Oil prices have fallen this week despite rising geopolitical risks, with markets primarily focused on Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race.
– Asian oil markets saw a much-awaited recovery in trading after Dubai crude, the region’s main benchmark crude, fell sharply against Brent and WTI, making arbitrage trading from other continents almost impossible.
– Chinese state oil companies Unipec and PetroChina increased spot purchases of Middle Eastern crude after reporting highly disappointing June results. arrival From September to October.
– Chinese buyers specified orders for Saudi Arabian crude oil at 36 million barrels in July, the lowest since March 2020, but orders recovered in August (44 million barrels) and spot trading was active, suggesting that the situation is improving.
– Chinese buyers may also increase crude imports to meet Beijing’s order to add 8 million tonnes (60 million barrels) of oil to newly built SPR storage facilities across the country, market sources said.
Market Mover
– Global Oil Majors Shell (LON:SHEL) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) Sold NAM Offshore It sold its Dutch North Sea joint venture to independent Canadian upstream company Tenaz Energy for just $180 million.
– Colombia’s national oil company Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) teeth Reportedly Under discussion Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) It may acquire a 30% stake in shale gas producer Crown Rock for $3.6 billion.
– Argentina’s national oil company YPF negotiation US midstream giant Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) About potential financing for a transcontinental oil pipeline linking the Vaca Muerta Shale formation to the coast.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
With US President Joe Biden withdrawing from his reelection campaign, the oil market has been thrown into turmoil, with oil prices dropping to a one-month low with ICE Brent crude dropping below $82 a barrel. Prices are falling not for the lack of potential bullish signals. Normally, Israel’s attack on Yemen and promises of retaliation, as well as China’s cut in short-term interest rates, would provoke some kind of reaction, but not now.
Dark tanker escapes after collision in Singapore. The supertanker Ceres I, which collided with the product tanker Hafnia Nile last Friday, fled the scene of the collision and was found in the South China Sea and detained by Malaysian authorities along with two tugboats that were towing the ship north.
China buys more Russian oil. China’s imports of Russian crude oil Rose Despite the decline in June imports, Russia’s crude oil imports increased 5% year-on-year to 2.23 million barrels per day, solidifying Russia’s position as the largest crude oil supplier as demand for Saudi Arabian crude fell 13% year-on-year to 1.62 million barrels per day.
ExxonMobil completely withdraws from upstream operations in Malaysia. The U.S. oil giant was once Malaysia’s major producer for more than 130 years. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) Have Agreed The company will sell the country’s oil and gas assets, equivalent to 15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, to state-owned oil company Petronas.
FTC expands OPEC investigation to include Occidental. The Federal Trade Commission has expanded its initial investigation into Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield, investigate Executives from Occidental, Hess and Diamondback have filed charges of possible collusion between the companies over their communications with OPEC officials.
Woodside is putting everything on the line in the Tellurian deal. Australia’s largest oil producer Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) Agreement reached to acquire US LNG developer Tellurian (NYSEAMERICAN:TELL) The company took over the struggling Driftwood LNG project for $1.2 billion, including debt, a premium of more than 75% to the company’s last closing price.
Turkey explores for oil in Somalia. Turkey will send its navy to support exploration activities off the coast of Somalia. expand The Oruc Reis exploration vessel is due to carry out a seismic assessment at the end of September after the two countries signed a military agreement and Turkey was awarded three exploration plots.
Europe imposes tariffs on Chinese biofuels. The European Commission plans to introduce anti-dumping duties on Chinese biodiesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), with rates set at 23.7% or 36.4% depending on companies’ level of cooperation, but SAF is not included in the targets in Brussels.
White House renews sanctions exemptions for Iraq. The Biden administration renewed U.S. sanctions waivers against Iran allowing Iraq to import natural gas and electricity from its eastern neighbor, for the 22nd time, until mid-November 2024.
Chevron sells Suriname stake to Qatar. Qatar Energy, the state-owned energy company of Qatar Signed Dealing with US oil giants Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Qatar will buy a 20 percent stake in the Block 5 production sharing contract offshore Suriname, which will be the fourth license it has acquired in the country.
Hedge funds suddenly become bullish on gold. Hedge funds’ bullish bets on gold It rose sharply By mid-July, gold prices had hit their highest level in more than four years, and last week the net long position surpassed the 220,000 contract level at the same time that the price of gold hit an all-time high of $2,483 an ounce.
The Nigerian government operates its only refinery. The Nigerian Parliament Committee The investigation into allegations of contaminated fuel comes after the country’s midstream regulator accused the Dangote refinery, the only one currently operating in the country, of failing to meet sulphur regulations for diesel fuel.
Earthquake disrupts mining activity in Chile. A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck northern Chile last week, causing power outages across a region where most of the Latin American country’s lithium and copper production is produced, but the impact on prices was minimal. The remaining mute.
TMX is considering assuming debt before the sale. Canadian oil pipeline operator Trans Mountain is considering borrowing in the bond markets to refinance some of its $18.4 billion in outstanding debt before the Canadian government finds a buyer, despite the recent launch of TMX.
Article by Michael Kahn of Oilprice.com
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