Oil Prices Increased in Light Trade
Oil prices rose in thin trade as the US dollar strengthened, and investors awaited data from China to gauge demand in the world’s largest crude oil importer.
Brent crude futures increased 85 cents, or 0.93%, to $92.482 per barrel, reversing a 6.42% decline the previous week. The price of crude in the United States was $86.342 per barrel, up 73 cents, or 0.92%, from the previous week’s low of 7.64%.
Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their Allies, including Russia, lined up on Sunday to support the drastic production cut announced earlier this month after the White House accused Riyadh of coercing other countries into supporting it.
On October 5, OPEC+ pledged to cut output by 2M barrels per day, dropping about 1M BPD because some members are already producing below their targets.
Chinese oil giant CNOOC expects net income to triple in the first nine months of this year, Energy Voice said, citing stock market data.
Thanks to record oil and gas production and rising international prices, the nine-month total should be around $15B.
Last month, the company reported a twofold increase in first-half profits to $10.5B, owing to higher oil prices and production. The sum was the highest ever.
During the year’s first half, the company’s fields produced 304.8M barrels of oil equivalent.
While Chinese oil demand continues to suffer due to the country’s zero-Covid policy, it has recovered in recent months as lockdowns have become less frequent and refineries have prepared to ramp up production.
Iran Ships Crude Oil to Venezuela
According to Iranian media, oil minister Javad Owji, Iran has begun refining its crude oil in Venezuela.
Iranian crude comes from the El Palito refinery at a rate of 100,000 barrels per day.
According to another Iranian news agency, Mehr, the minister said the El Palito refinery was the first “built-in-Iran” refinery abroad and that Tehran would seek more overseas refinery projects in countries other than Venezuela. China remained the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil and fuels, as it has been for Iranian and, more recently, Russian oil. According to the CEO of Gazprom, any decision to impose a price ceiling on Russian gas exports will lead to a suspension. Russian gas supplies to Europe fell sharply after the invasion of Ukraine, as the EU tried to diversify its supply, and Gazprom cut off the flow through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline before last month’s explosion.
The EU has struggled to find ways to reduce gas bills, with price caps one of the most aggressively promoted options.
The 15-member group asked the committee to impose a price ceiling on all natural gas imports, including from Russia, Norway, Algeria, and the United States.
However, the Commission and some other EU members, including Germany and the Netherlands, have warned that such a move would jeopardize supply security.
Instead, the Commission proposed a price cap on Russian gas supplies only, prompting a response from Russia. EU leaders will meet at the end of this week to discuss their options, and the Commission should make an official proposal on the subject.
