Bearish sentiment appears to be running rampant in oil markets, with OPEC+ production cuts and provide threats from Russia unable to significantly slow the oil price slide. Weak macroeconomic data continues to rattle the oil markets, with ICE Brent trending around $90 per barrel, bouncing back from multi-month lows seen mid-week. News of weak Chinese trade data and ECB interest hikes seem to be overpowering a far more supply/demand-relevant story of the Iranian nuclear deal going astray, suggesting bearish sentiment is prevalent. That being said, Russian threats of supply cut-offs appear to possess countered a awfully bearish EIA inventory report, with oil prices climbing ahead of time Friday evening. Gas-to-Oil Switching Boosts Crude Demand. Amidst ballooning gas prices, it seems that some power producers switching to fuel and other liquids has the potential to spice up global oil demand by some 500-600,000 b/d over the winter season, with a minimum of half it happening in Europe. Ecuador Strikes cater to Indigenous Groups. in an exceedingly bid to preclude street protests that have repeatedly crimped production, the Ecuadorian government agreed to declare a brief moratorium on 16 oil blocks considered to be in ancestral indigenous territory. Trading Majors Launch First Blockchain Oil Trade. Trading companies Gunvor and Total Energies (NYSE:TTE) have concluded the primary blockchain-driven trade confirmation of a deal, using the VAKT ecosystem, a start-up co-owned by Shell (LON:SHEL) or Mercuria. US Power Consumption to Hit Records This Year. in keeping with IEA forecasts, this year’s power consumption within the US will rise to an all-time high of 4,029 billion KWh amidst hotter summer weather, up 3% year-on-year, with gas remaining the most important source of generation (37%). UK PM Caps Energy Bills. New UK Prime Minister Liz Truss vowed to cap average household energy bills for the following 2 years at around £2,500, forcing the govt. to borrow some $115 billion for the financing of the freeze, sending the united kingdom pound to its weakest against the US dollar since 1985. Repsol Sells Upstream Unit to US Fund. Spanish company Repsol (BME:REP) has sold 25% of its upstream division, producing some 570,000 boe/d, to US investment fund EIG for $4.8 billion, with proceeds from the transaction earmarked for the firm’s renewables investments. Russia Threatens Full Cut-off If Caps Implemented. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin threatened to chop off energy exports to any country that implements price caps on the country’s oil, gas, and coal, raising the stakes in Europe’s energy crisis because the EU mulls a pipeline gas price cap. Indonesia Wants to shop for Out Shell Stake. Indonesia’s investment minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the country may form a consortium to require over a 35% stake within the Masela gas project from UK energy firm Shell (LON:SHEL) signalled its intent to quit the $20 billion project. White House Mulls More SPR Releases. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at its lowest level since 1984 following the discharge of 173 million barrels of SPR stocks, with only 7 million barrels left from the Biden Administration's 1 million b/d release, US Energy Secretary signalled Washington is mulling further releases. Tesla Set to create a Lithium Refinery in Texas. The world’s leading EV producer Tesla (NASDAQ:
TSLA) is considering putting in a lithium refinery that might process ore material into battery-grade metal, it said its judgment are going to be supported its ability to get tax relief from the TX authorities.
Venezuelan Output on the increase. Venezuelan crude production saw a marked increase in August, increasing to 750,000 b/d. a 100,000 b/d month-on-month hike, as state company PDVSA ramped up production of heavy Orinoco Belt barrels because of the provision of diluents, mostly Iranian condensate.
Another German Company Bites the Dust. VNG, one in all Germany’s biggest importers of gas, became the second major company to ask the govt for funds to remain afloat, with soaring gas prices putting the corporate “in an increasingly critical financial situation through no fault of its own”.
Gazprom Switches to Hybrid Yuan-Rouble Payments. Russia’s Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) and China’s CNPC (SHA:601857) have amended the terms of their 30-year gas supply contract through the facility of Siberia-1 pipeline, moving to a hybrid routine of paying in roubles and yuan on a 50:50 basis.
Sichuan Woes Push Coal Prices Even Higher. Coal prices are skyrocketing within the past weeks, however extreme drought in Sichuan, the hotspot of Chinese hydropower production, keeps on adding upward pressure to coal prices with ICE Newcastle readings hitting an all-time high of $460/mt on.
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