Oil prices continued to be weighed down in Asian trade on Wednesday by growing concerns about China’s economic growth and oil demand which were offsetting an estimated drop in U.S. crude oil inventories. In Asian trade, both benchmarks were dropping by around 0.2%, with the U.S. WTI Crude benchmark clawing …
Read More »Saudi Arabia Enters JVs with Chinese Solar Firms
Saudi Arabia has entered into joint ventures with two Chinese solar firms to build solar plants in the country worth some $3 billion, highlighting the oil-rich kingdom’s campaign to boost renewable power production. In the first JV, publicly-traded, China-based JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) has announced that it will form a joint venture …
Read More »Russia Plans Compensation Cuts after Pumping above OPEC Plus Quota
Russia plans to make extra crude production cuts to compensate for pumping above its OPEC+ quota in the warm seasons of this year and next, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Moscow’s additional curbs will most likely happen in summer and early fall for technological reasons, said the …
Read More »Basrah Crudes Drop despite Global Oil Stabilization
On Wednesday, Basrah crude oil dropped amid a stabilization in global oil prices. Basrah Heavy crude edged lower by $1.56 to $79.52, while Basrah Medium rose by $1.56 to $82.42. Oil prices held steady on Wednesday, with the global benchmark Brent hovering near a one-month low reached in the previous …
Read More »Japan Faces Jet Fuel Shortage
Amid boom in tourism, Japan is facing jet fuel shortage, as the country’s plummeting oil refineries cannot provide adequate fuel to enable return trips for all planes. Authorities at Narita Airport near Tokyo, Japan’s main gateway for international arrivals, said in late June that six airlines had shelved plans to …
Read More »Middle East Oil Benefits as China Buys Less African Crude
China has long been building inroads into Africa, while the U.S. backs down from the region, leaving a gaping hole in the West’s influence over the “final frontier”. Now, however, we’re seeing all that soft power and oil-backed loans fizzle out as various think tanks note that China is increasingly …
Read More »Russia’s Novatek Slashes Gas Output at Sanctioned Arctic LNG 2
The Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia, which Western sanctions have hit in recent months, significantly reduced its production of natural gas in May as it hasn’t exported any LNG yet, a source with knowledge of output data told Reuters on Tuesday. Arctic LNG 2, in which Russian gas producer …
Read More »Bolivia Announces Biggest Natural Gas Discovery since 2005
Bolivia’s state-owned oil and gas company YPFB has discovered a massive natural gas field, which is the biggest such find in nearly two decades and could become the country’s third-largest producing field. The discovery at the Mayaya Centro X1 natural gas field is estimated to contain 1.7 trillion cubic foot …
Read More »Aramco to Acquire 50% Stake in Air Products Qudra’s Blue Hydrogen Gases
Saudi Aramco signed definitive agreements to acquire an equity interest in the Jubail-based Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Co. (BHIG), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Products Qudra (APQ). The transaction, which is subject to standard closing conditions, will also include options for Aramco to offtake hydrogen and nitrogen, the oil giant …
Read More »Saudi Arabia’s Economic Strategy is a Double-Edged Sword for OPEC Stability
While countries like Brazil and the United States are often seen as major pressures on OPEC oil production policies, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 might pose an even greater challenge. This transformative economic strategy, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aims to shift the kingdom’s reliance away from oil, …
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