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Oil & Gas

Reactions to Israel's attack against Hamas leaders Qatar

Israel attacked the Hamas leadership in Qatar, where this Palestinian Islamist group had long been based. Here are some comments from state and national leaders in response. ISRAELI PREMIER MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU "Today's operation against top terrorist leaders of Hamas is a completely independent Israeli operation. Israel is fully responsible for the event, as it was Israel who initiated, conducted and conducted it. "Qatar condemns the cowardly Israeli assault that targeted the residential buildings in Doha, the Qatari capital where several members of Hamas' Political Bureau resided." This criminal attack is a flagrant violation of international law and norms and...

Oil & Gas

Reactions to Israel's attack against Hamas leaders Qatar

Israel attacked the Hamas leadership in Qatar, where this Palestinian Islamist group had long been based. Here are some comments from state and national leaders in response. ISRAELI PREMIER MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU "Today's operation against top terrorist leaders of Hamas is a completely independent Israeli operation. Israel is fully responsible for the event, as it was Israel who initiated, conducted and took full responsibility." "Qatar condemns the cowardly Israeli assault that targeted the residential buildings in Doha, the Qatari capital where several members of Hamas' Political Bureau resided." This criminal attack is a flagrant violation of international law and norms...

Oil & Gas

Reactions to Israel's attack against Hamas leaders Qatar

Israel attacked the Hamas leadership in Qatar, where this Palestinian Islamist group had long been based. Here are some comments from state and national leaders in response. ISRAELI PREMIER MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU "Today's operation against top terrorist leaders of Hamas is a completely independent Israeli operation. Israel is fully responsible for the event, as it was Israel who initiated, conducted and orchestrated it. "Qatar condemns the cowardly Israeli assault that targeted the residential buildings in Doha, the Qatari capital where several members of Hamas' Political Bureau resided." This criminal attack is a flagrant violation of international law and norms and...

Oil & Gas

INSTANT VIEW: Gold and oil spikes after Israel attacks on Qatar

Investors bought traditional safe-haven investments on Tuesday. Gold briefly reached a record high after the Israeli military claimed it had attacked Hamas leaders in Qatar. This marked an escalation in the conflict in this region. The Japanese yen, Swiss franc and oil prices all rose by about $1 per barrel. COMMENTS: MICHAEL BROWN SENIOR RESEARCHER, PEPPERSTONE LONDON. The immediate reaction to the spike in crude benchmarks, and a slight increase in spot gold is logical. Qatar's response immediately shows that it is not looking to escalate tensions or retaliate. "I'd expect the rally in crude to fade relatively rapidly, as...

Oil Exploration

Egypt's EGAS signs a preliminary agreement with BP for the drilling of five Mediterranean gas wells

Egypt's Petroleum Ministry announced on Monday that the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, or EGAS, has signed a preliminarily agreement with BP for drilling five new gaswells in Mediterranean Sea. The Ministry's efforts to increase exploration and production are reflected in the memorandum signed by EGAS, a state-owned company. Egypt, once the largest gas exporter in the region, is increasingly importing to meet its domestic demand, as production from old fields declines and new investments are slow. According to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative, gas production in May decreased by more than 40% compared to March 2021. The statement said...

Oil & Gas

India is likely to finalise the framework for a Qatar trade agreement in October, as Trump tariffs bite

A government source stated on Monday that India will likely finalise terms of reference of a proposed free-trade agreement with Qatar by early October. This is in response to its efforts to create deeper global partnerships, and to offset the impact from U.S. Tariffs. The government source who requested anonymity because the details of the trade negotiations are not yet public told reporters that Trade Minister Piyush Goyal may visit Doha to finalize the framework for the negotiations on October 6. Both sides agreed that they would double their bilateral trade in five years to $28 billion during the visit...

Oil & Gas

Saudi Arabia's GDP grew 3.9% in the second quarter

According to estimates by the government released on Monday, Saudi Arabia's GDP (gross domestic product) will grow 3.9% in 2025 due to non-oil sector growth. According to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, non-oil activities grew 4.6% in comparison to the same period last year. The fastest growing sectors were electricity, water, and gas, followed by business, finance, and insurance. Oil grew by 3.8%, while government activities grew 0.6%. The oil activities grew the most compared to first quarter by 5.6%. On Sunday, the Saudi-led OPEC+ decided to increase oil production further as the kingdom tries to regain its market...

Oil & Gas

Gunvor: New sanctions against Russian oil buyers will disrupt flow, according to trader Gunvor

Frederic Lasserre said that new sanctions against buyers of Russian crude oil could disrupt crude flow, according to the global head of research and analyses at energy trader Gunvor, Frederic Lasserre. His comments followed after U.S. president Donald Trump, seeking to broker a resolution to the Ukraine conflict said he was ready to move into a second stage of sanctions against Russia in order to reduce the oil revenues and bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiation table. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Sunday that both the U.S. & the European Union can impose "secondary tariffs" on countries that purchase...

Oil & Gas

Trump is ready to launch a second phase of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict

Donald Trump, U.S. president, said Sunday that he was ready to move into a second phase in sanctioning Russia. This is the closest he's come to implying he might be about to ramp up sanctions against Moscow and its oil purchasers over the war with Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly warned Moscow of further sanctions, but he withheld them while pursuing peace talks. Trump did not commit to a decision, nor did he specify what the second phase would entail. When asked by a White House reporter if he was ready to move on to the "second phase" of sanctions, Trump...

Oil & Gas

Kurier reports that Austrian oil giant OMV is planning to reduce its staff by a twelfth in the evening across the globe.

The Kurier reported that the Austrian oil and gas group OMV will cut 2,000 jobs from its worldwide workforce of 23,000. In a Friday statement, the company stated that "competitiveness" of the group may require adjustments. It did not exclude what they called personnel measures. OMV said that details of its plans will be announced once internal consultations are completed. In a report that was published Thursday evening, the newspaper cited staff unions to say that the Romanian subsidiary Petrom of the company would be particularly affected. Cuts were also planned for its refinery in Germany's south and Slovakia's. Borealis...

Oil Storage

OPEC's oil production increased in August, according to a survey

A survey released on Thursday found that OPEC oil production increased in August following an OPEC+ production agreement. This was primarily due to the United Arab Emirates' and Saudi Arabia's higher production. According to the survey, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 27,84 million barrels of oil per day in July, an increase of 360,000 barrels per days over the revised total for the month of July. The United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, were the countries that saw the biggest increases. OPEC+ - which includes OPEC, its allies, including Russia - is accelerating the plan to...

Oil & Gas

ADNOC slams EU regulators for 'invasive' demands in subsidy probe into Covestro deal

ADNOC, the state-owned oil company of Abu Dhabi, criticized EU antitrust regulators on Thursday for their disproportionate and intrusive requests for information regarding its $17 billion bid for Covestro in Germany. The warning was that such demands could even compromise the acquisition. The criticism comes after the European Commission (which acts as the EU's competition watchdog) announced on Wednesday that it has temporarily halted an investigation in order to wait for ADNOC, the company who requested the information, to respond. "We are disappointed with the decision today. "The Commission's requirements have gone beyond what is reasonable and relevant for this...

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

ADNOC close to finalising EU remedies for Covestro deal, sources say

People familiar with the situation said that ADNOC, Abu Dhabi's state oil company, is preparing remedies to deal with an EU investigation on subsidy allegations in its bid of 14.7 billion euros ($17.2 billion) for Germany's Covestro. It will likely convert a proposed capital increase of 1.2 billion euros into a shareholder loan. This is ADNOC’s largest acquisition ever and the largest foreign takeover of an EU-based company by a Gulf State. The European Commission (the EU's competition watchdog) has warned that ADNOC could be benefiting from subsidies, such as a guarantee that is unlimited, and that foreign aid may...

Fossil Fuels

Israel attacks Hamas leaders and blasts are heard in Doha

Israel attacked the Hamas leadership in Qatar on February 2, expanding its military operations that had been sweeping the Middle East, to include the Gulf Arab State where the Palestinian Islamist movement has its long-standing political base. Unofficially, an Israeli official confirmed that Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Qatar. Al Jazeera TV in Qatar, citing Hamas sources, reported that the attack was on Hamas Gaza peace negotiators. Witnesses reported hearing several blasts in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday. Legtifya's petrol station was erupting with black smoke. The small residential compound next to the petrol station has been guarded 24 hours a...

Natural Gas Liquids

US-sanctioned LNG tanker Zarya arrives in China, ship-tracking data showed

Ship-tracking data revealed that a third tanker carrying natural gas liquefied from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, sanctioned by the United Nations, arrived in a Chinese port Tuesday. According to Kpler, a provider of ship tracking data and LSEG, the sanctioned Russian gas tanker Zarya has arrived at Tieshan's LNG terminal in China's southwest province of Guangxi. LSEG data shows that the cargo is larger than 160,000 cubic metres and was loaded at Arctic LNG 2 in Gydan, northern Siberia, on July 30. The Arctic Mulan tanker delivered the first cargo of the project sanctioned in late August. Second cargo...

Crude Oil

Mineral Resources

Mining

Iron ore is on the move ahead of a key China data release

Iron ore futures prices were volatile on Thursday before China, the world's largest consumer of iron ore, released a series of data that will likely determine the direction of demand. As of 0341 GMT, the most traded January iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was down by 0.19%. It stood at 800.5 yuan (US$112.41) per metric ton. As of 0331 GMT, the benchmark October iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was $106.65 per ton lower. China will release key data on Monday. This includes information about the economy, property and industrial metals. First Futures analysts said that a...

Mining

Bain Capital sells China data center business to Chinese consortium at $3.9 billion

The companies announced that U.S. investment company Bain Capital had agreed to sell the China operations of data centre operator WinTriX DC Group to a consortium headed by Guangdong Hec Technology, for 28 billion Yuan ($3.93billion). Hec Technology, its controlling shareholder, and a subsidiary will increase capital by 7.5 billion Yuan in a joint-venture to partially finance the deal. Bain Capital announced in a separate press release that institutional investors and funds from local governments are also included in the consortium. In a filing, Hec Technology said that the acquisition would help it expand its data centre business as well...

Mineral Resources

Copper continues to be steady despite data from China and the US

The copper price remained stable on Wednesday, as the market awaited data on loans from China's top consumer and U.S. Inflation numbers that may determine the direction in which U.S. Interest Rates will move. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange was 0.10% higher, at $9.929 per metric ton of official rings. Traders reported that volumes were low as consumers and producers were absent. The market was dominated by funds, which reacted to macro-factors. China's loan data is due on September 10-15. Analysts will focus on the total social finance numbers, which they use as a gauge for...

Mineral Resources

Sources say that Zijin Gold aims to raise the Hong Kong IPO valuation above $30 billion.

Two people who have direct knowledge of this matter said that Zijin Gold International is planning to begin bookbuilding next week for its Hong Kong IPO, with a target valuation of more than $30 billion. One source said that Zijin Gold plans to open its books September 19 and aims to raise over $3 billion. According to LSEG, if the listing were that large, it would rank as Hong Kong's second largest listing of this year after Chinese battery company CATL raised $4.6 Billion in its May offering. Sources who refused to name themselves because the information is confidential said...

Mining

China's inflation figures are weak and iron ore prices have fallen due to profit-taking

The iron ore futures fell on Wednesday due to profit-taking, and lower-than-expected data for inflation in China, the top consumer. However, bets that demand would pick up, along with a resumption of production among mills, helped limit losses. As of 0913 GMT, the benchmark October iron ore traded on the Singapore Exchange had fallen 0.33% to $107 per metric ton after reaching its highest level since 25 February at $107.65. The January contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed daytime trading 0.25% higher, at 805 Yuan ($113.03), after reaching its highest level since July 25, at 814...

Mineral Resources

China's inflation figures are weak and iron ore prices have fallen due to profit-taking

The iron ore futures fell on Wednesday due to profit-taking, and lower-than-expected data for inflation in China, the top consumer. However, bets that demand would pick up, along with a resumption of production among mills, helped limit losses. As of 0320 GMT, the most-traded contract for January iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange slipped 0.06% down to 802.5 Yuan ($112.61) per metric ton. As of 0310 GMT, the benchmark October iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was down by 0.56% to $106.75 per ton. Steven Yu, senior analyst at Mysteel, explained that traders have been liquidating some long positions...

Mining

Reports of CATL restarting a China mine have dragged lithium miners around the world

Shares in lithium mining companies around the globe fell after a report by China's state-run media said that Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, is likely to resume production soon at a mine of lithium in Yichun in Jiangxi Province in south China. The prices of futures for lithium carbonate in China dropped more than 7% to a more than month-low on Wednesday. The potential reopening of the massive mine adds a fresh blow for the sector, which has been struggling with a glut following weaker-than-anticipated growth in demand for electric vehicles. Securities Times' report about the restart of production at...

Mineral Resources

Copper prices fall ahead of U.S. payroll benchmark revision

The copper price fell on Tuesday, as cautionary trading in anticipation of an important revision to U.S. employment numbers was offset by support from a major incident at a mine in Indonesia. In open-outcry official trading, the price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange dropped by 0.1% to $9.905 per ton. Commodity Market Analytics' Dan Smith said, "There has been a lot focus on the U.S. Economy with revisions to the U.S. Job Growth through March due today. Last Friday's data revealed that the job growth had almost stopped in August." Investors braced themselves for revisions which could...

Mining

Iron ore rallys due to concern over Simandou supply and restocking of demand

Iron ore futures rose for the sixth consecutive session on Tuesday. This was due to growing concerns about the supply prospects of the massive Simandou project, in Guinea, and the expectation that demand will improve in the top consumer China. As of 0330 GMT, the most traded January iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 2.53% to $809.57 ($113.57), a metric tonne. It reached its highest level since the 25th of July at 814 Yuan during the session. As of 0320 GMT, the benchmark October iron ore price on Singapore Exchange was 1.59 % higher at $107.1 per...

Mining

McGeever: The 100 billion dollar Treasury record that you missed.

For good reason, the recent spike in 30-year bond yields has been a headline story on world bond markets. With so much focus on the long end, it seems that few have noticed the historic changes in the ultra-short U.S. Treasury Market. The weekly sale of four-week T bills has now reached the landmark of $100 billion. The September 4 auction marked the fifth consecutive sales at this record-high amount. This new government strategy is reflected in the flood of bills being sold. The Trump administration wants to lower the country's overall interest rates and debt maturity profile by borrowing...

Mineral Resources

McGeever: The 100 billion dollar Treasury record that you missed.

For good reason, the recent spike in 30-year bond yields has dominated world bond markets. With so much focus on the long end, it seems that few have noticed the historic changes in the ultra-short U.S. Treasury Market. The weekly sale of four-week T bills has now reached the landmark of $100 billion. The September 4 auction marked the fifth consecutive sales at this record-high amount. This new government strategy is reflected in the flood of bills being sold. The Trump administration wants to reduce interest rates and the debt maturity profile of the country by borrowing at the short...

Mineral Resources

Copper prices rise as stocks fall

The copper price was stable on Monday. This was due to the outflows of warehouses registered at the London Metal Exchange. A weaker dollar and expectations for stronger demand in China were also factors. In official open-outcry trade, the benchmark copper price on the LME fell 0.1% to $9.890 per metric ton. Last week, the contract reached a five-month peak of $10.038 amid growing expectations that U.S. rates will be cut in this month. The Yangshan premium and the import appetite of China, the top consumer, also supported the market. Its three-month record price is up 1.8% at $58 per...