In the energy sector, U.S. power utilities have announced billions of dollars in capital plans for the next few years and are getting a lot of requests from commercial users, most notably Big Tech, for new power capacity in many areas next to planned data centers.
With global growth already showing signs of slowing, the possibility of another round of tit-for-tat trade measures has weighed more heavily on oil sentiment than localized supply shocks. Reuters cited analysts on Friday as saying that the muted price response to the Kurdistan outages suggests markets are increasingly discounting temporary disruptions unless they escalate or coincide with broader geopolitical risk.
The 2022 explosion was caused by overpressurized piping and resulted in a fire that shut down all liquefaction operations. Freeport remained offline for more than six months while conducting a root-cause investigation and implementing FERC- and PHMSA-mandated safety upgrades. Partial service resumed in early 2023 under revised regulatory conditions.
Last March, OMV and ADNOC signed an agreement to consolidate their polyolefin businesses, with ADNOC also agreeing to acquire NOVA Chemicals Corp. to be transferred to the new joint venture (JV). Under the agreement Borealis AG and Borouge PLC will merge to form Borouge Group International.
The EU’s move to restrict fuels such as diesel made from Russian crude could have some market impact, as Europe imports the fuel from India, which in turn buys large amounts of Russian crude. Diesel markets have been showing signs of tightness for several weeks, and prices strengthened in early European trading relative to crude.
The Kurdistan Regional Government will supply Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO with 230,000 barrels a day as part of a deal for Baghdad to release funds for salaries in the northern region, people familiar with the matter said. The transfer of the crude is a crucial element for an agreement between the federal and semi-autonomous administrations to restart exports through a pipeline to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
“While inventories globally have built very significantly, stocks in the pricing centres – especially in the US – are still quite low,” Daan Struyven, head of oil research at Goldman Sachs, said on Bloomberg Television. Market focus has shifted to “downside risks to supply,” he said.
The United States could abandon the International Energy Agency (IEA) if the organization, created in the aftermath of the 1970s Arab oil embargo, doesn’t return to forecasting energy demand without strongly promoting green energy.
From pioneering technologies that shattered geological limits to building empires that outmuscled governments, these oil titans didn’t follow the energy industry — they dragged it behind them. Some were wildcatters with nothing but a hunch and a homemade rig.
Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.9 million barrels during the week ending July 11, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The build brings commercial stockpiles to 422.2 million barrels according to government data, which is still 8% below the five-year average for this time of year.