Mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. upstream oil and gas sector fell for a third straight quarter, marking an end to blockbuster takeovers seen in recent years amid persistently low energy prices. According to Enverus Intelligence Research, deals worth $9.7 billion were closed in the third quarter, marking a 28% drop from the second quarter and putting the current year far below the record $192 billion recorded in 2023
Partly because of that supply increase, the Washington-based fund has upgraded its forecast for Saudi economic growth to 4% for this year, compared with an earlier estimate of 3%, according to the latest regional economic report published Tuesday.
West Texas Intermediate gained about 0.1% to settle near $62 a barrel, narrowly extending a winning streak to a third day. OPEC and its allies including Russia decided over the weekend on a 137,000-bpd hike, while Saudi Arabia kept the price of its main grade to Asia steady in a sign of caution, surprising traders who had expected a bump.
Saudi Arabia’s grand Vision 2030 ambitions may be colliding with a colder fiscal reality. Fitch Ratings warned Friday that Riyadh faces rising financial risks as oil prices soften and government spending balloons, threatening the kingdom’s plans for fiscal consolidation.
The sovereign wealth funds of Gulf petrostates continue to be the top state investors globally despite weaker oil prices this year. The share of sovereign wealth fund investments from the Middle East and North Africa in the global total was 40% for the first nine months of the year, cementing the funds’ leadership.
Earlier in the week, prices took a dip after news broke that Iraq, Turkey, and the Kurdistan regional government had finally reached a deal to restart exports from northern Iraq via the pipeline to Turkey. However, a follow-up revealed unresolved differences between two of the companies operating the fields in Kurdistan, which will delay the restart of exports.
The upward pressure on prices was back, however, as European pressure on Russia increases, with reports over the weekend of Russian aircraft entering Estonian airspace and neutral airspace over the Baltic Sea, plus airstrikes on western Ukraine that were close to the border with Poland.
Crude oil price climbed in early trading on Wednesday following the news of an Israeli attack against Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, along with reports that President Donald Trump had asked the European Union to slap a 100% tariff on China and India to make them stop buying Russian crude.
Saudi Arabia has once again reduced the price of crude oil it sells to Asia, with the premium for the flagship Arab Light at $2.20 a barrel over the Dubai/Oman benchmark for cargos to be delivered in October.
California regulators fearing a dramatic drop in gasoline supply placed a five-year pause on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s penalty on oil industry profits Aug. 29. The decision is a blow to Newsom’s legislation aimed at penalizing the oil industry for allegedly driving up the state’s gas prices in 2022. California Energy Commission Vice Chair Siva Gunda said the […]