Oil & Gas

Trade sources say that Asia will increase imports of U.S. West Texas intermediate crude in the fourth-quarter after Middle East oil price increased and opened arbitrage window. They said that the price gap between light-sweet U.S.WTI oil and Middle East crude benchmarks Dubai & Murban has narrowed this month due to strong demand in Asia for high-sulfur oil. WTI's Arbitrage to Asia has been open for the last week for cargoes that arrive in early November. This was stated by June Goh, senior analyst at Sparta Commodities. Sources said that U.S. oil producer Occidental sold WTI crude to Japanese refiner...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, imposed a 50% tariff Wednesday on Brazilian goods in response to what he called a witch hunt against former President Jairbolsonaro. However, he softened his blow by exempting sectors like aircraft, energy, and orange juice from higher levies. This came as a welcome relief to many in Brasilia who, since Trump announced his tariff earlier in the month, had been calling for protections for major Brazilian exporters caught up in the crossfire. The shares of Embraer, a plane manufacturer, and Suzano, a pulp maker rose. The Brazilian Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron said to reporters that...

Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that private equity firm Five Point Infrastructure was in discussions to sell Northwind Midstream Partners to U.S. Midstream Company MPLX for approximately $2.3 billion, citing sources familiar with the situation. Five Point had reported in May that it is looking into a possible sale of Permian Gas Infrastructure Operator. Any deal would be valued at upwards of $ 2 billion including debt. Bloomberg reported that a deal could be struck in the next few weeks, but the talks could still be stalled or delayed. The pipeline sector is booming with deals as companies seek to reduce...

PTT Exploration and Production, a Thai oil and natural gas company, has purchased full ownership of Block A-18 within the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area. The transaction was worth $450 million and involved Chevron unit. PTTEP announced in a late Friday statement that it had signed the deal with Hess Asia Holdings and Hess (Bahamas), both of which are now owned by Chevron after a recent merger between Hess Corp. PTTEP announced that the acquisition gave it 100% of Hess International Oil Corp's outstanding shares, which hold a 50% participation interest in Block A-18. Chevron is reorganizing its global operations to...

Brazilian chemical companies, who exported $2.4 billion in products to the U.S. during the past year, are facing a wave of contract cancellations, as President Donald Trump threatened a new tariff of 50% on Brazil's exports starting August 1. Andre Cordeiro of Brazilian chemical lobby Abiquim said that since Trump's announcement export orders for certain resins, compounds and other materials used in the production of fertilizers have been cancelled. Brazil supplies these products to the U.S. agricultural sector. Cordeiro explained that "fundamentally these decisions are made because it is bet on whether he will apply the tariff." Cordeiro added that...

The refining margins were higher and turnaround costs lower, helping Phillips 66 to beat Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter profit. Top U.S. refiners were expected to post higher second-quarter profit, rebounding from losses in the prior quarter as stronger-than-expected diesel margins lifted earnings. Valero Energy, for example, exceeded Wall Street expectations thanks to improved margins. Fuel manufacturers have experienced an unexpected increase in profits from certain products, bringing relief to those who saw their earnings fall from the 2022 peak. This was due to a rebound in demand following a pandemic and disruptions in supply after Russia's invasion...

Valero Energy, a refiner, beat Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter profit on Thursday. A rebound in refining profits helped to cushion the loss of its renewable diesel unit. Investors expected top U.S. refining companies to report higher profits in the second quarter. bouncing back Profits increased during the first quarter of the year, despite the fact that diesel prices were unseasonably high. Valero is the first major refiner in this earnings season to report results. Its refining margin was $12.35 per barrel throughput, up from $11.14 a year ago. Lane Riggs, CEO of Lane Riggs Oil Company, said:...

Gulf stocks dipped in choppy trade on Thursday, as investors assessed a range of corporate earnings while monitoring U.S. negotiations before a deadline for tariffs. Market participants remain cautious as they await clarity regarding the direction of global policy. Recent developments such as Washington's agreement with Tokyo on lowering tariffs on Japanese imports, and signs of a potential agreement with the European Union appeared positive. Saudi Arabia's benchmark Index fell 0.2%. Index heavyweight Al Rajhi Bank lost 0.5% while Alinma Bank dropped 1.6% despite reporting an increase in earnings for the second quarter. The Abu Dhabi Index fell by 0.1%...

Enverus, an analytics firm, said that the volatility in energy and equity markets scared investors during the second quarter. This slowed the pace of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures in the U.S. Upstream Oil and Gas sector. The decline in dealmaking comes after a string of massive takeovers of oil and gas companies in recent years. These deals culminated in $192 billion in 2023. There were $13.5 billion worth of deals disclosed in the quarter ended June 30, marking a 21% drop quarter-over-quarter, Enverus said. In the first half of 2025, a total of $30 billion was exchanged. This is a...

Marathon has restarted the diesel and gasoline production units at its Galveston Bay refinery, which produces 631,000 barrels per day (bpd). This was confirmed by people familiar with the plant's operations on Tuesday. Sources said that the refinery's residual hydrotreater unit (RHU), which produces 64,000 bpd, is shut down completely following an fire on the 14th of June. The date for restarting this unit has yet to be determined. Marathon's spokesperson didn't respond to our request for comment. Sources said that the 140,000-bpd fluidic catalytic unit-3 (FCCU-3), which produces gasoline, was shut down over the weekend. Production resumed on Monday....

The state regulator reported on Tuesday that North Dakota oil drillers currently operate 29 rigs compared to 32 in June. Operators continue to use more efficient drilling technology. The ability to drill more efficiently allows operators the opportunity to extract more oil with less capital. Nathan Anderson, Director of the Department of Mineral Resources in Washington State said that the decline in rig counts does not mean there is less rock being drilled. The state Industrial Commission reported that oil production in North Dakota dropped 61,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May to 1.1million bpd. The price environment in May...

Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian billionaire, has warned that discounted Russian petroleum products pour into African markets. This could undermine the continent's new refining industry. Dangote has struggled with securing crude oil locally, despite his plans to increase the refinery's capacity to 700,000. Dangote, at an Abuja oil conference, said: "We're increasingly faced with the dumping and blending of cheap, toxic petroleum products. Some of these are blended in substandard levels, which would never be permitted in Europe or North America." He attributed the trend to Western sanctions against Russian oil which have led Moscow to offer steep discounts on alternative...

According to an official note dated Sunday, Iraq's state oil marketing company SOMO has identified a number of tankers that are suspected of illegally loading petroleum products from the ports at Umm Qasr or Khor al-Zubair. The tankers used advanced techniques, such as Automatic Identification System (AIS) spoofing, to hide their location or change their route. SOMO stated that the ships were not included in its official load schedules. This raised concerns about unauthorised shipments. In a letter to Iraq's National Security Agency, SOMO stated that "These activities have been classified as high risk and may involve illegal practices like...

A panel of OPEC+ members on Monday emphasized the importance of full compliance with oil production agreements, in advance of Sunday's separate meeting of eight OPEC+ member countries to decide whether or not to increase oil output for September. Online, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), which is composed of top energy ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as their allies, led by Russia convened for a brief discussion. The JMMC is a two-monthly meeting that has the authority to call a full OPEC+ meeting to discuss market developments if necessary. In a press release...

The EU's antitrust regulators may have opened an investigation Monday into possible distortions due to foreign subsidies. This could affect ADNOC, the state-owned oil company of Abu Dhabi. ADNOC has struck the Deal to Buy Covestro Last October, the Gulf state made its largest acquisition ever and was one of the biggest foreign takeovers by an EU company. The European Commission opened a detailed investigation Monday after reviewing the deal in May under its rules on foreign subsidies. It warned that foreign subsidies given by the United Arab Emirates may distort the EU's internal market. The Commission, acting as enforcer...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as OPEC, are both more conservative in their growth forecasts. The numbers contained in the monthly report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the wider OPEC+ are less optimistic. The IEA has a similar view. In its monthly report for July, it predicted that the global crude oil demand would grow by 700,000.00 barrels per day in 2025. This is the lowest growth rate since 2009. OPEC’s July report is a little more optimistic, predicting that oil demand will rise by 1,29 million bpd by 2025. Of this, 1.16 million...

Investor sentiment was weighed down by concerns that a brewing trade conflict between the U.S., the European Union and other major oil consumers would reduce fuel demand growth through a reduction in economic activity. Brent crude futures dropped 24 cents or 0.35% to $68.97 per barrel at 0055 GMT, after closing 0.1% lower Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was trading at $69.99 a barrel. This is down 21 cents or 0.31% from the previous session, which saw a loss of 0.2%. The WTI August contract expires Tuesday, and the September contract, which is more active, was down 23 cents...

The Iranian oil ministry's SHANA News Agency reported that the fire, which started on Saturday and killed one employee at Abadan's refinery unit, was brought under control. The operations are not affected, it was said. Shana reported that "according to preliminary technical investigations, the cause of fire was a leaking pump in Unit 70. No evidence of human intervention or sabotage has yet been observed." Firefighters from Abadan, and other nearby areas, were reported by state television. Local news agencies had earlier published videos of large flames and smoke stacks rising from a section of the refinery. The facility is...

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced on Wednesday that it intends to transfer its 24,9% stake in Austria's OMV AG, to its XRG Investment unit. This will be done ahead of the creation of a new chemicals company combining OMV and ADNOC companies. ADNOC bought a 24,9% stake in OMV last year from Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala without disclosing financial terms. ADNOC and OMV merged their polyolefin business earlier this year to create a chemical company with a $60 Billion enterprise value. Khaled Salmeen, CEO of ADNOC Downstream, told Khaled Salmeen in March that the merged entity Borouge Group...

OPEC stated that the global economy could perform better than expected during the second half of this year despite the trade conflict. Refineries' crude intake will remain high to meet the increase in summer travel. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released a report every month on Tuesday. After reducing its estimates in April, the organization left their forecasts of global oil demand growth in 2025-2026 unchanged. In the report, OPEC stated that "India, China and Brazil have outperformed expectations thus far, while United States and Eurozone continue to experience a rebound since last year." The second half of...

According to a Russian report, OPEC's secretary general stated that the oil market will be "very strong" in the third quarter, and the supply-demand ratio will remain tight in the months following. Eight members of the OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, are undoing years of reductions that were aimed at supporting the markets. Five sources have confirmed that OPEC+ producers will approve a major increase in September oil production. Haitham Ghais, quoted by the Russian RIA news agency on Monday, told journalists at the sidelines of the OPEC...

International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday that the world oil market could be tighter than appears, despite an apparent surplus in supply and demand, as refineries increase processing to meet summer demand. The IEA (which advises industrialised nations) expects the global supply to increase by 2.1 millions barrels per day in this year. This is an increase of 300,000 bpd over its previous forecast. The IEA said that world demand would only rise by 700,000 barrels per day, suggesting a large surplus. Despite these changes, the IEA stated that the tightening market was due to the OPEC+'s latest supply increase...

United Arab Emirates' energy minister stated on Thursday that the country could increase its oil production after 2027, if the market demands it. This move could push the country into the top five oil producing countries in the world. OPEC granted the UAE a larger production quota for this year. The country argued that it was restricting too much its output after investing heavily to increase capacity from 3 million barrels to 4,85 million. Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei, Energy Minister of the country, told reporters that capacity could increase further after 2027. He said that if the market demanded it, they...

Emirates Global Aluminium announced on Wednesday that Guinean authorities had terminated a contract with its subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation after a dispute lasting a year over the construction of alumina refinery. Guinea's military regime GAC has suspended its bauxite West Africa's militarized states are increasingly focusing on exports and mining as part of their increasing aggressive They are also pushing to get more out of their natural resources. The junta that took power in 2021 is the second largest producer of bauxite ore, which is used to make aluminum. The miners demanded to be paid Present plans to build refineries...