- Nearly 16 MMBbls will be lost through early March, according to Citigroup. Other estimates say the total could be as high as 32 MMBbls
- Iraq's crude oil exports jumped during the first half of February, despite the pledge to cut output further
- Industry officials are still claiming they will adhere to the self-imposed quota of 3.6 MMBbl/d, though the current pace of exports suggests otherwise
- AEGIS notes Iraq is one of the cartel's member countries that frequently falls short of complying with the group's quotas. While this may not immediately impact price, it gives OPEC, and in particular Saudi Arabia, more reason to increase production during the groups next meeting
- EIA weekly data is due at 9:30 am CST
- U.S. Crude Inventories: - 2,425 MBbls (Avg. Bloomberg surveys)
- U.S. Gasoline Inventories: + 1,323 MBbls
- U.S. Distillate Inventories: - 1,768 MBbls
- U.S. Refinery Utilization: - 0.29% change