The world will need as much as 19.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of new refining capacity by 2050 to meet rising global oil demand, OPEC said in its 2025 World Oil Outlook (WOO) with forecasts through the middle of the century. Overall, OPEC expects global oil demand to continue rising by 2050, with global oil demand projected to increase by more than 19 million bpd between 2024 and 2050, reaching nearly 123 million bpd. India, Other Asia, the Middle East, and Africa are set to be the primary sources of long-term oil demand growth. Combined demand…

The world will need as much as 19.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of new refining capacity by 2050 to meet rising global oil demand, OPEC said in its 2025 World Oil Outlook (WOO) with forecasts through the middle of the century. Overall, OPEC expects global oil demand to continue rising by 2050, with global oil demand projected to increase by more than 19 million bpd between 2024 and 2050, reaching nearly 123 million bpd. India, Other Asia, the Middle East, and Africa are set to be the primary sources of long-term oil demand growth. Combined demand…

The United States and Iran are poised to return to the negotiating table at a moment when tensions between the two are high and trust is low. The talks were initially planned for July 10 in Oslo, according to RFE/RL’s sources, who now say the meeting has been postponed -- likely to next week. Whenever they take place, the talks will mark a potential restart of nuclear diplomacy between the longtime adversaries just weeks after joint Israeli-US air strikes targeted Iranian nuclear sites. Israel launched its attack on Iran on June 13, just…

Governments and policy makers must better anticipate and prepare for energy crises before they happen, drawing from past experience and increasing diversification of supply, predictability in policy, and international cooperation, Fatih Birol, Executive Director at the International Energy Agency (IEA), said on Thursday. Many tools to tackle energy security today have been developed after crises have hit in the past. Such was the case with the creation of the IEA itself following the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s and with the emergency stockpiles…

“There is no peak oil demand on the horizon,” OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais wrote in the foreword of OPEC’s latest World Oil Outlook (WOO), which sees global oil demand growing by about 19% from now until 2050 to reach 123 million barrels per day (bpd). In view of slowing Chinese demand growth, OPEC revised down its oil demand growth forecasts for all years between 2025 and 2029. However, global economic development with growing demand for oil and an increasing global population and middle class are set to underpin demand…

Equinor has made a gas discovery close to its Johan Castberg oilfield in the Barents Sea and will assess a potential tie-in to the now fully operational Arctic field. Equinor and its partners in the exploration and production license have hit natural gas in the Skred prospect, in a well drilled 23 kilometers (14 miles) north of the Johan Castberg field and 210 kilometers (130 miles) northwest of Hammerfest, a major gas export facility in Norway, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said on Thursday. Preliminary estimates put the size of the discovery…

OPEC+ blindsided oil market participants, again, with a larger-than-expected oil production hike for August.   Instead of the widely expected 411,000 barrels per day (bpd), the group of eight OPEC+ producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia decided to add 548,000 bpd to their combined oil output next month. OPEC+ motivated its decision for the supersized hike with “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories.”   Aiming to take advantage of the peak summer…

Earnings season is here again, with second-quarter earnings season set to begin in earnest during the second full week of July. According to FacetSet Earnings Insight, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report aggregate earnings growth of 5.0%, marking the lowest growth by the market in seven quarters. FactSet has reported that Wall Street is most bearish about the energy sector, and has lowered EPS estimates for oil and gas companies by the largest percentage amongst all 11 market sectors at -18.8% to $22.7 billion from $27.9 billion…

At the recent gathering of BRICS nations in Brazil, the members’ joint statement contained an interesting assertion. BRICS leaders said that, while recognizing the need for an energy transition, they “acknowledge fossil fuels will still play an important role in the world’s energy mix, particularly for emerging markets and developing economies.” Luckily for BRICS members, they tend to be rather rich in such fuels. A lot of these developing economies are in South America—which also happens to feature some sizable oil…

Taiwan is facing an energy crisis that could prove existential. Not only is the country’s energy demand outpacing its grid’s capacities, the country is heavily dependent on energy imports, making the island nation highly vulnerable to military blockades from neighboring China. If Taiwan is not able to build up its own energy supply in a hurry, it will become increasingly difficult – if not impossible – to continue resistance against the Chinese agenda to annex the island under its One China policy.  Taiwan’s isolated…

As Pakistan’s military leaders met recently with US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House, its regional ally Iran was being hit with a missile barrage from Israel -- Islamabad's main regional adversary and a staunch American ally. Amid escalating regional tensions, the two events highlighted the complex diplomatic chessboard Pakistan faces as it balances relations with rival powers, strained sectarian ties, and strategic interests in a region fraught with shifting alliances,…

Saudi Aramco is in advanced talks to acquire 2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S.-based Commonwealth LNG terminal in Cameron, Louisiana, according to an exclusive Reuters reported on Wednesday. The potential deal would further cement Aramco’s push into the global LNG market as it accelerates efforts to diversify beyond crude oil exports. According to unnamed sources briefed on the matter and cited by Reuters, the proposed offtake agreement would bring Commonwealth’s contracted volume to 7 Mtpa…

The Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways with an upside bias, rising 2.69% from June to July. Comex Copper Prices Nearing All-Time High on 50% Tariff Reports Comex copper prices resumed their uptrend, ending a brief pause witnessed in early June. As of July 7, the price of copper on the exchange stood $266/mt short of its all-time high from late March. This marks an almost 23% rise since the early April low. However, Comex prices aren’t alone. While LME prices remain far short of the all-time high reached in May 2024, they have…

Henrik Andersen, CEO of Danish wind turbine giant Vestas Wind Systems A/S, has issued a stark warning to European policymakers: without stronger and more cohesive industrial strategies, Europe may lose its edge in renewable energy manufacturing to the U.S. and other regions. “Wind is largely a European creation — born in our universities, tested on our sites,” Andersen told Bloomberg News. “If we don’t protect and support what we’ve built, companies like ours will eventually move out of Europe. It’s that…

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…

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…