Author: intent

Crude Edges Higher After Seven Weeks of Declines

US crude eked out a 0.2% gain for the week, barely skirting an eighth straight weekly decline that would have been its longest such losing streak since 2015. US President Donald Trump’s salvos against the country’s major trading partners have weighed on crude prices since mid-January, raising the prospect of sputtering economic growth and falling oil consumption. Long-term inflation expectations jumped by the most since 1993, painting a gloomy picture for future energy demand.

CNOOC Starts Up Two Projects in South China Sea, Bohai Sea

Previously in 2025 CNOOC Ltd. said it has put onstream two projects in the Bohai Sea and two in the South China Sea, all of which are solely owned by the company. The Bohai Sea projects are phase 2 of the Luda 5-2 North field and the Bozhong 26-6 field. The South China Sea projects are the Dongfang 29-1 field and the Panyu 11-12/10-1/10-2 Oilfield Adjustment Joint Development Project.

Saudi Crude Supply to China Set for One Year Low in April

State giant China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, is planning to shut down for about two months the crude processing capacities at several refineries. These temporary closures from the middle of March to the end of May would affect about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude processing capacity, per data compiled by Reuters from trade and industry sources.

Guyana Pulls the Plug on Frontera-CGX JV – Exxon Stays Winning

The Corentyne block was supposed to be a much-needed diversification play in Guyana’s oil scene, which is basically ExxonMobil’s playground. With the U.S. supermajor running the show in the Stabroek Block—home to over 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent—the Frontera-CGX partnership was a scrappy underdog trying to carve out a slice of the pie.

U.S. Tightens the Screws on Iran’s Oil Trade

The Trump administration just turned up the heat on Iran’s oil operations, slapping fresh sanctions on Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad and a handful of shadowy tankers sneaking crude to China. Treasury’s reasoning? Paknejad is allegedly funneling billions in oil revenue directly to Iran’s armed forces, and the ships—some flagged in Hong Kong, Liberia, and Seychelles—are playing an elaborate game of maritime hide-and-seek to keep the crude flowing.

Qatar To Supply Natural Gas To Syria’s New Government

Qatar is set to supply Syria with natural gas via Jordan with Washington’s approval, Reuters has reported. Qatar was one of the fiercest opponents of the deposed Bashar al-Assad and one of the strongest supporters of the rebels-turned rulers currently in charge. The gas would be transferred from Jordan via a pipeline to the Deir Ali power plant in southern Syria, where it could boost power supply by up to 400 megawatts. According to the Qatari Charge d’affaires in Syria Khalifa Abdullah Al Sharif, the plan aims to increase power production by an initial 400 MW to the country’s power capacity range up to around 4,000 MW.