Oil and Gas

London, Aug 18, 2023 – Oil prices looked set to close lower this week following seven weeks of gains, as China’s economic woes eclipse signs of tight supply. The seven-week upswing in prices, galvanised by supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+), was the longest streak for both benchmarks this year. Brent futures rose by about 18% and West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) by more than 20% in the seven weeks ended Aug. 11, with prices hitting their highest levels in months. The benchmarks …

Abuja, Aug. 16, 2023 – Nigeria lost about 600 million barrels of crude oil valued at $46 billion to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020. Dr Orji Ogbonaya Orji, the Executive Secretary in Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), said this in Abuja on Tuesday while addressing stakeholders at the review and approval of NEITI 2021 audit reports. He attributed the losses to theft and sabotage which made the country to be losing over 140,000 barrels of crude valued at over ten million dollars daily. “Furthermore, NEITI has reported …

London, Aug 15, 2023 – Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday on sluggish Chinese economic figures coupled with fears that Beijing’s unexpected cut in key policy rates was not substantial enough to rejuvenate the country’s sputtering post-pandemic recovery. Brent crude futures dipped 73 cents to $85.48 per barrel by 1151 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 91 cents to $81.6 a barrel. Supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia, part of the OPEC+ group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, had helped galvanise a rally …

London, Aug 14, 2023 – Oil prices declined more than 1% on Monday as concerns about China’s faltering economic recovery and a stronger dollar weighed against seven weeks of gains on tightening supply from OPEC+ output cuts. Brent crude futures fell $1.07, or 1.2%, to $85.74 a barrel by 0631 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $82.12 a barrel, down 1.3%. Prices retreated as the U.S. dollar index extended gains after a slightly bigger increase in U.S. producer prices in July lifted Treasury yields despite expectations the …

London, Aug 10, 2023 – Oil prices steadied on Thursday as investor caution ahead of U.S. inflation data softened a protracted price rally on supply tightness. Brent crude edged up 14 cents to $87.69 a barrel by 0757 GMT while West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) crept up by 1 cent to $84.5. Oil prices have been boosted in recent days by extensions to output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia, alongside supply fears driven by the potential for tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea region to threaten …

London, Aug 9, 2023 – Oil hit new peaks on Wednesday with Brent crude touching the highest since April as tighter supply owing to Saudi and Russian output cuts offset concerns over slow demand from China and a report showing rising U.S. crude inventories. Top exporter Saudi Arabia last week extended its voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels per day for another month to include September, and Russia said it would cut oil exports by 300,000 bpd in September. “The latest recovery is mainly driven by the pledge of major producers, …