Fossil Fuels

Exxon Mobil returned to Iraq two years after it left, signing an agreement on Wednesday with Iraq to develop the large Majnoon Oilfield and expand their oil export infrastructure. OPEC’s second-largest producer wants to attract Western oil majors back and increase production, which has been constrained for years by wars, corruption and religious tensions. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that Exxon had signed a deal, but provided few details. According to four sources familiar with the situation, the agreement will include a profit sharing agreement for crude oil and refined oil products as well as plans to upgrade...

Anglo American's CEO Duncan Wanblad stated on Wednesday that the company still views Africa as a part of its future because of its vital mineral resources. This is despite recent restructurings and asset sales in Africa. Anglo American is exiting its platinum and coal operations in South Africa where it was founded more than a century earlier. It will sell diamond miner De Beers and shift its focus on copper, an essential metal for the clean energy transformation. Kumba Iron Ore is the only major asset of South Africa. Wanblad, despite these exits, said Anglo intended to use South Africa's...

Sources in the trade said that traders offering Russian oil are now asking Indian refiners to make payments in Chinese Yuan. They see recent signs of improved relations between New Delhi, China and Beijing as an opportunity to simplify transactions with Indian buyers. Indian Oil Corp, India's largest refiner and state-controlled company, paid in Chinese currency recently for two or three cargoes worth of Russian oil. Indian Oil has not responded to the request for comment immediately. Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have led to a greater use of alternative currencies such as the...

StoneX, a consultancy, said that Brazil's imports of diesel in September reached their highest level since 2023. This was due to a sharp increase in U.S. volume to compensate for declining Russian supplies, amid high agricultural demand. Why it's important The increase in imports is a reflection of the robust domestic demand that Brazil experiences during its soybean planting season, and reflects global market shifts as a result of disruptions in Russian exports. Brazil imports about 20% of its total diesel consumption. By the Numbers In September, total diesel imports reached 1,77 billion liters. This represents a 9.4% rise on...

Sources in the trade said that traders offering Russian oil are now asking Indian refiners to make payments in Chinese Yuan. They see recent signs of improved relations between New Delhi, China and Beijing as an opportunity to simplify transactions with Indian buyers. Indian Oil Corp, India's largest refiner and state-controlled company, paid in Chinese currency recently for two or three cargoes worth of Russian oil. Indian Oil has not responded to the request for comment immediately. Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have led to a greater use of alternative currencies such as the...

Delek US Holdings sued London's Marex Group, and Texas' BTX Energy. They were accused of supplying contaminated oil which damaged its U.S. refining plant and caused losses of more than $30,000,000. Delek, in a court filing in Texas Chambers County District Court, said that it started buying crude oil from Pinnacle Fuel back in January. Deliveries were handled by BTX Energy’s terminal in Winnie. According to the complaint, Delek detected abnormally high levels organic chlorides by February in its Heavy Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit. Marex declined comment, and BTX Energy didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Delek claims that tests...

Ship tracking data revealed that U.S. crude exports reached their highest level since over a year-and-a-half in September as U.S. refining plants began seasonal maintenance, and Asian demand increased. According to Kpler, a ship tracking company, U.S. crude oil exports increased to an average 4.2 million barrels a day in September. This is the highest level since February 2024. Exports in July had fallen to their lowest level in almost four years due to low domestic supplies, and Asian and European buyers finding cheaper alternatives. The spread between Brent crude, the global benchmark, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil futures,...

The U.S. Supreme Court will be deciding a number of cases during the new nine-month session that begins Monday. These include issues like presidential powers, trade tariffs, transgender sportspeople, guns, race laws, campaign finance laws, gay "conversion therapies", religious rights, and capital punishment. The following are some of the cases that will be heard during the upcoming court term. Separately, the court has also acted in emergency cases involving challenges against President Donald Trump's policy. TRUMP TARIFFS A court has agreed that it will decide on the legality Trump's global tariffs. This is a major test for one of Trump's...

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear ExxonMobil’s request for compensation from Cuban state owned firms. These assets were seized by Cuban government-owned companies in 1960. This was done under a federal statute that allows Americans to sue foreign individuals and companies over confiscated property. The Justices heard Exxon's appeal against a lower-court ruling that undermined its legal efforts to obtain compensation from Cuban companies who allegedly profited by stealing property. The court also heard a similar request by a Delaware registered company that had built port facilities in Havana that were seized by Cuba in 1960. It sought...

After four consecutive sessions of declines, oil prices rose by 1% on Friday following a fire at one of the biggest refineries in the U.S. West Coast. However, they were still on course for their steepest week-long fall since late June. Brent crude futures rose 61 cents or 1% to $64.73 per barrel at 0658 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude climbed by 62 Cents, or 1% to $61.10 per barrel. According to a county official, the fire was contained to just one area at Chevron’s El Segundo Refinery. The U.S. Energy Major also reported a flare-up emergency at its...

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office announced on Thursday that a fire had broken out at Chevron’s El Segundo Refinery, which is one of the largest refineries on the U.S. West Coast. A county official added that the flames were contained to a single area. CBS reported that officers and firefighters were rushed to the refinery after hearing reports of an explosion. Newsom's Press Office said on X that "our office is working with local and state agencies in order to... ensure public security." CBS reported that police said they did not know of any immediate injuries, evacuations or other...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Ecuador was meeting its targets for the expanded IMF loan program of $5 billion, but that it still needed to overcome challenges ranging from the volatility in oil prices to the domestic security issues that make capital market access difficult for this South American country. IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said at a regular briefing to the press that the Fund worked with Ecuadorean officials to determine the timeline of the next review to unlock additional loan funding. The program was increased by $1 billion with an immediate disbursement of $600 million in July....

Angola has a complex network of pipelines that snake along the Atlantic coast. They lead to a new refinery, which signals Angola's drive for energy independence. It also shows how private lenders are being used instead of banks to finance a large-scale project. "We are not the lender last resort," said Felipe Berliner. He is the co-founder and CEO of Gemcorp, a emerging markets asset management company that provided the majority of the funding for the refinery using private capital. "Sometimes, we are the sole lender." Veteran investors said that private credit for emerging market countries -- driven by investors’...

Sources within the group stated that OPEC+ countries chose to only increase their November production modestly due to fears of a global glut. Non-OPEC oil supply is also increasing while fuel demand growth is slowing. The group announced on Sunday that it would increase its monthly production by 137,000 barrels a day in November. This is a continuation of the increases begun in April. Three OPEC+ source said that was the smallest option the group had discussed. They cited concerns over an upcoming surplus. OPEC declined comment. The Saudi Arabian government did not reply to a comment request. Jorge Leon,...

Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, with sentiment toward a smaller-than-anticipated OPEC+ output hike dulled by weakening global demand and the potential for a supply glut. Brent crude futures rose 1 cent or 0.02% to $65.48 per barrel at 0014 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was unchanged at $60.69 per barrel. Both contracts were settled at a higher level than the previous session. Crude oil prices rose after OPEC announced a production increase that was smaller than expected. Oil market analysts had been expecting a significant increase in quotas as the members of the group met over the weekend...

According to the Defence Ministry, tensions between the U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces have increased. The statement stressed that the move was not intended as a prelude to a military action but to prevent the Kurdish led group from launching repeated attacks or attempting to seize land. Residents scattered their protests after witnesses reported that the army had sealed off two districts of Aleppo City under SDF control. Residents reported rockets being fired by residents from the Kurdish districts into nearby residential areas. A security source confirmed that one security officer had been killed in a recent attack on a...

Crude oil prices have been driven primarily by the unwinding of OPEC+'s production cuts, China's storage flows, and geopolitical tensions this year. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable. It is important to understand the factors that influence the market. It is impossible to predict with accuracy the future of these factors. Forecasting the market is a difficult task for the crude oil industry because all three factors are unpredictable and can change rapidly. The Energy Markets Forum, held in Fujairah (the hub for oil storage and shipping in the United Arab Emirates) this week, was a place where...

Crude oil prices have been driven primarily by the unwinding OPEC+ production cut, China storage flows, and geopolitical tensions this year. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable. It is important to understand the factors that influence the market. It is impossible to predict with accuracy the future of these factors. Forecasting the market is a difficult task for the crude oil industry because all three factors are unpredictable and can change rapidly. The Energy Markets Forum, held in Fujairah (the hub for oil storage and shipping in the United Arab Emirates) this week, was a place where participants...

The major Gulf stock markets opened mixed on Wednesday as the U.S. shutdown caused concern about the delayed release of vital jobs data and future interest rate trends. Deep partisan divides between Congress and the White House prevented them from reaching an agreement on funding. This could have led to a long, painful standoff, which could result in the loss of thousands federal jobs. The shutdown may delay the release key economic data such as the non-farm payrolls reports due on Friday. The U.S. monetary policy changes have a major impact on Gulf markets where the majority of currencies are...

QatarEnergy signed a long-term contract with German industrial gas company Messer for the supply of high-purity helium. This helium is used by a variety of technologies, from MRI scanners and quantum computing to a range other technologies. QatarEnergy has signed its first direct sale and purchase agreement for Messer, which is the largest private industrial gas company in the world. According to a report by IDTechEx, the global demand for helium may exceed 322 millions cubic metres in 2035. Helium is widely used in manufacturing due to its cooling and inert qualities. QatarEnergy believes that the helium in its North...

Chevron announced on Monday that the subsidiary of its Noble Energy had reached an agreement with Equatorial Guinea regarding the development and construction of the Aseng Gas Project. This will allow it to make a final investment choice. The project is located in Block I of Douala Basin and will contribute to the continued supply of liquefied gas to the global market from Central Africa. The initial investment will be around $690 million, and it will help the country achieve its ambitions of becoming a regional hub for gas processing. EQUATORIAL GUINEA SET TO LAUNCH LICENSING ROUND Equatorial Guinea and...

The European Union announced on Monday it had reinstituted sanctions against Iran following a similar action taken by the United Nations. The EU reinstated sanctions today against Iran as a result of its continued non-compliance to the nuclear deal. In a press release, the EU presidency said that diplomatic negotiations remain possible. The EU stated that the sanctions include freezing assets of the Iranian Central Bank, other Iranian banks and travel bans for certain Iranian officials. The EU also banned Iran from purchasing and transporting crude oil, as well as the sale or supply gold and certain naval gear. The...

Oil prices fell by nearly 1% Monday, after the Kurdistan region of Iraq resumed crude exports through Turkey at the weekend. OPEC+ also plans to increase oil production in November. Brent crude futures dropped 63 cents or 0.90% to $69.50 per barrel at 0023 GMT, after Friday's settlement, which was the highest since July 31, had been reached. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was trading at $65.07 per barrel, down 65c or 0.99%. This is a significant reversal of Friday's gains. Michael McCarthy, CEO Moomoo Australia & New Zealand, said that "ongoing fears of increased production are limiting gains but...

The Italian antitrust regulator fined Eni, a major energy company in Italy, and five other oil firms operating in Italy for unfair competition practices in the sale fuel for trucks. The regulator announced that more than $9 billion in fines had been imposed on Eni, Esso owned by ExxonMobil, Ip, Q8, Saras, and Tamoil. In a press release, the watchdog revealed that the companies had operated as a cartel to fix the price of biofuel components contributing to the cost of fuel between January 2020 to June 2023. It said that the value of this price component increased from 20...