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ConocoPhillips Confirms Oil Discovery off Norway
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, a subsidiary of U.S. energy major ConocoPhillips, has completed the drilling of an appraisal well in the Norwegian Sea, confirming the previously made oil discovery.ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, the operator of production license 891, has concluded drilling of the second appraisal well, 6507/5-12 S, on the 6507/5-10 S (Slagugle) oil discoveryThe well was drilled about 22 kilometers northeast of the Heidrun field and about 270 kilometers north of Kristiansund.This is the third exploration well in production license 891, which was awarded in the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) in 2016. ConocoPhillips owns the operating share of 80% in the license, with partner Pandion Energy holding the remaining 20%.The Slagugle oil discovery was proven in 2020. Preliminary calculations indicate a resource estimate in the range of 4.9 – 9.8 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of oil equivalent, which corresponds to around 30.8 – 61.6 million barrels of oil equivalent in Triassic reservoir rocks (Middle Grey Beds).Additional volumes in the lower Åre Formation and Upper Grey Beds, which are not included in the production test, represent a possible upside potential.The licensees will now analyze the collected data and evaluate a possible development.The objective of well 6507/5-12 S was to delineate the discovery proven in well 6507/5-10 S (Slagugle), and to conduct a formation test to obtain better understanding of reservoir properties and connectivity in the hydrocarbon-bearing layers.The well encountered several oil columns in a 188-metre interval in the Åre Formation and Grey Beds, 75 metres of which consist of sandstone with very good reservoir properties.Extensive data collection and sampling have been carried out and a successful formation test has been completed. The maximum production rate was 650 Sm3 of oil per flow day through a 36/64-inch nozzle opening.The well, which has been permanently plugged and abandoned, was drilled using Odfjell Drilling's Deepsea Yantai semi-submersible drilling rig. Water depth at the site is 341 meters.The next stop for Deepsea Yantai is production license 586 in the Norwegian Sea, where it will drill well 6406/11-2 S for Vår Energi and its partners.
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Gold prices fall by a weekly average as Fed rate cuts are less likely
Gold prices dropped on Friday, and are on course for a weekly drop as a stronger dollar and the prospect that the U.S. will not be cutting interest rates in the near future offset the support provided by the rising geopolitical risk in the Middle East. As of 0245 GMT on Friday, spot gold was down 0.5% at $3,355.49 per ounce and 2.2% over the past week. U.S. Gold Futures fell 1% to $3371.80. Kelvin Wong is a senior analyst at OANDA. He said that the Middle East has a fluid situation, which causes traders to avoid taking aggressive positions on both the long and short sides of the trades. Israel's bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities and Iran's missile and drone attacks on Israel intensified the conflict in the Middle East on Thursday. This included an overnight attack against an Israeli hospital. Both sides have not signaled an exit strategy. The White House announced on Thursday that President Donald Trump would decide within the next two week whether or not the U.S. would get involved in Israel-Iran's air war. This will increase pressure on Tehran to negotiate. Trump has also reiterated his call for the Federal Reserve's interest rate to be cut by 2.5 percentage points. The Fed kept rates unchanged on Wednesday and policymakers maintained projections of two quarter-point cuts in this year. Analysts at ANZ stated in a report that "Macroeconomic development, especially steady yields and renewed USD power, have not supported (gold's) price." The Fed's cautious approach and rising inflation expectations have affected market expectations about the number of interest rate cuts expected this year. On Friday, the dollar was expected to record its largest weekly gain in more than a month. Gold becomes more expensive when the dollar is stronger. Palladium dropped 0.7% to $1 042,92. Platinum dropped 1.5% to $1.287.47 but is heading for a third consecutive weekly increase.
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Brent futures are down by nearly $2 as the U.S. delays its decision on direct Iran participation
Brent crude prices lost ground from their previous session on Friday, falling nearly $2 after the White House deferred a decision about U.S. participation in the Israel-Iran Conflict. However, they are still on track for a record third consecutive week of positive price movements. Brent crude futures dropped $1.89 or 2.4% to $76.96 per barrel at 0255 GMT. Weekly, the price was up by 3.8%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude for July grew by 53 cents or 0.7% to $75.67. The WTI for August, which is more liquid, rose by 0.2% or 17 cents. The prices of goods and services rose by almost 3% as Israel bombed Iranian nuclear targets and Iran launched missiles and drones against Israel, after it had struck an Israeli hospital over night. Israel's and Iran's week-old conflict showed no sign of a truce. Brent futures pared previous session gains after the White House commented that President Donald Trump would decide whether or not the U.S. gets involved in the Israel/Iran conflict within the next two week. Oil prices surged amid fears that the U.S. would increase its involvement in Israel's conflict against Iran. "The White House Press Secretary later said that there was still enough time to de-escalate," said Phil Flynn of The Price Futures Group. Iran is the third largest producer of crude oil among the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It extracts about 3.3 millions barrels of crude oil per day. Around 18 to 21 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) and oil products pass through the Strait of Hormuz on the southern coast of Iran. There is widespread concern that the fighting may disrupt the trade and supply. Trump has also used the "two-week" deadline in making other important decisions. Often, these deadlines are not met, which could lead to the crude oil price remaining high and possibly building on recent gains, said Tony Sycamore. (Reporting and editing by Shri Navaratnam; Sudarshan Varadhan)
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Dalian Iron Ore to see weekly gains due to resilient China demand
The prices of Dalian Iron Ore Futures rose on Friday, and are poised to make modest gains for the week on a resilient demand in China for this steelmaking ingredient. This is outweighing a persistent decline in China's real estate market. As of 0245 GMT, the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was up 1.36% to 706 yuan (98.31 dollars) per metric ton. This week, the contract has gained 0.57%. The benchmark July Iron Ore traded at the Singapore Exchange 1.42% higher, at $94 per ton. However, it has fallen 0.22% for the entire week. According to Mysteel, the operating rate of China's blast furnaces increased by 0.4% in the last week to 83.82%. Mysteel data showed that hot metal production, which is a measure of iron ore consumption, increased 0.24% from week to week, reaching 2.422 millions tons as of 20th June. Galaxy Futures, a broker, said: "While the demand is resilient right now, market traders are primarily focused on whether or not off-season demand continues to be factored into trading." Construction in China peaks during the spring, before the rainy season begins. Analysts at ANZ say that meaningful growth in steel and ore demand will not be possible until the new construction activity increases. Official data released on Monday showed that China's new house prices dropped in May, continuing a stagnation of two years. Goldman Sachs projected late Monday that demand for new homes will remain below the 2017 market peak in the coming years. This suggests a property slump in the second largest economy in the world. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, have both gained in price, rising by 2.23% and 2.5% respectively. The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a significant increase in the steel benchmarks. The rebar price rose by 0.57%. Hot-rolled coil, wire rod, and hot-rolled sheet all gained 0.7%. Stainless steel fell by 0.32%. $1 = 7.1812 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Sherry Jab-Phillips).
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Copper prices are soaring on the back of geopolitical unrest
On Friday, the most traded copper contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) and London Metals Exchange (LME) were in a range as the market sentiment was mixed due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Israel-Iran dispute. Israel bombed Iranian nuclear targets on Thursday, and Iran fired missiles or drones towards Israel after it hit an Israeli hospital over night. U.S. president Donald Trump said he would make a decision in the next two week on whether he will get involved with Israel. Metals analysts at a Shanghai futures firm said that a number of issues are affecting the metals markets. These include the Middle East and possible U.S. rate cuts. China's reduced consumption is also a factor. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract eased by 0.1%, to 78.400 yuan per metric tonne as of 0103GMT. This was up 0.04% from the previous week. Three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange rose 0.3%, to $9,641 per ton, and remained unchanged. Data on Wednesday revealed that China's refined output of copper in May increased 13.6% over the previous year, to 1,25 million metric tonnes. The country's demand, however, for metals like copper and aluminum, has been dampened by the summer season's weakness. LME tin rose 0.5% to $32,180; aluminium increased 0.4% to 2,531, while zinc grew 0.2% to 2,644.5. SHFE tin dropped 0.9% to 261,390 Yuan per ton. Aluminium fell 0.2%, to 20,555 Yuan. Lead rose 0.2%, to 16,915 Yuan. Zinc increased 0.1%, to 21,925. Click or to see the latest news in metals, and other related stories. Data/Events (GMT). 0600 UK Retail Sales, Ex-Fuel, MM, YY, May 0645 France Climate Business, Mfg., Overall Jun 1230 US Philly Fed Indx. Jun 1400 EU Confid. Flash Jun ($1=7.1880 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair; Reporting by Hongmei Li)
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Oil prices rise for the third week in a row as Trump considers US action against Iran
On Friday, the Asian share markets struggled to find direction as fears of an attack by the United States on Iran hung in air. Meanwhile, oil prices are expected to increase for a third consecutive week due to the escalating Israel/Iran conflict. Israel has bombed Iranian nuclear targets overnight, while Iran has fired missiles and drones towards Israel. A week-old aerial war is intensifying, with neither side showing signs of an end. The White House announced that President Donald Trump would decide within the next two week whether or not the U.S. is going to get involved in Israel-Iran War. Some of the MAGA base is furious about a possible attack on Iran. Brent fell by 2% to $77.22 a barrel on Friday, but it is still heading for a strong gain of 4% per week, after a 12% increase the previous weekend. Tony Sycamore is an analyst at IG. He said that Trump used the "two-week deadline" in many other important decisions. The complexity of the situation means that this could happen again. In Asia, markets were still cautious. Nasdaq and S&P futures fell by 0.3% each. The U.S. market was closed on Juneteenth, so there were few indications for Asia. The MSCI broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan grew by 0.1%, but is still on track for a weekly decline of 1%. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.2%. China's blue-chips rose by 0.3% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng grew by 0.5% after the central banks held benchmark lending rates constant as expected. The dollar fell 0.2% on the currency market to 145.17yen, after data revealed that Japan's core rate of inflation reached a two-year peak in May. This increased pressure on the Bank of Japan, who was under pressure to increase interest rates. Investors are not expecting a rate increase from the BOJ before December of this year. This is about 50% priced in. In Asian hours, the U.S. Bond market, which had also been closed on Thursday morning, began trading on a more subdued tone. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond was unchanged at 4,389%. Two-year yields fell 2 basis points to 3,925%. The Swiss National Bank has cut its rates overnight to zero, and is not ruling out a negative rate. Meanwhile, the Bank of England kept policy unchanged but felt the need for more easing. And Norway's central banks surprised everyone by cutting rates for the very first time since 2020. Gold prices fell 0.2%, to $3,363 per ounce. However, they were still set for a loss of 2% on a weekly basis.
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The UK consumer sentiment is on the rise, but Middle East conflict clouds the outlook
A survey on Friday showed that British consumer confidence reached its highest level since 2025 this month as the mood towards the economy improved. However, the threat of higher energy bills due to the war in the Middle East looms over the outlook. GfK's consumer confidence index rose from -20 to -18 from -20 from May. This is the highest reading since last December. An economist's poll had predicted a similar reading. The index is still below its long-term average of -11 and lower than it was a year earlier. Brent crude oil futures are up around 20% since May's end. This could be a problem for Britain, which already has the highest headline inflation rate in the world and some of Europe's most expensive energy costs. The Bank of England stated on Thursday that it will remain vigilant in its monitoring of inflation risks arising from the conflict between Israel & Iran. The escalation in conflict in the Middle East is likely to increase petrol prices in the next few weeks. There are also still many uncertainties about the full impact of tariffs. This could have a negative impact on consumers, said Neil Bellamy. The survey's gauges for past and future economics ticked up in June. However, the indexes measuring personal financial confidence (a better indicator of consumer spending) were flat. The official retail sales figures for May are due at 0600 GMT and will likely show a decline in sales volume following an unexpected surge in sales in April, which statisticians attributed to the good weather. (Reporting and editing by William Schomberg.)
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ArcelorMittal abandons plans to produce green steel in Germany because of high energy costs
ArcelorMittal said that the energy costs in Germany were too high to allow it to convert its two German plants to carbon-neutral production. The German industrial sector is still recovering from the shock of losing the Russian gas which had been powering its factories for decades. This decision also calls into question the green hydrogen policy launched by the former government. The government hoped that the subsidies would encourage ArcelorMittal's existing plants in Bremen, in the north, and Eisenhuettenstadt, in the east, to convert to furnaces fired by hydrogen. Hydrogen can be produced from renewable electricity. The steelmaker stated that it decided to not proceed with its plans due to the high energy prices in Germany and the uncertainty surrounding the future energy mix. The first electric arc forges will be built in countries with competitive and predictable electricity supply, it stated. It highlighted a recent investment into a forge powered by electricity in France. It said that "electricity prices in Germany were high by international standards as well as compared to neighboring countries." The steel industry of Europe was also affected because so many consumers imported electricity instead of buying it from local producers. Germany is building rapidly renewable electricity networks. However, the transition away from Russian gas, which has been a long and painful process, has proved to be lengthy and costly, despite the generous subsidies offered to industries who rely on gas to switch over to hydrogen. The conservative-led coalition government, which took office in this year, has criticised the left-leaning previous government's strategy on energy but so far hasn't outlined a radical new approach. Geert van poelvoorde, ArcelorMittal Europe's head of Europe, said: "The European steel sector is under unprecedented pressure in order to maintain its competitiveness." "And this is before decarbonisation costs." He called on the European Commission (EC) to limit imports of certain types of steel to Europe, stating that foreign competition was the biggest problem facing the industry. Reporting by Thomas Escritt, Editing by Jamie Freed
What is the Indus waters treaty between India & Pakistan?
India announced that it would suspend the Indus water treaty with Pakistan immediately as part of its efforts to reduce diplomatic relations with Pakistan after militants killed 26 tourists in Kashmir.
Before New Delhi's Wednesday decision, the treaty had endured two wars between bitter rivals. It also survived many diplomatic twists and turn.
What is the INDUS WATERS TREATY?
Both nuclear-armed neighbors disagree on the use of water flowing from rivers in India that drain into the Indus River basin in Pakistan.
The Indus Waters treaty was signed in September 1960 by the neighbours after the World Bank mediated the agreement.
The agreement divided the Indus River and its tributaries and set up water sharing between the two nations. India received water from the Sutlej River, Beas River, and Ravi river, while Pakistan got the majority of the western rivers, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab.
The treaty does not allow either party to unilaterally terminate or suspend the pact. It has a clear dispute resolution system.
What are the concerns about water?
For years, the nuclear-armed neighbors have been arguing and disputing several projects along the Indus River and its tributaries.
Pakistan's hydropower and irrigation requirements are heavily dependent on the water in this river system. India denies that India diverts water unfairly by building barrages and dams upstream. Pakistan claims this.
Pakistan is worried that India's new dams could reduce the flow of the river which supplies 80% its irrigated agricultural production. It asked for an independent expert to be appointed and then for an arbitration court intervened in two recent hydropower project.
India accuses Pakistan of prolonging the complaint process and claims that the construction of the Kishanganga hydroelectric project and Ratle is permitted under the treaty. India has sought to modify the treaty in order to avoid such delays.
What could the suspension change?
India's lack of storage capacity will not affect the flow of water into Pakistan immediately if the accord is suspended.
The Indian move could cause uncertainty in Pakistan's agriculture system.
Officials in India said that the suspension allows India to stop sharing vital information and data about floods, barrages/dams, or water releases, as well as other important issues. New Delhi is also no longer required to release minimum amounts during lean seasons.
HOW HAS PAKISTAN RESPONDED TO THIS DECISION
A statement released by Shehbaz Shaif's office on Thursday said that the treaty was a binding international accord brokered and contained no provisions for unilateral suspension.
The statement stated that any attempt to divert or stop the flow of water belonging Pakistan, as per the Indus Treaty and usurpation of rights of lower riparians will be treated as an Act of War.
The term "lower-riparian" is used to describe Pakistan's downstream position.
Ghasharib Shaokat, head of product at Pakistan Agriculture Research (PAR), called the treaty "the backbone" of the agriculture sector in Pakistan.
It puts our future agricultural on shaky grounds. Shaokat explained that if water flows are erratic the whole system is affected, especially crops dependent on irrigation, such as rice, wheat and sugarcane.
Yields may drop. Costs may rise. Prices of food would probably rise. Small-scale farmers who operate on very thin margins would be the hardest hit.
Khalid Hussain Baath - the chairman of Pakistan's national farmers union - characterized this move as one of aggression.
Baath, who is in Lahore, said: "This is war." Climate change has already caused a water crisis. The water level has already dropped 20-25% compared to last year due to the low rainfall and lack of snow this year.
(source: Reuters)