A senior Hamas official in Beirut Osama Hamdan told Lebanon’s LBC TV on Friday that the new Gaza deal “must include permanent ceasefire.” Commenting on the proposed agreement on hostage release and a “prolonged pause in fighting,” he said that Hamas is “still studying” it, adding that without a permanent ceasefire, “there is no way …
nergy Intelligence has predicted that global demand in 2024 will clock in at a modest 1.1 mb/d, a growth clip typical of the pre-Covid era. Energy Intel’s view on OPEC production contradicts StanChart’s, which has predicted an average 2024 call on OPEC crude oil of 29.3 mb/d, 1.4 mb/d higher than 2023 output. OPEC has predicted that …
Crude oil prices went lower today after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an inventory build of 1.2 million barrels for the week to January 26 This compared with a substantial draw of 9.2 million barrels for the previous week. A day earlier, the American Petroleum Institute estimated another inventory draw, at 2.5 million barrels, …
Continue reading “Lackluster Economic Data Out of China Puts Oil Prices Under Pressure”
OPEC saw its crude oil output rise by as much as 160,000 bpd last month compared to November. A S&P Global Platts survey sees OPEC+ production rising by 130,000 bpd in December 2023. December was the last month of the OPEC+ cuts for 2023, before new reductions of a total of around 900,000 bpd are …
Saudi Aramco confirms manageable risk for its tankers navigating the Red Sea despite ongoing conflicts. Houthi rebels explicitly allow Chinese and Russian vessels to pass safely, reflecting geopolitical alignments. Iran’s recent diplomatic rapprochement with Saudi Arabia possibly contributes to the ‘free pass’ for Riyadh’s oil transits. China and Russia aren’t the only countries being given …
Continue reading “Saudi Oil Flow Continues Through Red Sea Despite Regional Conflict”
The Saudi Arabian Oil Group, also known as Aramco, announced on Tuesday that the Kingdom’s Energy Ministry ordered it to keep its maximum sustainable capacity (MSC) at 12 million barrels per day (bpd) and not raise it as planned to 13 million bpd. “It is to be noted that MSC is determined by the State …
Continue reading “S. Arabia orders Aramco to keep production level same”
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani revealed on Monday that progress is being made in discussions on the release of hostages held by Hamas, which is expected to “lay the foundation” for “the way forward.” “We are hoping to relay this proposal to Hamas and to get …
Crude oil prices started the week with a gain following a drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. military servicemen. The news added to the bullish momentum of continuing Houthi strikes on ships in the Red Sea to push Brent crude well over $80 per barrel, with the benchmark close to touching $84 in …
Continue reading “Oil Prices Temperately Climb After Drone Attack Kills Three U.S. Troops”
United States President Joe Biden confirmed three US service members lost their lives and numerous others were wounded in an unmanned aerial drone attack near the Jordan-Syria border on Saturday night. Biden attributed the attack to radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq and noted that the details are still being gathered. The …
Continue reading “Biden confirms US service members’ deaths”
Solid economic growth figures from the U.S. and news about China’s economic stimulus combined this week to push oil prices higher. Benchmarks could post their biggest weekly rise since October this week, Reuters said, with supply uncertainty in the Middle East contributing to the bullish sentiment. U.S. GDP in the fourth quarter of last year …