Oil & Gas

Chinese investors who are interested in CXMT’s $8.6billion IPO believe that the chipmaker’s value will increase ten-fold following its Shanghai debut, thanks to an AI-driven upcycle and Beijing’s ambition to become technologically independent. CXMT or ChangXin Memory Technologies will be Asia's largest share sale this year. It comes at a time when Beijing wants to be independent in the semiconductor industry amid a fierce tech rivalry between the U.S. Wu Zhou, a Shenzhen Deyuan Investment fund manager, has said he'll bid on new CXMT share, betting China's leading memory chipmaker can one day overtake global giants such as South Korea's...

World Leaks, a ransomware group, has released on the dark Web a large cache of files relating to India's largest nuclear plant. These include purported blueprints for parts of its facilities as well as supplier details. The information was labelled by World Leaks as being from Reliance Group. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and is the largest among India's seven nuclear plants. It's also the center of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious plans to increase the country's capacity for?atomic energy?. Reliance Group of Indian businessman Anil Ambani, one of the plants' contractors,...

Brent crude oil futures for immediate delivery reached a new high compared to the previous price of oil six months earlier. This was due to traders pricing in the renewed risk of Middle Eastern oil supplies and shipping via the Strait of Hormuz. The Brent first-month contract was $8.92 per barrel higher than the Brent sixth-month contract It is its highest?premium in the last 10 days. Backwardation is a market structure where prompt contracts are traded at a higher price than later ones. This is usually interpreted as an indication of tight near-term supply. Brent's decision follows a sharp increase...

YPF Electric Energy, an Argentinian energy company, announced a '45.8% increase in quarterly revenues in its IPO filing on Monday. It joined a 'wave' of companies from a similar sector that are seeking a New YORK IPO amid improved market sentiment. Investor confidence has increased in Argentina following President Javier Milei’s market-oriented Reforms and renewed interest for the country’s energy sector. Argentinian energy firm Genneia filed for an IPO in the United States earlier this month. Pure-play power company YPF Electric Energy operates 17 thermal power plants and renewable energy sources with a total installed capacity of 3,764 megawatts (MW)....

Zaidi Bets on US Companies to Stimulate Energy Sector The Iran War has caused a major economic blow to Iraq Zaidi to meet Trump for possible deals By Ahmed Rasheed & Muayad Hameed BAGHDAD (July 13) - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi hopes to secure significant U.S. investments in the country's oil, gas and power sectors when he visits the White House next week. The Iran War has impacted the state's finances and crude production. Analysts say that Iraq's government has a growing focus on diversifying its international partnerships to better deal with the regional instability. This agenda is expected...

The semi-official YJC Iranian news agency, citing a local source, reported that a fire which broke out on Friday?at 'the Oxin Palayesh'mini-refinery' in Iran's western Lorestan Province has been put out. YJC quoted the safety manager at Lorestan Industrial Estates Company as saying that the fire was contained to a 'barrel of waste oil' and 'didn’t spread to refinery facilities or storing tanks. Iranian state media reported earlier that a fire had broken out just after 5 pm local time, sending a thick smoke column over Poldokhtar. Firefighters initially struggled to contain the blaze due to its 'intensity' and presence...

The oil price fell on 'Friday, but remained on course for a weekly gain as renewed U.S. - Iran fighting disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This stoked concerns about supply disruptions. Brent futures fell 68 cents or 0.9% to $75.62 per barrel at 0817 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), which is a blend of U.S. and Canadian crudes, fell 64 cents or 0.9% to $71.44. Brent was expected to gain about 5% this week and WTI would increase by about 4%. Vandana Hari, an analyst at Vanda Insights who provides oil market analyses, said that although...

The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for global growth in 2026 to a slow 3.0% on Wednesday, warning about the ongoing risks associated with the Middle East war, trade fragmentation, and possible corrections to market expectations in AI. The 'global lender' said that the world economy avoided a sharper decline, as demand for AI and technology helped to offset the sharp fall in energy supplies due to the war. The growth rate should return to 3,4% by 2027. However, this is still lower than the 3.5% average seen between 2024 and 2025. The IMF forecasted 3.1% growth in April....

Long/short hedge fund results prove that fundamentals are still important, and Europe continues underestimating its global power. In this midweek article, I will highlight some key stories that caught me eye?this week and may have been lost in the daily flood of market news. The pump doesn't work The late U.S. John McCain said in 2014 that "Russia is just a gas station posing as a nation." If that's the case, reports of Russia's people running out of fuel in the 4.5 year long war with Ukraine seem both absurd and very significant. The attacks on Russia's infrastructure have led...

The?U.S. Central Command announced on Tuesday that it had completed a "new round of strikes" against Iran, and that it had "hit over 80 targets in its latest attacks." Washington has also revoked the license that allowed Iran to sell oil following the 'projectile attack' on three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military released a statement saying that "U.S. Forces struck Iranian air defense systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radars, antiship missile capabilities, as well as?more 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps smaller boats near and in the Strait of Hormuz to 'degrade Iran’s ability to continue to attack...

On Tuesday, the United States revoked a general license which authorized the sale of Iranian crude oil. A U.S. official had warned that Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz are "wholly unacceptable" and that they will be met with consequences after attacks on tankers along the strategic waterway. The announcement led to an increase of more than 5% in oil prices. The U.S. Treasury announced that it would allow Iran to wind down its oil transactions until July 17, which were allowed under the license now revoked. An official from the United States said that despite this latest escalation,...

A U.S. official announced on Tuesday that the United States was revoking the 'general license' that allowed the sale of Iranian oil. The official warned that Iran’s actions in the Strait if Hormuz are "wholly unacceptable", and that they would be met with consequences following the attacks on tankers along the strategic waterway. In a recent report, UKMTO (an agency affiliated with the British Navy) said that three tankers had reported being hit by unknown projectiles near and in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has not yet made any comment or claimed responsibility. An official from the United States said...

Industry sources say China's fuel demand will take a long time to recover after its imports hit a record low. Refiners reduced production and opted for cheaper crude as a result of the U.S. - Iran war. China's low demand for high-sulphur oil (HSFO), one of Asia’s largest importers, is expected to limit prices. This is despite the fact that the market has strengthened after Washington and Tehran intensified their attacks on the Middle East disrupting Gulf supply through the Strait of Hormuz. LSEG data show that the Asian refiners' margins for 380 centistoke HSFO rose to a discount of...

Yemen's Houthi group fired missiles on Saudi Arabia, accusing it of bombing a Saudi airport that was under their control. This broke a four-year ceasefire in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned movement. This move marks the end of the de-escalation period and is a sign that Iran may now use its Houthi allies in order to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb entrance to the Red Sea. It would be the second 'global /shipping chokepoint disrupted since the Strait of Hormuz. WHO ARE HOUTHIS? Abdul Malik al-Houthi is the leader of Yemen’s Houthis. He is a highly secretive...

Ali al-Zaidi, Iraq's prime minister, said Tuesday that he felt Iraq needed a fair share within OPEC. He was asked by journalists if he had considered leaving the oil producing group. Zaidi's trip to Washington is to secure major U.S. investments in the oil, gas and power sectors of his country after the Iran War impacted crude production?and state finances. He told reporters that Iraq is one of OPEC's founding members. "Our right is to get a fair % share for Iraq," he said at the White House, during a meeting with U.S. president Donald Trump. Zaidi emphasized Iraq's past...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has sent a formal notification to Congress that hostilities against Iran resumed on 7 July. His administration interprets this letter as opening up a 60-day window for the use of military forces in the region without the approval of Congress. Trump wrote in a letter dated July 10 that he had taken 'this military action' to protect Americans, the United States and its national security interests. The letter details Trump's actions, including his order of a ceasefire for two weeks on April 7 which was then extended and his administration's attempts to find a diplomatic...

Spot premiums for Indian naphtha have risen to levels seen last in late March as tight supplies from the Middle East and Russia, and renewed concerns about U.S.-Iran tensions, drove demand from Far East buyers. Multiple trade sources reported?on Monday that Indian state refiners Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. sold about '63,000-65,000 tonnes (567,000-585,00 barrels) or naphtha through tenders last week, at prices similar to those seen in late March. BPCL sold a total of 36,000-37,000 tonnes of?naphtha on a 'free-on-board' (FOB basis) to Middle East quotes for loading between July 30 and 31. HPCL sold 27,000-28,000 tons...

Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani died aged 74. He was a moderniser and a powerful leader who took power in 1995, but broke tradition by handing it over to his son, 18 years later. The Amiri Diwan in Qatar, Qatar's top government body, announced on Sunday that Sheikh Hamad died. The cause of death was not mentioned. It did not mention?the cause of his death. Sheikh Hamad presided in one of the most significant periods of history of the country, driving a fast transformation of the small desert state, which reshaped the economy, global status and political ambition. He was...

The International Energy Agency said that the recent escalation of hostilities between the U.S., and 'Iran, could change its 'forecast of an 'important oi l market surplus next year. The global oil market received some relief last'month, as a peace deal between the U.S.A. and the 'Iran opened the Strait. Its closure had effectively cut off 'as much as 14 million barrels of crude oil per day during the height of the biggest oil supply crisis ever. The agency reported that global oil production rose by 4.1 mbpd in June but was still 9.4 mbpd lower than pre-war levels. The...

On Thursday, member states returned Syria's voting right to the global chemical weapons watchdog after a "significant change in circumstances", as they called it, since the fall of Assad. Syria was stripped of its rights by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in 2021 after it was found that its forces had repeatedly used poisonous gas during the civil conflict. This was largely symbolic but sent a message to Syria that any breach of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention prohibiting the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield would not be tolerated. The OPCW stated that "after...

A top official at the International Monetary Fund said that they hope to engage central banks in coming months about changes in how they use forward guidance for monetary policy. She stressed the importance of communication in these uncertain times. Petya Brooks, deputy research director at the International Monetary Fund, told reporters on Wednesday that while forward guidance was a valuable tool in the past it is understandable that policymakers will revisit the scope and modalities over time. Kevin Warsh, the new Federal Reserve chairman who assumed office in May, announced plans to review communication policies and reduce forward guidance...

ADNOC, the state-owned oil company of the UAE, announced on Wednesday that it had entered into a long-term partnership with South Korea for energy security. The agreement aims to increase cooperation in areas such as crude supply and emergency supply coordination. The partnership extends existing agreements. This includes a pledge made by the United Arab Emirates in March that they would supply South Korea up to 24,000,000 barrels of crude oil. It was announced at a visit to South Korea by Sultan al-Jaber. ADNOC Group CEO and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology. ADNOC stated that both parties would...

DAMASCUS/PARIS 7 July - Patrick Pouyanne, the Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, will meet with his syrian counterparts to discuss signing a contract for exploration on Tuesday, he said. Pouyanne, a member of a French delegation accompanying French president Emmanuel Macron to Syria on Tuesday was 'overshadowed' by bomb attacks that took place in Damascus. Total and the Syrian Petroleum Company signed a "memorandum" of understanding (MOU) in May to explore an offshore block off the Mediterranean. In the wake of U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, it has recently talked about the need for pipelines to be built through...

Saudi Aramco has cut its crude oil price for Asia, for August-loading shipments. This move appeared to signal an intention to regain market shares and recover volumes following the Iran War. Even the record-breaking 'August official selling price' (OSP), may not be sufficient, since crude oil from other Middle East producers and exporters from Africa and the Americas are likely to remain more competitive. Aramco, 'the world's largest oil exporter', has set its OSP at a $1.50 discount to the regional benchmark of Oman/Dubai for August. It was the largest drop in record since 2003, with a $11 reduction from...