Standard Chartered has shot down a rising Wall Street narrative that global oil markets are sitting on a hidden cushion of non-OECD crude, so-called phantom barrels. In its latest Commodity Roadmap released this week, the bank states there is “nothing in trade flows, time structure, or data flow” to support claims of invisible inventory builds, particularly in China or South Africa. The rejection puts StanChart at odds with macro-driven oil bears who argue that low OECD stockpiles are masking oversupply elsewhere. Instead, the bank’s…

Standard Chartered has shot down a rising Wall Street narrative that global oil markets are sitting on a hidden cushion of non-OECD crude, so-called phantom barrels. In its latest Commodity Roadmap released this week, the bank states there is “nothing in trade flows, time structure, or data flow” to support claims of invisible inventory builds, particularly in China or South Africa. The rejection puts StanChart at odds with macro-driven oil bears who argue that low OECD stockpiles are masking oversupply elsewhere. Instead, the bank’s…

Egypt remains a focus of the West’s strategy to find gas supplies to substitute for those that came from Russia following the 24 February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Its appeal is further enhanced by its key geographical location that gives it enormous influence over vital hydrocarbons transit routes. On top of these considerations, the country also occupies a unique leadership position in the Arab world. It is little wonder, then, that any new hydrocarbons exploration opportunities there excite huge interest from top Western firms, and from…

The long-running oil export dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil over oil exports and public-sector salaries has now deepened, as Iraq’s Cabinet failed to address the issue in its latest session, just a day after media outlets reported that a resolution was near. According to Rudaw, the Council of Ministers on July 8 did not place the oil and salary file on its agenda, dealing a blow to expectations of imminent agreement. This comes despite reports on July 7 that negotiations had reached the “final…

The long-running oil export dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil over oil exports and public-sector salaries has now deepened, as Iraq’s Cabinet failed to address the issue in its latest session, just a day after media outlets reported that a resolution was near. According to Rudaw, the Council of Ministers on July 8 did not place the oil and salary file on its agenda, dealing a blow to expectations of imminent agreement. This comes despite reports on July 7 that negotiations had reached the “final…

The European Union is edging closer to finally adopting its latest sanctions package, the 18th since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine over three years ago. But two items still remain to be negotiated. Firstly, the price cap on Russian oil. It’s still in the draft proposal seen by RFE/RL, but there is a question whether it will remain there. Secondly, there's a Slovak veto on an issue that is related to the sanctions though not directly part of the package. When the European Commission presented the proposed package to EU member…

Turkish energy firms will explore for oil and gas offshore Pakistan under agreements with local companies, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Pakistan on Wednesday. “This is one of the outcomes of the more institutionalized approach we are working to establish,” Fidan said, without elaborating on the exploration drilling plans and activities. Turkey and Pakistan are also evaluating potential cooperation in oil and gas exploration and production, mining, and rare earth elements, the minister added. Earlier this…

Turkish energy firms will explore for oil and gas offshore Pakistan under agreements with local companies, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Pakistan on Wednesday. “This is one of the outcomes of the more institutionalized approach we are working to establish,” Fidan said, without elaborating on the exploration drilling plans and activities. Turkey and Pakistan are also evaluating potential cooperation in oil and gas exploration and production, mining, and rare earth elements, the minister added. Earlier this…

Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 7.1 million barrels during the week ending July 4, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The build brings commercial stockpiles to 426 million barrels, still 8% below the five-year average for this time of year. Crude prices were trading down ahead of the report, after the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday estimated a surprise 7.1-million-barrel build for the week ending July 4 after analysts had estimated a 2.8-million-barrel…

The UK government is set to drop plans to introduce zonal pricing in the country’s wholesale electricity market, following a backlash from industry saying that splitting the market into geographical areas would damage investments in renewable energy projects, the Guardian reports, citing sources. In one of the most controversial power market reforms considered in the country, the UK government has been considering the so-called zonal pricing for electricity prices in Britain to replace a nationwide pricing system. Under the proposed reform,…

The UK government is set to drop plans to introduce zonal pricing in the country’s wholesale electricity market, following a backlash from industry saying that splitting the market into geographical areas would damage investments in renewable energy projects, the Guardian reports, citing sources. In one of the most controversial power market reforms considered in the country, the UK government has been considering the so-called zonal pricing for electricity prices in Britain to replace a nationwide pricing system. Under the proposed reform,…

The UK government is set to drop plans to introduce zonal pricing in the country’s wholesale electricity market, following a backlash from industry saying that splitting the market into geographical areas would damage investments in renewable energy projects, the Guardian reports, citing sources. In one of the most controversial power market reforms considered in the country, the UK government has been considering the so-called zonal pricing for electricity prices in Britain to replace a nationwide pricing system. Under the proposed reform,…

The FTSE 100 opened 22 points up this morning, despite threats of pharma and metals tariffs with stark implications for major stocks on the blue chip index.  President Trump has said that an announcement is coming “very soon” on pharmaceutical tariffs – with a possible 200 per cent rate landing in “about a year”.  Major FTSE 100 pharma stocks have stayed roughly steady at market open following the news overnight.  Astrazeneca (AZ) stocks were down 0.37 per cent, while GSK was down 0.11 per cent.  …

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) is considering listing National Industrial Gases Company (GAS) as part of a review into the strategic options for its unit, the Saudi chemicals giant said on Wednesday. The study and evaluation of certain strategic options concerning the National Industrial Gases Company is in line with SABIC’s priorities of optimizing its portfolio and focusing on its core business, said the company, which is 70% owned by Saudi state oil giant Aramco. The options under consideration for National Industrial Gases Company…

India is looking to strengthen its domestic oil and gas exploration and supply with the biggest-ever acreage up for grabs under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) Round X. “The focus is clearly on further enhancing and strengthening domestic E&P efforts,” Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, posted on X while visiting an offshore industry event in Bergen, Norway. “India’s energy journey offers engagement opportunities with Indian companies across multiple areas, including joint participation…

OPEC+ never fails to surprise speculators and market analysts. This weekend’s meeting to decide August production levels was expected to be a short routine video call to announce another output hike of 411,000 barrels per day (bpd).   Short it was, but the size of the increase for August was bigger than expected— 548,000 bpd. The eight OPEC+ members that are unwinding the cuts are expected to make another supersized increase in September, with which the 2.2 million bpd cuts will all be back on the market, at least the headline…

Earlier this week, Shell warned its second-quarter earnings would be weaker due to lower trade in gas and oil derivatives. Now, Exxon has joined its peer in the warning series, saying weaker oil and gas prices during the second quarter would affect its financial results, and rather substantially, at that. Big Oil is having a difficult moment. The question is whether it would extend in time. Back in May, Morgan Stanley predicted that the biggest international oil companies were set to see a slump in earnings later this year and in 2026, threatening…

Previously, we reported that natural gas at the Waha hub was selling for near-zero or sub-zero prices for much of 2024 thanks in large part to excess natural gas production in the Permian Basin coupled with limited takeaway capacity due to a shortage of gas pipelines. Indeed, prices at the hub spent half the year in negative territory, sinking to all-time low -$7/mmbtu at the end of August. This has become a recurrent challenge in recent years ever since the Permian Shale boom led to a surge in associated gas production. Consequently, Permian gas…

Investors who have shorted Tesla stock are about to pocket $1.4 billion in profits as the beleaguered company continues its rapid downward spiral. A potent combination of tariffs, anti-clean energy legislation, and stunningly bad PR have led to devastating drops in the company’s share values, with reverberating consequences for the company’s many ventures, not to mention clean energy tech research and development writ large. Tesla has been failing to meet its forecasts for a while now, even with projections much reduced to reflect the…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose sharply this week, gaining an additional 7.1 million barrels in the week ending July 4, despite analysts estimating a 2.8-million-barrel draw. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up 11 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed 200,000 barrels to 403 million barrels in the week ending…