Oil moved higher on a thin day of holiday trading as risks to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz continued to support prices, alongside the return of Chinese crude purchasing.
The prices of crudes from Canada, South America, and Africa have jumped in recent weeks as Chinese oil import demand is rising from a decade-low, benchmark prices rally, and Middle East supply remains disrupted.
Depleted oil and gas reservoirs and existing energy infrastructure across Africa are emerging as potential foundations for carbon capture and storage (CCS) development, offering producers a way to repurpose upstream assets while reducing emissions from hydrocarbon operations.
Brian Unietis, Lead Country Manager of ExxonMobil Angola, talks to The Energy Year about extending the productive life of Block 15 through new drilling, tiebacks and facility investments, Angola’s upstream investment environment and the company’s approach to local development.
Ghanaian Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor used his Africa Oil Week opening address to set out reforms to Ghana’s petroleum fiscal and regulatory regime, aimed at reviving upstream investment. The measures are now before Cabinet and, once approved, will be sent to Parliament, with the government targeting passage before the end of 2026, Jinapor said.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei threatened to impose sanctions on oil companies drilling near the Falkland Islands, after reiterating his claim that the territory under British control is Argentine.
European benchmark natural gas prices on Friday headed for their fourth consecutive weekly gain as the re-escalation in the Middle East dampened hopes that LNG flows from the Strait of Hormuz could normalize soon.
Iran pursues various tactics to bypass the U.S. blockade, which President Trump reimposed in the middle of July after the deal to make a deal collapsed, according to Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad.
Supply of fuel oil for the shipping industry is getting squeezed by the war-driven tightness in diesel fuel, as refiners prioritize the latter over the former, Reuters has reported, with Asia set to suffer the most severe blow.
South Korea has reportedly agreed to invest $22.3 billion in a gas-fired power plant in Texas as part of its trade deal with the Trump administration.